All posts by Stephen Barstow

Crambe cordifolia sale

I found 4 plants of one of my favourite and most productive perennial vegetables, Crambe cordifolia (Heartleaf Crambe / buskstrandkål) for sale at 70% off the normal price of kr 150 in a garden centre (Hageland, Lade) yesterday!! I already have it, but want more varieties and I have plans for the others next year! I’ve never seen this for sale in Norway before…
This is one of the 80 in my book Around the World in 80 plants!
Imported from Denmark (www.majland.dk)

Current offers in Norwegian Seed Savers (KVANN) autumn seed and vegetable catalogue

I’m often asked if I sell seed of my perennial vegetables and other plants I blog about. The answer is that unless you have something I’m interested in trading for, I only “sell” seed through out Norwegian Seed Savers organisation on a non-profit basis!
Here are my current offers in Norwegian Seed Savers (KVANN) autumn seed and vegetable catalogue. I will add more offers later this week.  I hope you will want to support our work!
If you live outside of Norway and want to join (it costs Norwegian kr 200 / year), please go to http://www.kvann.org  and click on “Bli medlem” and fill out your details. You can then either do a bank transfer or you can pay me 200 Norwegian kroner by Paypal (sbarstow2@gmail.com) and I will transfer for you! Once you have payed, I will send you the catalogue.  Please be prepared to cover post and packing  (I cannot guarantee that all members will be willing to send overseas, but I will!).
Note that all correspondence and publications from the club is in Norwegian (not a big deal these days with on-line translators!), but there are brief instructions in English too (or ask me).

Udo (Aralia cordata); seed  see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=7499
Houttuynia cordata, Himalayan water creeper.
Chameleon
Flore pleno (double flowers)
Joker’s Gold
Chinese Market
Grønn
Garlic (Allium sativum) bulbils
Aleksandra
Estonian Red
Cledor
Black raspberry «Black Hawk» (Rubus occidentalis), seed
Ligularia fischeri  seed (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=3114 )
Papaver somniferum (opiumvalmue) mix (see pictures of my varieties here: http://www.edimentals.com/pictures/index.php?/category/52)

Angelica sylvestris «Vicar’s Mead»

Sanguinaria canadensis
Allium pskemense x fistulosum
Taraxacum rubifolium, red-leaved dandelion
Sugar cane, Saccharum officinarum (a hardy cultivar from New Zealand)
Hablitzia tamnoides mix seed
Allium scorodoprasum,  wild and garden forms:
Skåne (via Aud Berit Fjordheim in Gjøvik)
Sandøya
Grums i Sverige
Risør (Leikøya)
Tromøya
Oslo
Croatia
Milde, Bergen
Borøya
Hauge på Lista
Sund, Bergen
Barbarea vulgaris «Variegata»
Phyteuma nigra
Phyteuma orbiculare
Allium cernuum «Pink Giant»
Cirsium eriophorum
Allium victorialis «Lofoten»
Rumex acetosa “Belleville”, sorrel
Rumex acetosa “Vysogorny”/ “Krupolistny” mix(Russian cultivars)
Rumex patientia
Cryptotaenia canadensis
Angelica gigas
Chaerophyllum bulbosum, Turnip-rooted chervil
Allium cernuum “White Max”
Allium cernuum “Dark Scape”
Allium insubricum
Allium schoenoprasum «Black Isle Blush»
Sonchus kirkii
Allium hymenorrhizum
Allium cernuum «Mix»
Symphytum x uplandicum “Bocking 14”, root cuttings
Rabarbra «Træna», vigorous early variety found on the island Træna

The Roof Onions of Gudbrandsdalen in Norway

On 3rd July 2009, local historian Geir Neverdal invited me on a tour to witness first hand the old traditional onion roofs of Gudbrandsdalen near the town of Otta. I had first heard of Geir through the following web site about these very special old turf roofs on which Allium fistulosum / welsh onion / pipeløk had been planted as a protection against fire (the leaves are succulent even in very dry conditions and this Siberian species is extremely hardy and drought tolerant): http://www.otta2000.com/Diverse/Pipeloek/pipeloek.htm. The onions were also traditionally harvested in spring and used in scrambled egg and other dishes.

He had arranged visits to 5 different farms near Otta and Vågå.  Two local botanists had also been invited along: Hans Petter Schwencke and  Bjørn Engehagen.

One Norwegian botanist thinks that as these roof onions have developed over such a long time in this very special environment that they should be lifted to species level. I suggest Allium gudbrandsdaliensis ;)

Geir also blogged about the tour here http://www.otta2000.com/Diverse/Pipeloek/pipeloek.htm#Prosjektleder_

Below are a series of pictures from these farms: Søre Breden where owners Knut Romsås Breden og Eldri Seim met us; Hole; Nordre Gjetsiden;  Nerøygarden (where Ingrid Dokken and her husband met us)and, finally,  Sve Gård in Vågå kommune where farmer Harald Bjørndal showed us around. At the bottom is a document in Norwegian which I wrote after the visit. The story of these onions is also told in my book Around the World in 80 plants!

Download (PDF, 2.18MB)

Worcesterleather and dried Aronia berries

The best October berry here is a berry that I have concluded in the past is Worcesterberry, although I had received it as Jostaberry, see the following blog post from 2015, I http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=2391 (it is thorny which Jostaberry is not).
During the PDC course at the weekend, the students helped harvest these berries in the garden..these are now drying in the oven for fruit leather, together with Aronia berries…
221117:  
I’ve been eating my Worcesterberries daily with breakfast almost every day….yesterday, I harvested the last ones at -10C!! Added video of the worcestermarbles!