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