Nutritional analysis of Hablitzia

My article “Caucasian spinach: the unknown woodlander” was published by Permaculture Magazine 9 years ago in 2007 (see http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1984 and also my book Around the World in 80 plants). In the meantime this vegetable has become a popular perennial vegetable and forest garden plant grown by thousands around the world, and is perhaps the first new vegetable to become popular thanks to social media and the permaculture movement! At last the results of a project to analyse the nutrient content of this plant have been announced on our Friends of Hablitzia FB group by Leena Nurmi who carried out the work for her masters thesis in Finland! And the news is very good, confirming that Hablitzia (Caucasian Spinach) is not only a fantastic productive perennial vegetable but also is superior to spinach and New Zealand spinach nutritionally and for those who worry about oxalic acid and nitrates, both are within accepted limits!!
Time for a celebration

She writes: “Hello Stephen and other Hablitzia friends! Greetings from Finland. I have done my master’s thesis about Hablitzia “Hablitzia tamnoides – a new but old leafy vegetable of early summer: cold stratification of seeds and nutritional value of leaves”. Now I am writing a scientific article about the nutritional value of Hablitzia. Caucasian spinach contains particularly plenty of carotenoids, folates, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. Also many other nutritions were larger in Hablitzia than in spinach and New Zealand spianch. In my study the oxalic acid, nitrate, cadmium and lead contents did not outweigh the permissible threshold values. The seeds of Hablitzia need to be stratified either in a cold room or outside during winter in order to germinate. The highest germination rate was 52 %, recorded from the Tampere population stratified at +5 ºC in a cold room. The seeds of Tampere population were picked up in February and sown for stratification in the middle of March. In Finland Hablitzia grows even in Oulu, but wetness of soil kills the plant very easily.”

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Around the World in 80 plants at TWO!!

ATW-SelfieAiahHappy Birthday ATW!! It’s difficult to believe that my book is already two years old!! It’s been an amazing couple of years for me since the book launch and thanksgiving party in Oslo!
It’s literally taken me Around the World in 79 events (talks, courses, Around the Garden tours etc.). This year has taken me to Japan, I’ve visited and given courses and talks at some famous gardens in the UK from Wardington Manor to Prince Charles’ Highgrove and I had a memorable tour of eastern Scotland (Edinburgh Botanics, Teeny Weeny Farm, Aberdeen and Findhorn)! I visited 3 botanical gardens in Norway, but the 400 people that turned up for my guided tour of the botanical gardens in Trondheim (1 in 5 bought the book!) surprised us all and was a real highlight :) Wherever I’ve been I’ve met amazing folk who are making a real difference in their communities and I’m thankful to have many new friends around the world! Thanks to everyone who has helped along the way <3.  I don’t plan to “retire” from plants just yet, so I will hopefully meet many more of you next year…and there are already many events planned for next year, from Canada, England, a tour with Arche Noah in Austria, the great Gothenberg botanical gardens and the wonderful Danish island Bornholm. I’ll also be teaching on a PDC in Trondheim and will be a talking at a film festival! Watch this space!

Please send your ATW Selfie if you’d like to be added to the ATW wall of fame ;) http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=466

I’ve collected all the  reviews here:
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=271
Oh, and Xmas is coming up ;) (advertisement over….)

Waxwing videos

Today there were around 200 waxwings / sidensvans in the garden most of the afternoon and I saw them eating berries on Sambucus nigra, Viburnum opulus, Berberis, Crataegus and, in this video, a white berried rowan, received as Sorbus fruticosa! I’d planted this tree right outside my front door to try to attract waxwings….I was able to sit right outside the front door in full view of the birds and make this little film only about 2-3m away:

In this video we see a bird feeding on a rotten apple still hanging in the tree, a second bird, presumably this year’s young, is seen begging for food, and when a second bird turns up it actually feeds it…a bit late in the year for this!

…and waxwings on hawthorn and Berberis before they are scared up by a passing bus!

