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