6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

CLEVER CROP | Carob
Choc imposter
Whether you want this drought-tolerant
tree for the shade it gives or for its
chocolatey pods, it can meet your needs
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) is best
known as a chocolate substitute.
The 30cm, curved, dark-brown pods
have a chocolatey flavour when
they are ground into a cocoa-like powder.
The seeds are removed from the pod before
it’s ground up. Carob pods can also be eaten
fresh (but don’t eat the seeds).
Just because this tree is a substitute
for something as universally loved as
chocolate doesn’t mean it isn’t a first-class
tree with lots to offer.
Carobs grow into large, spreading shade
trees that can reach 8m across. The trees
are long-lived and drought-tolerant. They are
useful in large gardens, paddocks or as street
trees, especially in dry or arid areas.
The leathery foliage is also useful for
fodder when other feed is scarce. The
pods, too, can be given to stock as feed.
They aren’t just chocolate flavoured but also
rich in sucrose and proteins. The seeds
What’s in a name?
The carob’s common names of
St John’s bread and locust bread
have been attached to the tree as it
was erroneously considered to be the
“locust” eaten by John the Baptist in
the desert, as mentioned in The Bible.
The name carob is derived from
“carat”, as the seeds, which are highly
uniform in size and weight, were once
used to weigh gold. Each seed weighs
around 2g. A metric carat is 0.2g.
are processed and used as a gum.
Carob comes from the Mediterranean,
where it’s thought to have been cultivated
for more than four millennia. It’s now grown
around the world, particularly in dry climates.
Flowers and fruit
The pods and pea-shaped flowers are
pointers that show this tree is a legume, part
of the large pea family. Carobs have separate
male and female flowers on different trees.
Both are required for pollination and the
production of beans.
Some trees produce both male and female
flowers on one tree and are self-pollinating, but
trees grown from seed may be either male or
female. The variety ‘Clifford’ is a hermaphrodite
with both male and female flowers.
Trees can take eight years to begin to
form flowers and fruit and up to 15 years to
produce a worthwhile crop.
Look for the pale greenish-purple flowers
in clusters on female trees in autumn. The
male flowers are insignificant. Trees are highly
attractive to bees and flies when in flower. As
legumes, they also fix nitrogen in the soil.
Propagation and
availability
If you can locate a carob tree, harvest the
pods in winter to propagate. Carobs can also
be grown from cuttings taken in late summer.
Take cuttings from both male and female trees.
Plant trees in spring. For potted plants, ask
at your local garden centre or look online for
carob trees. Grafted and seedling plants are
available from Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery at
daleysfruit.com.au
Carob label
Common name: Carob, St John’s
bread, locust bean
Botanical name: Ceratonia siliqua
Family: Fabaceae (pea family)
Requires: Full sun
Dislikes: Waterlogging
Suitable for: All areas
Habit: Evergreen tree 8–12m tall
Needs: Dry summers, wet winters
Propagation: Seed, cutting,
potted plants
Difficulty: Easy
The similarity to cocoa is apparent
CanStockPhoto
14 | Good Organic Gardening