…and waxwings on Viburnum opulus (guelder rose / krossved)

Earth Ways and Ludwig Appeltans

Ludwig Appeltans and Suzanne de Waard of Earth Ways turned out to be fairly close neighbours to Teeny Weeny Farm in Forres where I was staying in September 2016. I’d followed Ludwig on Facebook for some time and was therefore happy to be invited over to see their place! It became clear that their hearts weren’t fully into their piece of land due to “circumstances” and that they were looking for somewhere new to really develop their ideas and run permaculture courses. It turned out that they had a secret as plans were already advanced and a few weeks later they would be moving to the Rubha Phoil Forest Gardens, on Skye (Armadale within walking distance of the Mallaig ferry!), a big loss for Forres….. I wish them good luck and hope to visit them there in the next couple of years (I have a special relationship with Skye and the Inner Hebrides from the time I lived in Scotland)!
I wish I’d taken notes on the day as I’ve forgotten some of the details…hopefully Ludwig Appeltans will add some comments to the pictures
Read more about Earth Ways here: https://www.earth-ways.co.uk/about

Sonchus “Custard in Greens”

Those that follow this blog will know that I consider common sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) to be a super weed in the sense of its importance as a food and (protective) medicine plant for Homo sapiens. Inspired by the Maori tradition of “cultivating” … or tolerating this weed on their vegetable plots due to its market value…. I actually introduced this plant to my own garden and it is probably now my most used vegetable from July to September!  I wrote 10 pages about it in my book Around the World in 80 plants ;)

There is, however, an ornamental sow thistle called “Custard-in-Greens” (or as the RHS spell it: “Custard ‘n’ green”). I traded seed of this with an ornamental gardener in Holland in 2003, but despite my best efforts to encourage it, its offspring were mostly not variegated. One single plant appeared in 2009, but it didn’t go to seed and I haven’t seen this form since…. I can’t find a source of seed either, so maybe it’s lost :(    (Admittedly, it’s not the most ornamental plant out there, but I love the unusual, so please let me know if you know of a source!)

In summer 2009, I was invited by Sortland Gardening Club in North Norway to come and help them celebrate the fact that they had won the Norwegian Gardening Club of the Year Award.  I composed a salad, mostly from my garden and transported to Sortland in a cold box.  It was decorated with 4 flowers of the almost black-flowered hollyhock Alcea rosea “The Watchman” (as Sortland means Blackland!).   It contained Custard-in-Greens in the ingredients list (see the bottom of this page) which is how I found it!
(from http://miamariashage.blogspot.com/2009/08/stephens-medbragte.html?_sm_au_=iHVtKTV0jncQ500M )

Sortland_salat_2009
The Sortland celebration salad was made from 209 varieties of edible plants, including 131 botanical species, 50 flowers and 23 berries and fruits. Dressing: Olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and juice from boiled mixed horseradish, chili, pelargonium, lemon verbena, sage, summer savory and oregano, salt and pepper. See the bottom of this page for the full ingredients list!

See also the following blog posts on sow-thistles:
COMMON SOW-THISTLE – SUPER WEEDY FOOD AND GOOD GLOBALISATION!

http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=2271

MORE WEEDO WIERDO PESTO
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=1993

A SONCHUS OLERACEUS VARIETY?

http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=6741

I love this video featuring Sonchus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hp7CNzKUss

10 years ago I wrote this article in the Norwegian Useful Plants Society magazine (in Norwegian)
http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=8504 (Sopp og Nyttevekster)

Ingredients list in the 2009 Sortland salad:
Part used Botanical name Norwegian name

