Bush Foods - Solanum centrale
I've recently potted up the Bush Tomato Solanum centrale seedlings as they have germinated well after using the smoke disc I bought when I ordered the seeds.
The seedlings look just like other Tomatoesuntil the second leaves grow
then you can see that they become quite hairy.
Bush Tomato (Solanum centrale)
Other species such as S. chippendalei and S. ellipticum also produce edible fruit and are of interest to the native foods industry.
Aboriginal Names: Akatjera (Arrente), Kampurarrpa (Pitjantjatjara), Kati Kati (Anangu Uluru, NT).
Solanum centrale is a small shrub to 30 -50 cm that suckers and has spines on its branches. Their star-shaped purple flowers are followed by sticky 1cm frit that change colour as they ripen, form green/white to yellow. Fruit are brown with a raisin-like appearance when ripe and ready for picking.
Green or unripe fruits are toxic and should not be eaten. Therefore this plant is not recommended for use in school gardens or where there are young children around.This bushfood is widely used for sauces, and chutneys & relishes; soups marinades, stews and casseroles.
It has a flavour that is an intense, earthy-tomato and caramel flavour of great piquancy and pungency.
Sold for seed as dried fruit that contain between 30-100 seeds, the packs also include instructions for germination and harvesting.
Bush tomato seeds respond well to smoke treatment.
More info on Bush Tomatoes:CSIRO
PIRSA Factsheet PDF
Seeds purchased from:
Outback Chef
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7 comments:
Fair dinkum our very own tomato.
Very interesting thank you.
That is very interesting, scarecrow. Smoking seeds is very unusual I would think. Whenever I read or hear anything that strikes me as unusual I often think..who thought of doing it that way first?!
Have a great day
Peggy
Glad you found it useful Stewart
Hi Peggy
Many of the Australian native plants need smoke to germinate.
Australia has a long history of fires...naturally occurring (from lightning strikes) and the plants have adapted to use the fire as a regenerative aid.
There are some that actually need to be burnt to release their seeds.
It is fascinating and it's by studying the first plants to germinate after bush fires that we have come to learn which actually need fire/smoke to grow. Many native trees survive fire to re-grow with in days of a fire passing through.
Hi, My name is Alan Hendy, I have 2 newly germinated Solanum centrale seedlings from seed purchased from Outback Chef. No other seeds germinated however despite using smoke disks, smoke granules and GA3.
How are your seedlings now, what was your germination rate, did you use hot water ect?
Best Regards,
Alan Hendy, UK
Hi Alan
I didn't seem to have a problem with them germinating although the strike rate wasn't great. I only used hot water from the smoke discs.
However after I planted them they never did much else. I think the summer was a bit cold for them at first so they didn't take off but then at the end of summer we have a blast of heatwave conditions for 2 weeks and they didn't like that either.
This link is a forum site on growing Aussie Bush Foods and may be of some help to you.
I shall attempt to grow these again in spring as none of the plants have survived. This time I will try some of the other methods of germination listed on the seed packet.
I didn't have a lot of luck with many of the seeds I bought from Outback Chef but have noticed that the company is under new management now...that may make a difference.
Good luck with your attempts to grow these desert dwellers in the UK! Apparently in the wild they will sprout after fire or rain!
Hi Scarecrow,
It's a shame your seedlings didn't make it. Good luck with your next batch! We are in our summer over here in the UK. The weather was lovely and hot for about 3 weeks which was when my 2 seeds germinated but it has cooled down back to the usual damp cold summer temperatures.
Something that caught my attention and I forget where I read it but apparently it helps the seedlings to gain strength and establish themselves if they are "inoculated" with something like micrococil spores which can be bought at most nurseries and garden centres so I'll have a look for some in the next few days.
I shall visit this site more often and keep you posted on the seedlings progress, I'll send photo's when possible.
Outback Chef has been taken over recently by a nice lady called Jude Mayall, she has been very helpfull and I would reccomend using them as I will again. Having been a previous customer under the old managment, I can definatly say she makes a positive difference.
Best Regards,
Alan Hendy,
Thanks Alan
The new owners of outback chef do sound positive.
I haven't heard about the 'inoculate', but they are supposed to grow 'wild' over here so that's probably why. Whatever they require is should already in our soil. But thanks for that info.
I will look forward to seeing how your plants go and if you wish to send photos please use the email address in the side bar!
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