Presenting the 14 permaveggies used in tonight’s Indian dal!
last minute addition was this moss-leaved dandelion
Moss-leaved dandelion
Moss-leaved dandichokes, self-blanched as they were under the soil surface!
Here are the ingredients: Around the outside: Blanched sea kale / strandkål (Crambe maritima) Stinging nettle / brennesle (Urtica dioica) Top left and anti-clockwise: Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde (Hablitzia tamnoides) Hedge garlic / løkurt (Alliaria petiolata) Cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) Day lily / daglije (Hemerocallis shoots) Common wintercress / vinterkarse (Barbarea vulgaris) Giant bellflower / storklokke (Campanula latifolia) Blanched lovage / løpstikke (Levisticum officinale) Ground elder / skvallerkål (Aegopodium podograria) Victory onion / seiersløk from the Lofoten Islands in Norway (Allium victorialis) In the middle: Great waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum) grows well in my garden and self-sows. It’s natural habitat is damp calcareous woodlands in Eastern North America. Patience dock / hagesyre (Rumex patientia) Afterthought: Moss-leaved dandelion / mosebladet løvetann (Taraxacum sublaciniosum “Delikatess”) – one entire leaf rosette with dandichokes and top of the roots)
This is the title of an 11 page article on my garden in a new Austrian book on edible forest gardens and agroforestry systems by permaculturist Bernhard Gruber. I wish I could read German! I briefly met Bernhard who attended my talk in Graz, Austria in January 2020.
Following on from my visit to Joe Hollis at Mountain Gardens and on the back of a successful talk at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in September 2019, I’ve been invited back in my capacity as “Extreme Salad Man, global expert on ornamental edibles, inventor of the term edimentals, author of Around the World in 80 Plants and (plant) leader of the Norwegian Seed Saver organization”……………..
Announcing that I’ll be one of the speakers along with Fergus Garrett of Great Dixter at the on-line Southeastern Plant Symposium organised by the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University and Juniper Level Botanic Garden in Raleigh NC.
North Pole? Yesterday I worked for the first time this year at the Væres Venner Community Garden where KVANN (Norwegian Seed Savers) and I are involved. When I arrived there was a pair of white wagtails (linerle) at the North Pole of the World Garden (I’ve planted mainly perennial vegetables geographically on a 12m diameter garden with the centre representing the north pole, marked by a pile of rocks) :)
Otherwise, honey bees were active on a group of dwarf daffodils (påskeliljer), significantly earlier than other Narcissus:
First serious dig of the year preparing an area for potatoes, removing the last of the couch grass (kveke) roots (I hope) and planted about 30 Sarpo potatoes (Sarpo Mira and Sarpo Tominia). Also sowed broad beans, planted onion sets and caraway root (karve). Overwintering of the 100+ fruit, berry and nut trees seems to be very good!
We occasionally eat wild fish and are particularly fond of baccalao (dried salted cod from Lofoten). These were yesterday’s ingredients (list at the bottom):
Allium victorialis at the top.
Allium ursinum at the bottom
Top left and clockwise: Dandichokes / løveskokker (the white blanched part which is under the soil surface and hence blanched) plus masses of green leaves; Scorzonera / scorsonnerot (Scorzonera hispanica) blanched shoots from the cellar; Victory onion / seiersløk (Allium victorialis); 7 varieties of heriloom Norwegian potatoes; Ramsons / ramsløk (Allium ursinum) at the top right; Cirsium canum tubers; Scorzonera / scorsonnerot (Scorzonera hispanica) roots; Sweet cicely / spansk kjørvel (Myrrhis odorata); blanched lovage / løpstikke (Levisticum officinale); stinging nettle / brennesle (Urtica dioica); Caucasian spinach / stjernemelde (Hablitzia tamnoides) and garlic / hvitløk and golpar spice (ground seeds of Heracleum spp.) The greens are added at the end so as not to overcook.
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
