For the unusual vegetable enthusiast, the place to find seed are the alpine garden clubs’ seed exchanges: Scottish Rock Garden Club (SRGC), Alpine Garden Society (AGS) and the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) are the main international ones and each puts out a seed list of several thousand varieties donated by the members…by no means just alpine garden plants! I remember reading an article in the North American Herb Companion with a recommendation to source seed of unusual herbs from NARGS.
My SRGC seed arrived today and here they are, a mixed bunch including the yellow form of Kamchatka Lily (Fritillaria camschatensis “Aurea”), one I’ve been looking for for some time! You can probably read some of the names but there are Phyteumas, Ligularias, Alliums, Dahlias, Lilium, Polygonum macrophyllum, Agastache, Zanthoxylum simulans and Boehmeria…
The Live in London tapes
While I was in London in December I met London Permaculture’s Stefan Geyer at St. Athan’s Hotel in London for a chat and it’s now available for all to hear on Stefan’s 21st Century Permaculture radio show live on Shoreditch radio:
www.mixcloud.com/21stcenturypermaculture
Amongst other topics, we talked about the book, how I travelled the globe researching the world of edible plants (both for real and through reading foraging and ethnobotanical literature from all continents), talked about some of the best perennial vegetables like Udo from Japan and Korea (now sold on markets in London), Sea Kale (the most British of all vegetables?), Sea Kale’s giant sister from the Caucasus (Crambe cordifolia), how a popular vegetable was harvested from the chalk cliffs of England using ropes and was shot down from cliffs by a friend of Charles Darwin (Death Samphire), and how a famous UK garden may have the most productive food forest (forest garden) in the UK unbeknowns to the owner…
See also http://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/2001155978/stephen-barstow-permaculture-radio
The many uses of Udo
An excerpt from the book is on page 55 of the latest Permaculture Magazine :)
Electronic release of Around the World in 80 plants
The PDF version is now available through Green Shopping and you can download a free sample!! ATW from Green Shopping
The Kindle and iTunes versions are also on the way (coming real soon!). It will also be added to the Kobo list (WHSmith and Barnes & Noble).
My way of sharing FUN – write about it!!!
Thanks very much to Joan Lambert Bailey for the nice remarks and great review! Yes, you’re absolutely right when you say “I am convinced this book is his way of sharing the fun” :) :) :)
http://www.japanfarmersmarkets.com/2015/01/my-review-of-around-world-in-80-plants.html
Must check out your blog….never been to Japan and had planned to make the trip this spring but it wasn’t to be, highest on my places to visit….next spring :)
The new Edimentals seed trade list for 2014-2015
SEE THE NEW SEED LIST
Welcome to my new seed trade list for 2014-15.
12, 13 and 14 in brackets indicates the harvesting year for the seed. Concerning seed quantity: as I don’t have many plants of each species, seed quantity is limited in most cases. Therefore, for some species you may only get a few seeds. Many species are harvested in my garden. Others are surplus from trade and purchase. OUT: Means out of stock.
Sometimes I sell surplus seed (if time allows), although Continue reading The new Edimentals seed trade list for 2014-2015
Garlic bulbil sprouts on the way up
My garlic bulbils are on the way up in my living room, sown densely a week ago….soon time to harvest the winter’s first garlic sprouts :)
Variety: Estonian Red (this variety produces masses of relatively large bulbils, perfect for sprouting)
IT’S BACK
Sitting at my desk and there was suddenly this blinding light…took me a few seconds to realise I had just emerged from the tunnel….WOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!
Shoreditch Radio Interview on Around the World!
An Interview with the Extreme Salad Man Stephen Barstow at www.Shoreditchradio.co.uk on Sunday 18 January at 20:00 UTC
This is an interview I did in London with London Permaculture’s Stefan Geyer when I was in the UK on 12th December!
If you miss the broadcast, you can listen at your leisure by going to www.21stCenturyPermaculture.com
Book review in the North Devon Journal
“Stephen Barstow is to edible plants what Robson Green is to fishing!”
Well, I hadn’t heard of Robson Green before and I’m sure Green hasn’t heard of me before either….but this is a nice review (they’ve all been nice so far!!) on my “APPETISING 80” !! Thanks Graham Andrews!!
….and my gaze went to the pictures on the right hand side of the page where 4 of the 6 are of edimentals…Urospermum is actually mentioned on p. 58 of the book (a wild foraged leafy green in the Mediterranean which I grow, but quite bitter to our modern palate), Papaver (seeds), Meconopsis (oil from seeds) and Anthriscus Golden Fleece has been on my wish list for some time…
