Nasturtiums for more than color?

[Lostvalleyguy]

Nasturtium seeds can apparently be pickled and are supposed to be similar to capers. I have not tried this though. I just collect the seeds and plant them the following year. The squirrels like them so I have to be a bit careful to protect them.

 

[ChanellG]

Sorry to hear your nasturtiums died I'm sure you will do better next year

I found one stem growing in the pot the other day! I'm going to plop a few more seeds in the container and have another go. Would be nice to grow enough to actually use some for food.

Nasturtium seeds can apparently be pickled and are supposed to be similar to capers. I have not tried this though. I just collect the seeds and plant them the following year. The squirrels like them so I have to be a bit careful to protect them.

I was just talking about this yesterday! Fortunately squirrels are not a problem for me; I hope I'll get to save seeds and keep mine going from year to year. I want to start experimenting with them in various dishes.

 

[Trellum]

I found one stem growing in the pot the other day! I'm going to plop a few more seeds in the container and have another go. Would be nice to grow enough to actually use some for food.

That's awesome !!!! So happy for you! It sounds like your nasturtiums are stronger than we thought Please let us know how it goes with this second try! Hopefully you will get many and will use them to make some tasty salads with them

 

[ChanellG]

That's awesome !!!! So happy for you! It sounds like your nasturtiums are stronger than we thought Please let us know how it goes with this second try! Hopefully you will get many and will use them to make some tasty salads with them

I need to transplant the survivor - though my first task will be to start sifting the compost and blending new planting soil. I have a bag of organic stuff and something else I purchased last fall but haven't used yet. Once I get that out of the way I can do all my transplants and pop a few more nasturtium seeds in.

 

[Trellum]

Awesome! Best of luck transplanting that lucky survivor It really sounds like you have a very well thought plan. I can do nothing but wish you good luck Have fun using those unused bags of organic material, I always enjoyed that part of gardening; getting the soil for my pots ready

 

[ChanellG]

Awesome! Best of luck transplanting that lucky survivor It really sounds like you have a very well thought plan. I can do nothing but wish you good luck Have fun using those unused bags of organic material, I always enjoyed that part of gardening; getting the soil for my pots ready

Well I've already used up the purchased stuff and much of the compost. I still have a few gallons that need to be sifted, but I have to get more blending soil today to finish all my transplanting. I'm hoping to find a cheap hamper as well to start my potato experiment Have to get those new nasturtiums going too!

 

[Trellum]

Uff! That sounds like a lot work! But I must admit I enjoyed doing that a lot A very nice way to spend a Saturday: chilling at the garden. I used to go check what needed to be done to the plants every Saturday evening. I loved doing it that day because I was feeling so relaxed after spending mot of that day outside.

 

[ChanellG]

Ha! It was a lot of work and there is still plenty to be done! There had been a chance for rain this weekend, but so far there's been nothing more than a brief mist earlier today so I was able to get a lot done. The strawberry plants had a few berries on them already and a couple have ripened. The tulip bulbs I took out the fridge have already spouted so... It's never done.

 

[Dora M]

To be honest, I have always regarded nasturtiums as food. I have got quite a lot around the base of my veranda. Mainly the orange variety. Although I have had red and yellow ones as well in the past. I like a handful of nasturtium flowers in my salad or a few blossoms on top of my buckwheat and fetta cheese crackers. I also like to decorate soups and rice dishes with the tangy flowers for my guests.

 

[ChanellG]

To be honest, I have always regarded nasturtiums as food. I have got quite a lot around the base of my veranda. Mainly the orange variety. Although I have had red and yellow ones as well in the past. I like a handful of nasturtium flowers in my salad or a few blossoms on top of my buckwheat and fetta cheese crackers. I also like to decorate soups and rice dishes with the tangy flowers for my guests.

That's great! How were you first introduced to them as food? Quite often when I mention edible flowers to people I get strange looks and negative comments. Even with the high vitamin C value of rose hips, no one I know wants to even think about giving them a try.

 

[Dora M]

ChanellG, I got into eating flowers when I came across an interesting book from the 70s about surviving with the help of organic gardening. They had some tasty recipes that included nasturtiums, roses and other flowers. So I started to include daisies, lavender blossoms, calendula flowers, geraniums and many others in my diet. I particularly like nasturtiums for their peppery and slightly spicy taste.

 

[ChanellG]

ChanellG, I got into eating flowers when I came across an interesting book from the 70s about surviving with the help of organic gardening... I particularly like nasturtiums for their peppery and slightly spicy taste.

Sounds like a great book! I'd like to start using roses and other flowers as well. I've read that pansies are edible, as is calendula and a specific type of marigold. It's not always easy to find the edible varieties of flowers and you have to be careful of the ones from garden centers as they can be laden with pesticides.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

https://flic.kr/p/3MUR37
The color of the orange nasturtiums is cheerful.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Cherrelle Double Nasturtium is a double Nasturtium.
https://flic.kr/p/27YSsjq

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Just saw this, someone dusted it off. Yes, I grow them to eat them. The leaves and the flowers. Usually from the two colors I get. one gives up a white yellow flower, the other a black red flower, I find the lighter color is less peppery if flavor and the bold dark one stronger in flavor. Use them in regular green salads, or chicken /turkey salad, or potato salad, or a cold pasta salad. I have heard some like to eat the leaves with butter between two slices of caraway bread.