Leaves Aegopodium podagraria Ground elder
Leaves Aegopodium podograria variegata Ground elder
Leaves Agastache anisata Anise Hyssop
Leaves Agastache anisata alba Anise Hyssop
Leaves Agastache rugosa “Golden Jubilee” Korean Hyssop
Leaves and flowers Agastache urticifolia
Leaves and flowers Alcea rosea “Peach” Hollyhock
Leaves and flowers Alcea rosea “The Watchman” Hollyhock
Topset onions Allium ampeloprasum “Elephant Garlic” Elephant Garlic
Leaves and bulbs Allium ampeloprasum “Sand Leek”
Leaves and flowers Allium angulosum Mouse garlic
Leaves and flowers Allium carinatum pulchellum
Leaves Allium carinatum pulchellum album
Leaves and bulbs Allium cepa/fistulosum Spring onion (5 varieties)
Leaves Allium cernuum “Pink Giant” Nodding onion
Leaves Allium cernuum album Nodding onion
Leaves and flowers Allium ericetorum
Leaves Allium hookeri, Hooker’s onion
Leaves and topset onions Allium longicuspis Wild garlic
Leaves Allium nutans Siberian nodding onion
Leaves Allium nutans “Slizun” Siberian nodding onion
Leaves, bulbiller Allium oleraceum “Geirlauk from Tautra” Wild onion
Leaves and flowers Allium paniculatum “Dwarf Selection”
Leaves Allium ramosum
Onions Allium sativum “Alexandra” Garlic
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum Chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum “Pink Flowered” Chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum “Wallington White” Chives
Leaves and flowers Allium schoenoprasum alpinum Chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum Ex-Forescate Chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum ssp. sibiricum Siberian chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum v. alpinum album Chives
Leaves Allium schoenoprasum v. alvarense Alvar-chives
Leaves Allium senescens “Sierui”
Leaves and flowers Allium senescens glaucum
Leaves and flowers Allium senescens montanum German garlic
Leaves Allium senescens v. petraeum
Leaves Allium spp. Ex-Råneå Norrland onion
Leaves Allium tuberosum Chinese chives
Onions Allium victorialis Victory onion
Leaves and flowers Allium wallichii Nepal onion
Topset onions and leaves Allium x proliferum Topset onion
Topset onions and leaves Allium x proliferum “Catawissa Red Top Set” Topset onion
Topset onions and leaves Allium x proliferum “Mc. Cullar’s White Topset” Topset onion
Leaves Althaea officinalis Marshmallow
Fruit Amelanchier alnifolia “Alvdal” Saskatoon berry
Fruit Amelanchier alnifolia “Thiessen” Saskatoon berry
Leaves Anethum graveolens Dill
Leaves Anredera cordifolia Madeira Vine
Leaves Anthriscus cerefolium Garden chervil
Stalk and Leaves Apium graveolens Celery (3 varieties)
Seed Apium nodiflorum Perennial celery
Root Armoracia rusticana Horseradish
Root Armoracia rusticana variegata Horseradish
Berries Aronia melanocarpa “Moskva”
Leaves Artemisia dracunculus sativa French tarragon
Leaves og umodne frø Atriplex hortensis Green Garden orach
Leaves og umodne frø Atriplex hortensis rubra Red Garden orach
Leaves Balsamita major (syn. Tanacetum balsamita or Chrysanthemum balsamita) Balsam
Leaves Basella alba
FlowerBorago officinalis Borage
FlowerBorago officinalis alba White borage
Leaves Brassica “Tree Collard”
Leaves Brassica oleracea “Ragged Jack” Kale
Leaves Brassica oleracea var capitata “Nero de Toscana” Cabbage
