I’m looking for an even more purple form of caraway. This is the deepest coloured one I’ve seen a picture of so far, found in Troms.
Category Archives: Herbs
Diversity of Nordic horseradish
A Swedish PhD thesis concludes that there is large variation in the properties of horseradish found in plant collections in the Nordic countries (old naturalised and garden accessions). The diversity is large both in chemical content, form and appearance and DNA. This is somewhat surprising for a vegetatively propagated plant!
http://www.skogoglandskap.no/nyheter/2015/stor_genetisk_variasjon_i_nordisk_pepperrot
English thesis summary
http://pub.epsilon.slu.se/11629/
Alys Fowler on ATW in the Guardian
Thank you so much Alys Fowler!!!
She has apparently been “trailing round the house with my copy (of ATW), unable to put it down.” :-D
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/24/alys-fowler-norwegian-edible-garden
Here’s a few shots from Alys and “hard working” cameraman Simon on assignment in my garden on that wonderful visit in July 2010 when Malvik was showing off its best …I remember Alys saying that this must be paradise….
The garden later featured in Alys’ book The Thrifty Forager:
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/reviews/thrifty-forager
SRGC seed has arrived
For the unusual vegetable enthusiast, the place to find seed are the alpine garden clubs’ seed exchanges: Scottish Rock Garden Club (SRGC), Alpine Garden Society (AGS) and the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) are the main international ones and each puts out a seed list of several thousand varieties donated by the members…by no means just alpine garden plants! I remember reading an article in the North American Herb Companion with a recommendation to source seed of unusual herbs from NARGS.
My SRGC seed arrived today and here they are, a mixed bunch including the yellow form of Kamchatka Lily (Fritillaria camschatensis “Aurea”), one I’ve been looking for for some time! You can probably read some of the names but there are Phyteumas, Ligularias, Alliums, Dahlias, Lilium, Polygonum macrophyllum, Agastache, Zanthoxylum simulans and Boehmeria…
The Live in London tapes
While I was in London in December I met London Permaculture’s Stefan Geyer at St. Athan’s Hotel in London for a chat and it’s now available for all to hear on Stefan’s 21st Century Permaculture radio show live on Shoreditch radio:
www.mixcloud.com/21stcenturypermaculture
Amongst other topics, we talked about the book, how I travelled the globe researching the world of edible plants (both for real and through reading foraging and ethnobotanical literature from all continents), talked about some of the best perennial vegetables like Udo from Japan and Korea (now sold on markets in London), Sea Kale (the most British of all vegetables?), Sea Kale’s giant sister from the Caucasus (Crambe cordifolia), how a popular vegetable was harvested from the chalk cliffs of England using ropes and was shot down from cliffs by a friend of Charles Darwin (Death Samphire), and how a famous UK garden may have the most productive food forest (forest garden) in the UK unbeknowns to the owner…
See also http://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/2001155978/stephen-barstow-permaculture-radio
The many uses of Udo
An excerpt from the book is on page 55 of the latest Permaculture Magazine :)
Electronic release of Around the World in 80 plants
The PDF version is now available through Green Shopping and you can download a free sample!! ATW from Green Shopping
The Kindle and iTunes versions are also on the way (coming real soon!). It will also be added to the Kobo list (WHSmith and Barnes & Noble).
The new Edimentals seed trade list for 2014-2015
SEE THE NEW SEED LIST
Welcome to my new seed trade list for 2014-15.
12, 13 and 14 in brackets indicates the harvesting year for the seed. Concerning seed quantity: as I don’t have many plants of each species, seed quantity is limited in most cases. Therefore, for some species you may only get a few seeds. Many species are harvested in my garden. Others are surplus from trade and purchase. OUT: Means out of stock.
Sometimes I sell surplus seed (if time allows), although Continue reading The new Edimentals seed trade list for 2014-2015
Shoreditch Radio Interview on Around the World!
An Interview with the Extreme Salad Man Stephen Barstow at www.Shoreditchradio.co.uk on Sunday 18 January at 20:00 UTC
This is an interview I did in London with London Permaculture’s Stefan Geyer when I was in the UK on 12th December!
If you miss the broadcast, you can listen at your leisure by going to www.21stCenturyPermaculture.com
From the vaults: my Edible and Useful Plant Seed Trade List from 2000!
14 years ago and my seed list had some 1,000 entries and I even added a usage code (from Plants for a Future)………
Edible and Useful Plant Seed Trade List
for November 2000 to October 2001
About the Garden: Most of the seed offered is collected in my own garden here on the edge of the Trondheimsfjord at close to
64 deg. N an area of extreme climatic variability. The grass can be green on 1st January and snow might lie for a short while on
1st June. We talk about having two seasons – the green and the white winter. It is, however, surprisingly mild for the latitude. A
remarkable number of species survive the winter (or should I say summer) and seem to thrive. However, a number of the plants
are grown in pots and are moved in to a cold cellar (temperature just above zero in mid-winter) in the winter without extra
warmth.
The garden is one of a network of organically run gardens in Norway and can be visited by agreement. We are just at the end of
our 17th season here. We use no input apart from compost, an important ingredient of which is seaweed which we collect every
spring.. We grow a wide range of vegetables many of which are not commonly grown here (e.g., Runner Beans, Broad Beans, Continue reading From the vaults: my Edible and Useful Plant Seed Trade List from 2000!