The spice of life

If you are having issues growing your own wasabi, but still crave that fiery kick, Bob has some great alternatives…

- Bob Flowerdew

NOW I’m all for us growing anything and everything we please. However, sometimes we’re sold a promise that does not exactly hold true. The goji berry is a fine example of this. It’s not difficult to grow, but it’s reluctant to crop and never, ever luscious eating. Worse, the goji is a straggly shrub that takes up a lot of room. And this is a problem: a bad choice is stealing valuable garden space from something more useful.

That is if it even chooses to grow for you, which is the difficulty with wasabi. This tasty spice from Japan has been much vaunted and, indeed, has health-giving properties – apparently, it even reduces dental decay! Unfortunately, it’s not at all easy to keep alive in the drier half of the country. Wasabi prefers the grey, overcast, damp skies and cool, rainy weather of western and northern counties, finding the south and east too arid. (The same goes for mushrooms, with kits and on logs – most also need humid conditions, so are much easier where those prevail).