Tuesday 4 April 2017

Garden Update: Wild Edibles and Spring Flowers

It felt so good to get out in the yard for an hour of work yesterday, before and after visiting with yet another friend harvesting our massive supply of miner’s lettuce. I cannot believe I’ve been futzing and fretting over my extremely poor luck at growing lettuce when we have such wild abundance. I might even call some farmers market vendors to see if they’d like to bring a few bags to market. This beautiful patch was hidden under a row cover, while silly me has been buying organic mixed greens on our trips to various co-ops and natural food stores:

IMG_0930

Miner’s lettuce, also called “claytonia,” “winter purslane,” or “Indian lettuce,” loves, cool, moist weather. A “foodie” green and wild edible, this patch has reseeded itself each year after a few scattered seeds in 2014. Usually a spring crop, it grew again last fall and never died back during our mild winter. You can find lots more about miner’s lettuce here. I keep ours in a raised bed, since it does spread. It also makes a nice edible ground cover while summer transplants get started and then dies back in the heat when the transplants need more room. Miner’s lettuce is chock full of nutrients, including Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C and lots of blood and lymph purifying compounds.

In addition to the miner’s lettuce, we also have delightful violets (edible leaves and flowers) and even some dandelions. I recently made Goji Dandelion Red Lentil Curry again — so yummy! Compared to the original huge swaths of garlic mustard and dandelions, our yard looks more cultivated than weedy, but we still have gallons of nutrient dense, flavorful fresh greens growing all by themselves. Why do I try to grow or purchase lettuce with this abundance free for the picking?!

Anyway, it’s officially Spring in our yards, as you can see from these photo’s I snapped yesterday while doing the rest of my Fall cleanup. I hope you enjoy the beauty as much as we are! I forget the names of these little beauties, but I scattered them all over the front yards. If anyone know, please share the name in the comments below. Thanks in advance.

IMG_0933

Rhubarb’s among the first of the many perennial veggies to pop up:

IMG_0929

Behind this delightful little black currant bush, you can see an army of Egyptian walking onions marching their way across raised beds. We have so many Egyptian walking onions that I might see if a farmers market vendor wants any of these, too, in addition to the miner’s lettuce. They’re a bit of work to harvest but provide excellent green onions and thin, almost leek like bulbs:

IMG_0932

Lastly for today, I’ll share some of the hyacinths and mini daffodils I planted in Fall 2015. I’ve got so many spots of color around the yard now. When the wind catches those flowers, it looks like a Faery Ball with everyone dressed in bright colors and whirling and swirling in harmony. Fun times at Faery Hof and Haus Am See:

IMG_0928




source https://laurabruno.wordpress.com/2017/04/04/garden-update-wild-edibles-and-spring-flowers/

No comments:

Post a Comment