A productive afternoon in the woods yesterday on the Malvik side of Solemsvåttan with my Swiss helper Julia Albrecht with a good haul of bilberries and the year’s first chantarelles! Yes, I think I live in paradise :)
The fungal haul!
Bilberries / blåbær
Masses of bilberries everywhere
Franskbrødsopp (Albatrellus confluens )
Found this Sorbus in the woods…but what species?
Amanita regalis (brunfluesopp) and Russula spp
Amanita regalis (brunfluesopp)
Bog asphodel / rome
Julia Albrecht :)
The year’s first sighting of yellow gold in the woods!
7 years ago (11th August 2011) and 40-50 people from the Trondheim Useful Plants Society (Nyttevekstforeningen) turned up for a walk and talk in my garden, including two journalists. Bente Haarstads pictures can be seen here: https://bentehaarstad.photoshelter.com/gallery/Edible-plants-Stephen-Barstows-garden/G0000yLcSVBDTqqI
Bjørg Hernes from local paper Malvikbladet wrote an article about the event which included a salad made with (only) 30 edibles to commemorate my 30 year anniversary of veggie growing in Malvik!
This was also the event when Saideh, originally from Iran surprised us all telling us that she ate naturalised invasive Tromsøpalme (Heracleum persicum) collected in the centre of Trondheim…this encounter was later related in my book and Saideh kindly provided recipes!
On Thursday this week we went for a forage locally as I’d heard reports that chantarelles were appearing after the rain….we didn’t see any edible fungi but there were large quantities of bilberries (blåbær), wild raspberries and even a bog where there were unpicked cloudberries, so we transferred our attentions to picking berries!
We started the walk from Fjølstadtrøa, a restored husmannsplass (croft) (we had met the last husmann and his wife back in the 80s!)
The local historical society has restored the buildings and a local school has made a vegetable garden here!
Nice to see broad beans (bondebønner), here with kale..
Catawissa (walking) onion (etasjeløk)
Beetroot (rødbete)
Herbs
Hops
Admiral
Gul korallsopp? (coral fungus)
Gul korallsopp? (coral fungus)
Creeping twinflower (Linnea)
Cowberry (tyttebær)
Cow-wheat seed (marimjelle)
This hoverfly (blomsterflue) fed on my bilberry stained finger!
The first harvest at the KVANN vegetable sanctuary garden at Væres Venner was broad beans (bondebønner) from a mixed grex and this was turned into delicious falafels that almost melt in the mouth! The year’s first falafels or hummus is a real highlight of my gardening year…and did you know that the original falafels and hummus were made using broad (fava) beans, sadly replaced by inferior (in my opinion) chick peas….and we can experience this dish fresh even in cold areas where other beans won’t grow!
AND the colour is a natural beautiful green inside….they are often made with some leafy green vegetable added to supply the greeness of the “real” falafel!
NB! Falafel doesn’t have to be ball shaped and deep fried…these are pattie shaped and shallow fried..
Ready to harvest at Være
The first harvest!
Cooked and mixed with onion, garlic, cjhili, cumin (should have been golpar!), coriander, salt and pepper, with a little egg and einkorn flour!
Fava falafel: tastewise, it doesn’t get much better than this!
I spent a couple of hours working at the Væres Venner Community Garden (Felleshage) yesterday and here are a series of photos showing progress!
If you’d like to get involved with your own plot or helping me with the KVANN World Garden (Verdenshage) and/or KVANN Vegetable Sanctuary (Nyttevekstreservat) please let me know! I’ll be definitely needing help from next year as the areas to maintain get bigger!
Norsk: Ta kontakt om du vil hjelpe meg med Verdenshagen og KVANNs Nyttevekstreservat, evt. om du vil ha din egen parsell!
Verdenshagen (The World Garden)….I scythed around the perimeter and pulled out the couch grass (kveke) that had managed to get through the layers of card and straw mulch!
Our new shed for tool storage!
Scythed perimeter
Both couch grass (kveke) had penetrated the mulch in a few places and grain in the straw had also germinated..
Lilium lancifolium (Tiger lily / tigerlilje) and garlic “Estonian Red” in the temporary bed at the centre of the World Garden where plants will be placed geographically with the centre representing the North Pole!
Anise hyssop (North America), Cirsium oleraceum (cabbage thistle/kåltistel) from the Mediterranean and others
Jerusalem artichoke “Dagnøytral” (Day Neutral)
Roseroot / rosenrot is one of the edibles representing polar regions!
Sideritis syriaca (Greek mountain tea) has grown well and representings the mountains of SE Europe
Alpine Bistort (Persicaria bistorta) is another of the alpine edibles
Caraway / karve
KVANNs Vegetable Sanctuary (Nyttevekstreservat), full of plants waiting to be moved elsewhere in the garden (e.g., the walnut trees) whilst I extend the bed! The perennial weeds were also cut down around the bed!!
Repairing holes in the thick paper donated by the local paper factory in Ranheim!
Heavy winds had knocked over some of the broad beans and quinoa…we later staked them up and harvested some of the broad beans (separate post)!
The extension bed is underway…. Please let me know if you want to do some useful training and learn the age old technique of bastard digging….the newspaper will stop the perennial weeds entering the new area!
There’s just enough top soil over clay…
We harvested the broad beans later and made felafel!
A little composition put together last night together with my daughter and artist friend from UK and wwoofer Kristina from Czech…including Allium macranthum (centerpiece), Allium carinatum pulchellum “Album”, Allium flavum, various Hosta flowers, tiger lily flower, Fedia, Adenophora, mallows, chicory leaf etc.
I accidentally pulled up one of my Queen Anne’s Thistles (Cirsium canum) and I discovered the tubers were quite like the tuberous thistle (Cirsium tuberosum)
