I couldn’t resist these two packets in a Chinese seed catalogue someone tipped me about. Never seen common sow thistle seed for sale (first picture), perhaps a cultivar?…and the second is Sonchus brachyotus, which I’ve never seen seed of before, but mention in the book “Another closely related perennial species, S. brachyotus, is used by farmers in northern Jiangsu. The young rosettes are washed, mixed with wheat flour, steamed, cooled, seasoned with mashed garlic, chopped onion, salt, vinegar and soy sauce (no doubt disguising the bitter taste suggested by the name, Bitter Wheat-field Herb, in the process).”
Exciting times!
Seed stratifying in the garden are visible again as the snow melts. They are covered with a double window frame which I lift off when it rains or snows…
Stratification is also known as cold treatment. Most perennials are adapted to germinating irregularly, sometimes over several years, to maximise the chances of favourable spring weather conditions. The seed coat is broken down as a result of the winter weather, freezing and thawing. I germinate my perennials by putting them out in the garden to “stratify” naturally. Some people bring the seed inside (a greenhouse) to germinate in early spring. I wait for them to germinate naturally outside as I don’t have much space inside in spring and I’m in no hurry as these are perennials that will be around for many years and saving a month is of little importance :)
See more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratification_%28botany%29
I moved 10 buckets of roots and stratifying seeds of edible perennials for sprouting and eating before the spring greens come on tap…filling the hungry gap. These have all been outside exposed to the cold since November.
Bulbils of Egyptian Onion / Walking Onion / Luftløk will have a shock coming from outside into my living room!Allium cernuum has been completely unaffected by the extremes of climate we’ve experienced and are ready to eat…also in my living room…Seeds and roots in my unheated porch
Yes, perfect timing for the weekend and Margaret Young was in the letter box when I got home…well, Margaret is synonymous with the Scottish Rock Garden Club for many of us….. ;-)
What I’m trying to say is that my seeds from the Scottish Rock Garden Club Seed Exchange have arrived and all were first choices I believe….
These are mostly destined to a period of stratification / cold treatment under the snow…
I’ve only ever seen goldfinches feeding on burdock seeds (Arctium) in the garden before. This morning I saw them both on nettle seed heads and then on these unharvested chicory heads. Another reason to grow and save seed of chicories, a wonderful vegetable that is easy to grow organically, comes in many great edimental varieties, beautiful flowers in the second year, both leafy green, root vegetable and coffee replacement varieties available, some being perennial as is the wild plant and can be forced in winter! See more in my book Around the world in 80 plants!
A packet of seed arrived from a friend in a botanical garden that I trade with occasionally today. Chaenomeles cathayensis! I think there’s enough seed here to turn my diversity garden into a monoculture! And with the seed, some fruit leather made of the fruit of the same species :) Very tasty!
Chaenomeles cathayensis seedChaenomeles cathayensis fruit leather
I have two helpers in the garden this week and one of the jobs was to pull up all the garlic mustard / løkurt which was in danger of spreading big time! When I returned home, Tone was sitting outside patiently pulling off the young seed pods. They were cooked up in a failed attempt to make them less fibrous. She then separated the young green seeds for a tasty exclusive relish which we ate with dinner!
Tonights perennial greens. I sometimes eat wild fish, so these greens were added to a fish soup, spiced with ground Hogweed seeds!
From left to right: Scorzonera greens, Allium x proliferum “Amish Topset Onion”, Allium scorodoprasum, Heracleum spp. and Rumex patientia (patience dock)
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
