Continuing my series of veggies harvested from the garden. this time used in a baccalao with parsnip (pastinakk), potato (potet), bulb onions .(kepaløk), Jerusalem artichokes (jordskokk), (bought) organic tomatoes and chili. Greens used from the garden: Urtcia dioica (nettles/brennesle) Aegopodium podograria (ground elder/skvallerkål) Hablitzia tamnoides (Caucasian spinach/stjernemelde) Rumex patientia (patience dock/hagesyre) Taraxacum officinale dandichokes (dandelion /løvetann) Ficaria verna (lesser celandine/vårkål) Allium sativum shoots (garlic/hvitløk)
We seem to be at least a month ahead of normal this year. I don’t normally see new shoots of ground elder (Aegopodium) until the middle of April but this year they are popping up all over the place. Today’s veggies are a bit different from yesterday as it depends which part of the garden I harvest from. They are: Hablitzia tamnoides (Caucasian spinach; stjernemelde) Aegopodium podograria (ground elder; skvallerkål) Rumex acetosa (non-flowering) (sorrel; engsyre) Rumex patientia (patience dock; hagesyre) Taraxacum officinale (dandelion; løvetann) Allium fistulosum (welsh onion; pipeløk) Allium paradoxum Allium x proliferum (Egyptian onion; luftløk) Myrrhis odorata (sweet cicely; spansk kjørvel) Allium cernuum (nodding onion; prærieløk) Hemerocallis (day lily shoots; daglilje) These were used in a delicious vegetable pea soup!
Many thanks to Amy Antonucci and Seacoast Permaculture for arranging the second of my two part Around the World in 80 plants talks in Portsmouth, NH on Friday night, 4th October (The Mediterannean to New England via Portsmouth, UK)! Great venue, food and folk (potluck before the talk). It felt like coming home to Hampshire, UK, listening to folks talking to each other at the potluck! “I’m from Winchester….Exeter…..etc.”
Thanks also to Becca Hedlund for the accommodation! Thanks also to Greg Martin (and Aaron Parker) who came to both talks! I sent both of them seed of Hablitzia tamnoides 10 years ago in 2009, only beaten by Jonathan Bates and Eric Toensmeier!
The Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, NH:
Amy Antonucci and Aaron Parker did the introduction:
Hablitzia tamnoides thrives at Edgewood Nursery, Aaron Parker’s place!
A great evening at the Resilience Hub in Portland, Maine after a tour of Aaron Parker’s Edgewood Nursery where I’m staying! Possibly the best stocked edible perennial nursery that I’ve visited! More on this when I return!
Aaron was one of the first I sent seed of Hablitzia to in North America early in 2009, after Jonathan Bates (Eric Toensmeier’s partner at Holyoke). Hablitzia is now a best seller at the nursery and Aaron told me is also grown commercially in Maine, particularly valuable due to the early spring harvest! Another person I sent seed to in 2009, Greg Martin was also there last night!
Thanks also to Aaron for setting up my tour of New England!
Aaron Parker’s contribution to the pre-talk potluck, with a little picking help from yours truly
Aaron’s flyer for our walk and talk on Saturday at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston!
The Resilience Hub venue in Portland, Maine!
Aaron introducing me!
Hablitzia tamnoides, a best seller at Edgewood Nursery, 10 years after I sent Aaron seed :)
The following gives an overview of the sources of Hablitzia I know of (if I’ve missed any, please let me know!)
My oldest plant is 17 years old and came from Sweden (unknown background)
Jonathan Bates received his plants from a German Botanical Garden. I contacted the German garden, but no reply. I think Jon and Eric Toensmeier lost theirs….
Justin West collected seed in the wild in Armenia. He struggled with them in New York and lost them before moving west.
Tycho Holcomb and Karoline Nolsø Aaen in Denmark collected one accession in Georgia (found at the entrance to a cave)
I received wild collected seed from botanist Sergey Banketov in the Russian Caucasus (near Pyatigorsk)
I have one plant from the only relic Norwegian plant at Hadsel in Northern Norway
I received seed of plants from two relic Swedish locations
#2
I received seed from about 5 relic plants in Finland and Estonia
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#3
#4
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I was given seed from a plant at the Uppsala Botanical Garden in Sweden in 2009.
I also received seed from a Swedish herb nursery (pre-1970, unknown source).
I’ve seen plants of unknown origin in the following botanical gardens: Gothenburg
Oslo
Copenhagen
Chelsea Physic Garden (London)
I have one accession from Arche Noah (Austria) – unknown source
Seed of many of these have been deposited with Nordgen (Nordic Genebank) who funded some of the collection work that I did. However, they have struggled with regenerating new seed of the different varieties as it seems you need more than one type to produce seed.
I’ve sent cuttings from several of my plants to Ronny Staquet of Wallogreen in Belgium. I have about 10 accessions in my garden, but they self-sow readily and have become mixed up in one place where I had several plants growing close together.
