Fjord views, Foraging

11 pm beach forage!

July 6, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

A few more pictures from my beach forage with Daina Binde around 11 pm on 4th July 2016!

Purple saxifrage, Saxifraga oppositifolia

Tripolium vulgare (Aster tripolium) with Glaux maritima and bladder wrack

A single orach (Atriplex spp.) was growing much further down the beach than normal!

I’ve never seen such a large silverweed / gåsemure here. Mental note to check it out later in the season!

In the deep shade of a boathouse, sycamore seedlings and cleavers (klengemaure)

Fjord views, Sun

Sunset on the shore: 4th July 2016

July 6, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

On my garden help Daina Binde from Latvia’s last evening in Malvik, we went down to the shoreline to look at edible beach plants and to watch the sunset. The sun went down just after 11pm. Here are 5 short videos from the beach :) Enjoy!

Birds, Pest control

House sparrow: better late than never

July 5, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

While eating breakfast this morning I spotted these house sparrows (gråspurv) eating diamond back moth (kålmøll) larvae from the undersides of these ragged jack kale plants, sown as a salad crop, but long since given up to the moths… Better late than never I suppose!!

P1080040 — You can just see the larvae in this male’s beak!

P1080038 — You can just see a larva in this male’s beak!

alpine plants, Wild Edibles, wild flowers

Vennafjellet: 3rd July 2016

July 4, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

A few pictures from a late evening visit to the nearest real mountain to home, Vennafjellet with my garden helper, Daina Binde!

More pictures from a visit last year:
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1929

Mountain avens / reinrose almost finished flowering

The light green leaves are Maianthemum bifolium (may lily / bittekonvall)

Alpine bistort (harerug) and bird’s foot trefoil (tiriltunge)

A spruce seed had fallen here…not the best of locations :)

One isolated snow patch on the north face in the background

Leccinum scabrum / birch bolete (brunskrubb)

Magical evening light on the way back down…

Birds

Black throated divers

July 4, 2016 Stephen Barstow 1 Comment

On a late evening trip up Vennafjellet, the closest proper mountain from home and we passed a small lake with a pair of black throated divers. Heavy rain and low light (10 pm) is my excuse for the picture quality :)

Edible flowers, Garden tour, Salad

Daina and Martina

July 2, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

My latest garden helper is Daina Binde from Latvia (recently: UK) and has impressed me by her plant knowledge! Like my last helper Lorna Marie O’Lynn, she was recommended to me by Mount Stewart’s (Northern Ireland) wonderful Mr Neil Porteous!! Anyone recommended by Neil can stay here :)
She was joined by Martina who discovered permaculture through working for 6 months on farms in New Zealand. The girls decorated tonight’s permadiversity salad!

Food, Perennial vegetables

Pakora hasn’t met this selection of veggies before!

July 1, 2016 Stephen Barstow Leave a comment

I gave myself a little treat this week and made Indian pakora! Pakora are basically fried vegetable fritters, often sold as a starter in Indian restaurants. The vegetables were dipped in a batter made of gram (chick pea) flour, a little chili and garam masala spice. It would be interesting to use broad bean (fava) flour instead of chick peas!
I used: Day lily buds (Hemerocallis), common sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), radish, red mitsuba (Cryptotaenia japonica atropurpurea), musk mallow (Malva moschata), Korean aster (Aster scaber), sorrel (Rumex acetosa), garden orach (Atriplex hortensis), Parsley pea (tops), Allium nutans x senescens (leaves and flower stems/buds) and Hablitzia tamnoides (tops)…..
DELICIOUS!!