Flower Brassica oleracea var italica Broccoli
Leaves Brassica oleracea var sabellica “Hungry Gap” Kale
Leaves Brassica oleracea var sabellica “Red Russian” Kale
Leaves Brassica oleracea var sabellica “Siberian” Kale
Root Brassica rapa Turnip
Flower Calendula officinalis “Citrus Cocktail”
Flower Calendula officinalis “Double Mixed Colours”
Flower Calendula officinalis “Dwarf Mix”
Fruit Capsicum frutescens Chili
Bulbils Cardamine bulbifera (syn Dentaria bulbifera)
Leaves Cardamine hirsuta Hairy bittercress
Leaves Carum carvi Caraway
Leaves Chenopodium album “Magenta” Fat hen
Fruit Chenopodium foliosum Beetberry
Leaves Chenopodium quinoa Quinoa
Flower Cichorium intybus “Red Rib” Chicory
Flower Cichorium intybus var. Chicory
Flower Cryptotaenia japonica Mitsuba
Fruit Cucumis sativus “Passandra F1” Cucumber
Fruit Cucurbita pepo pepo “Partenon F1” Zucchini
Leaves /dressing Cymbopogon flexuosus Lemon grass
Flower Dahlia “Wild Forms”
Flower Dahlia pinnata
Root Daucus carota Carrot
Flower Dianthus barbatus nigrescens “Sooty”
Leaves Diplotaxis tenuifolia Perennial rocket
Leaves Foeniculum vulgare “Purpurea” Fennel
Fruit Fragaria vesca “Alpine Strawberry”
Fruit Fragaria vesca “Fructo albo” Strawberry
Fruit Fragaria vesca “Pineapple” Strawberry
Flower Fuchsia magellanica “Globosa”
Leaves Hablitzia tamnoides Caucasian spinach
Flower Hemerocallis cult Day lily
Flower Hemerocallis fulva ”Kwanso Double” Day lily
Flower Hosta sieboldiana Hosta
Leaves Lactuca sativa (4 varieties) Lettuce
Leaves Lavatera arborea variegata
Leaves/Flower Leucanthemum vulgare Ox-eye Daisy
Leaves Levisticum officinale Lovage
Leaves / dressing Lippia dulcis
Fruit Lycopersicon esculentum “Black Cherry” Tomato
Fruit Lycopersicon esculentum “Sungold” Tomato
Fruit Lycopersicon esculentum “Tante Ci’s” Tomato
Fruit Malus domestica “Aroma” Apple
Leaves and flowers Malva alcea “Fastigiata” Hollyhock mallow
Leaves Malva crispa Curly mallow
Leaves, flowers and young seeds Malva moschata alba Musk mallow
Leaves, flowers and young seeds Malva moschata rosea Musk mallow
Leaves Malva sylvestris Common mallow
Leaves Melissa officinalis Lemon balm
Leaves Mentha (7 variieties) Mint
Leaves Mentha aquatica Chickweed
Flower Monarda “Squaw”
Flower Monarda didyma “Adam”
Flower Monarda didyma “Croftway Pink”
Flower Monarda didyma “Schneewitchen”
Flower Monarda fistulosa var menthifolia
Leaves Montia sibirica (syn. Claytonia sibirica) Siberian purslane
Leaves Myrrhis odorata Sweet cicely
Leaves Ocimum basilicum “Large Leaf” Basil
Flower and young seeds Oenothera biennis Evening primrose
Leaves Origanum vulgare “Aurea” Oregano
Leaves and flowers Oxalis spp. (2 varieties)
Root Pastinaca sativa Parsnip
Leaves Pelargonium “Attar of Roses”
Leaves Pelargonum odoratissimum
Leaves Petroselinum crispum *3 Persille
Leaves Petroselinum crispum *3 Persille
Leaves Petroselinum crispum *3 Persille
FlowerPhaseolus coccineus “Painted Lady” Stangbønne
Fruit Phaseolus coccineus “Streamline” Stangbønne
Flower Phaseolus coccineus “White Lady” Stangbønne
Fruit Pisum sativum “Hurst Green Shaft” Ert
Fruit Pisum sativum var. Ert
Leaves Plantago major GroLeaves
Leaves Polygonum virginianum variegatum
Bulbils Polygonum viviparum Harerug
Leaves Portulaca oleracea Portulakk
Fruit Prunus cerasus “Fanal” Surkirsebær
Seed pods Raphanus sativus “Rat’s Tail” Radish
