Back in Nesodden (family visit) after two great days celebrating økouka (national organic week) in Porsgrunn! Thanks to Gunn Marit and Anne Sofie for inviting me and for all the great folks that attended, several of which were members of KVANN (Norwegian Seed Savers). On Wednesday evening I gave a 90min + talk about KVANN and perennial veggies, followed by the official opening of Porsgrunn Seed Library (with my Hablitzia – stjernemelde) seed being the first donation. Then, on Thursday morning, I gave a course on perennial veggies to a group in the newly restored Eidanger vicarage in which the Eidanger CSA (moved here this year from another site) has a room, including half an hour looking at wild and garden plants in the old rectory garden! A great mix of folks, it was particularly pleasing that two young students had travelled down from Bø i Telemark to learn more about perennial vegetables! It was also good to see the leader of the Århus CSA scheme Tove and the new gardener Katrine in attendance! I’d met Tove on that memorable life-changing visit to Århus 5 years ago (http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=13690). There are lots of exciting sustainable developments and initiatives in Porsgrunn and I also talked to a guy with plans of converting an old farm to a forest garden. Great also to meet a newly arrived American wwoofer who had travelled south from Engeløya (Steigen) where she’d been working for my friend Eva Bakkeslett (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1720 about my 2015 visit to Engeløya). For this reason, the course was in English!! Eidanger is destined to become a centre of vegetable diversity in the future with such a great group of visionary folk and a lot of land to work with!
See also this aerial view of the Porsgrunn CSA at the Eidanger Prestegård: https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/20863217_10214875018217539_4042211065793829304_o.jpg?oh=014f038146772c9a50993319a5a1c027&oe=5A546BFA
Another unseasonally “balmy” day in Malvik! Despite a clear night, it was warm enough to breakfast in the garden at sunrise at 7:15 with a beautiful sunrise, joined by a couple of nuthatches and admiral butterflies already on the wing at 9 am! Sad to have to leave for the cooler south (Porsgrunn) on the night train tonight….
Epazote (sitronmelde) used to be called Chenopodium ambrosioides, but has been renamed Dysphania ambrosioides…
It’s a short-lived perennial which can be overwintered in a cool room, resprouting from the roots in spring… It has an “interesting” smell which is reminiscent of turpentine
I must use it more…
From Wikipedia: “Although it is traditionally used with black beans for flavor and its supposed carminative properties (less gas), it is also sometimes used to flavor other traditional Mexican dishes as well: it can be used to season quesadillas and sopes (especially those containing huitlacoche), soups, mole de olla, tamales with cheese and chili peppers, chilaquiles, eggs and potatoes and enchiladas. It is often used as an herb in white fried rice and an important ingredient for making the green salsa for chilaquiles.”
Next best after Buddleja as a butterfly attractant in my garden and complementing it as it comes into flower just as Buddleja is finished: Eupatorium cannabinum (hemp agrimony / hjortetrøst)..
I was surprised to find so many chantarelle and winter chantarelle in the woods this morning. It’s pretty dry here now in this unusually warm late September weather…so my hunch of going to a north facing wood payed off! I had to force myself to stop picking…these now need to be cleaned before drying!
Just finished two and a half pretty intensive focused days working on the new Ringve (Trondheim) Botanical Garden Allium beds, digging up, cleaning, planting and documenting…..these two beds now contain 188 different perennial onions of 66 species and running out of space for the last 50…. ;)
See also http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=13525
Hog peanut, Amphicarpaea bracteata, one of the varieties sent to me by Owen Smith in 2012 is still alive, although hardly thriving, mainly as it’s overcrowded by a kiwi and Runner Beans…