| One of the easiest to grow of all the vegetables, | | | | 1/2 cup roasted cashewsDRESSING |
| Silverbeet, also known as under the names Swiss | | | | 1 tblspoon white vinegar |
| Chard and for the coloured stemmed variety Rainbow | | | | 1/2 cup oil |
| Chard, gives a huge harvest in a short amount of time. | | | | 1 tblspoon lemon juice |
| Two plants would be enough to feed one person with | | | | 1 clove crushed garlic |
| silverbeet for every meal of the | | | | 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger |
| weekPROPAGATIONYou can grow these plants | | | | 1 teaspoon soy sauce |
| directly in the ground from seed, or you will get 6 to 8 | | | | 1teaspoon sugarShred silverbeet and put in bowl with |
| seedlings in a punnet for around $3.00 at your local | | | | chopped bacon, bean sprouts and cashews. Mix |
| nursery. | | | | dressingingredients together thoroughly and pour over |
| Seeds cab be sown in early spring and late summer, | | | | salad and toss well.SILVERBEET & RICOTTA |
| early autumn. Put two or three seeds in the one hole | | | | CANTALONNI1packet of instant cantalonni pasta |
| about 40cm apart and 1cm deep. Keep the seeds | | | | 1 tub of ricotta cheese |
| moist, but not wet. I prefer late autumn plantings, as I | | | | 1 bunch of silverbeet |
| find they are less likely to bolt to seed than spring | | | | 2 cups of grated cheese |
| plantings.CULTIVATIONEven though these plants will | | | | 4 cups of neapolitan or bolognaise tomato sauce |
| grow just about anywhere with very little input, to get | | | | salt and pepper to tasteShred silverbeet very finely, |
| the best quality out of your silverbeet, grow them in soil | | | | mix with the tub of ricotta cheese. Add salt and |
| enriched with organic matter, such as compost or | | | | pepper to taste (I always use fresh ground black |
| rotted manure. Keep the plants moist, but not wet. | | | | pepper and sea salt). |
| They will grow in part shade as well as full sun. It | | | | Stuff the ricotta mixture into the cantalonni shells. Lay |
| doesn't hurt to liquid feed them over the foliage with a | | | | stuffed cantalonni in a shallow dish.Cover with |
| seaweed fertiliser once a month to keep the fresh | | | | neapolitan sauce and cheese. Bake in a preheated, |
| leaves coming on. Also, harvest the leaves frequently, | | | | moderate oven for 40 minutes.Jody has been in the |
| even if you aren't going to eat them. This helps stop | | | | horticultural industry in Victoria for close to ten |
| them running to seed. Pests to watch out for are slugs, | | | | years.She ran her first nursery at 25 while studying |
| snails and caterpillars.So you haven't been a fan of | | | | horticulture through the University of Melbourne. From |
| silverbeet in the past? Try these delicious recipies and | | | | there she moved on to work in three diverse nurseries |
| you might just change your mind about this humble | | | | in Melbourne and the country, two of which she |
| vegetable.SUMPTUOUS SILVERBEET SALADEven | | | | managed. |
| my dad, who hates silverbeet, loves this salad. It has a | | | | Jody also wrote a weekly gardening column for The |
| real smokey flavour.1 bunch silverbeet | | | | Weekly Advertiser for five years while running a small |
| 3 cups bean sprouts | | | | local nursery in Horsham. |
| 3 rashers cooked bacon | | | | |