Fruit Rheum x rhabarbarum “Glaskin’s Perpetual” Rhubarb
Fruit Ribes divaricatum
Fruit Ribes divaricatum “Worcesterberry”
Berries (fresh and dried) Ribes nigrum Blackcurrant
Fruit Ribes petraeum biebersteinii Black redcurrant
Fruit Ribes sativum “Hvitrips” (Prob. Hvit Hollandsk?) Redcurrant
Fruit Ribes uva-crispa Gooseberry
Fruit Ribes x culverwellii Jostaberry
Fruit Rubus fruticosus Bjørnebær
Fruit Rubus idaeus “Apricot” Raspberry
Fruit Rubus idaeus “Stiora” Raspberry
Fruit Rubus idaeus “Varnes” Yellow raspberry
Fruit Rubus idaeus “uknown” Raspberry
Fruit Rubus occidentalis Black raspberry
Leaves Rumex “Shchavel” Sorrel
Leaves Rumex acetosa “Blonde de Lyon” Sorrel
Leaves Rumex acetosa “Non-flowering variety” (proliferum?) Sorrel
Leaves Rumex acetosa lapponicus? “Beitostølen” Sorrel
Rumex acetosa variegata Sorrel
Leaves Rumex acetosa vinealis Wine sorrel
Leaves Rumex acetosella Sheep’s sorrel
Leaves Rumex sanguineus ssp. sanguineus Bloody sorrel
Leaves Rumex scutatus Buckler-leaved sorrel
Leaves Rumex scutatus “Silver Shield” Buckler-leaved sorrel
Leaves Salvia officinalis Sage
Leaves Sanguisorba minor ssp. minor Salad burnet
Leaves Satureja hortensis Summer savory
Tuber Solanum tuberosum “Blå Congo” Potato
Tuber Solanum tuberosum “King Edward” Potato
Tuber Solanum tuberosum “Russepotet” Potato
Tuber Solanum tuberosum “Shetland Blue Eye” Potato
Tuber Solanum tuberosum “Yellow Finn” Potato
Leaves Sonchus oleraceus Common sow thistle
Leaves Sonchus oleraceus “Custard in Greens” Common sow thistle
Leaves Spilanthes acmella “Gul” Toothache plant
Leaves Spilanthes acmella “Rød” Toothache plant
Root Stachys sieboldii (syn. affinis) Chorogi
Leaves Taraxacum rubifolium Red-leaved dandelion
Leaves Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rubber dandelion
Leaves and flowers Tradescantia occidentalis
Leaves and flowers Tradescantia ohiensis
Leaves and flowers Tropaeolum majus Nasturtium
Leaves Urtica galeopsifolia Marsh nettle
Berries Vaccinium myrtilus Bilberry
Leaves Valerianella locusta “Dunkelgruner Volherziger” Cornsalad
Leaves Veronica beccabunga Brookweed
Fruit Vicia faba Broad bean
Flower Viola Canadensis Canadian violet

Curry on the stove

I like to cook on the wood burning stove in winter…here’s a scene from the preparation of last night’s home grown veggie curry with Basella, Swiss chard, the two leeks I managed to dig up from the frozen ground, onion, garlic, dried chantarelles and winter chantarelles, apple, chili, coriander, golpar (Heracleum persicum spice) served with onion bhaji and rye (svedjerug) “rice”…it doesn’t get much better  

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Norway’s best breakfast…view!

Scandic Nidelven hotel (background in these pictures) Trondheim has won an award for Norway’s best breakfast 10 years in a row…no wonder when the guests have this bird’s eye view at breakfast over the river ;)

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14th November, view from Scandic Nidelven hotel and a flock of around 520 Eider duck
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14th November 2016: Scandic Nidelven in the background with a smaller flock of 380 eider!
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14th November 2016: Scandic Nidelven in the background with a smaller flock of 380 eider!