Edible Flowers

The cold is still with us, warmer today but temperatures are below normal for the season.

 Do you plant edible flowers? If so, in with the vegetables, the flower garden or on their own? What flowers do you use? I usually add nasturtiums and borage to my vegetable garden.

It is Always Gardening Season

This is a harsh winter. I use winter, because while it is officially spring, the 15 foot snow mound, almost, reaches the top of the apple tree in the backyard, and the winter blows strong and cool. It feels more like Early February than Late March.

Surprisingly, I am not down in the dumps or suffering cabin fever. As I walked along Roseberry Street this morning, I realized I was enjoying the day. The air was fresh and clean; a bit damp, heralding the snow that fell a few hours later.

The sun, when out is strong, the air gradually warming. I do miss the gladiolus and crocuses often seen by now. They will be late this year, but their vibrant colours will warm our hearts when they begin to peek out from under the snow.

Regardless of the weather, it will not be time to start seed indoors, for at least three weeks. I suggest April 26 for those who must have a date. Most vegetable seeds and seedlings will not see the earth until nearly six weeks later, about June 9. So why be glum. Life is too short and the wheel will turn no matter how I feel.

New gardens will pop up when the time is right. New gardeners are asking for help or a piece of land to plant, and we have been able to accommodate. The snow may cover the ground, the cold wind may grab our breath, but the gardens are already growing in the mind, heart and dreams of every gardener I talk with.

It is always gardening season.

Free Food: Coltsfoot

 Coltsfoot looks at first glance like a dandelion, but look closer and you notice the differences.

Coltsfoot or Tussilago farfara L is one of the first plants to flower after the winter. They come out about the same time as the crocuses and add their bright yellow to an otherwise still brown landscape.
The name, Tussilago, comes from the Latin tussis, meaning cough. This plant is aptly named as coltsfoot has long been used as a cough syrup. 

Coltsfoot is a member of the Asteraceae family and is a perennial with an unusual growth habit. A single flower head appears in the early spring and coltsfoot is often mistaken for a dandelion.  It is fairly simply to identify, though, as there is little else growing at the time it first appears.

The seed head of the coltsfoot plant does bear a resemblance to the seed head of a dandelion, however, the flower of coltsfoot usually has died down by the time the dandelion appears. The leaves appear after the flower stem dies. This aids in identification.

A native of Europe, Coltsfoot thrives in North America in waste spaces and along roadsides. I have snacked on coltsfoot picked in my backyard and washed. In and emergency, it would do but I am not going to add it to my menu.

" Coltsfoot flowers can be eaten. They can be tossed into salads to add a wonderful aromatic flavour; or fill a jar with the flowers and add honey to make a remedy to help calm a cough or to sweeten a bitter herbal tea. Dried flowers can be dried and chopped up so that they can be added to pancakes, fritters, etc. Young leaves can be added to soups or strews and small quantities of fresh young leaves can be used in salads. The leaves have a bitter taste unless they are washed after being boiled. An aromatic tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves and flowers. The dried and burnt leaves are used as a salt substitute."

Orange and Yellow

Summer Will Come

Dandelions: Yummy

Dandelions, the most misunderstood and under-appreciated “weed’ in the world, well that may be a bit over the top, but you get my drift.

This is urban food foraging at its most basic. You may not even have to leave your own property to gather this most versatile plant. If you are a home owner and have a lawn, the odds are good you have a handy supply of dandelions.

Now you may have spent hours, each summer, in vain attempts to make the dandelion go away, but somehow, no matter what you do it keeps coming back.

Now you can give up the struggle and start reaping the rewards that nature has been putting in front of you for all those years and rather than doing battle, go and get some supper.

Dandelion greens are one of the season’s first edible arrivals and the ragged leaves add a distinctive appearance to the meal. They are best picked when young. Dandelion greens are high in vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoid and vitamin C.

What looks like a dandelion, arrives even earlier in the spring and is also edible?

The Home Vegetable Garden News: March 23

" Organic gardening is wonderfully therapeutic and anyone can do in order to relax. "



The Home Vegetable Garden News