Help ! The Nasturtiums have invaded & are taking over !In April this year, I found some tiny Nasturtium seedlings growing ‘wild’ in our garden which I carefully transplanted into a new flower bed. (You can read about that fun day of gardening I had here.) As a novice gardener, I did not know at the time that Nasturtiums can pretty much spread like wildfire – a bit like weeds ! I was amazed when I returned from South Africa last weekend, to find that they had taken over almost a quarter of the flower bed I planted them into …. I only transplanted a few, but they seemed to have trebled in number as soon as I’d turned my back !
I have since learnt that they can be quite a pesky garden plant if not properly controlled. They self seed and return year after year, and they do spread like wild fire – and quickly, too ! (I’ve even found stray seedlings growing in my lawn !) It has been recommended that I remove them (or at least, thin them out) before they flower again, so that they have no chance to self seed again. (Else my Nasturtium ‘patch’ will rival the size of my husband’s wheat crop this year – ha ha !)
I only have yellow and orange Nasturtiums, but I believe that they can be found in a variety of other colours such as rose, cream, salmon, scarlet and crimson. They grow in either direct or indirect sunlight (I have found that mine here grow best in full sun).
Nasturtiums originate from South & Central America and are an edible plant. Both the leaves and the flowers can be eaten and have a peppery taste similar to watercress.
When the seeds are dried and ground they can be used as a pepper substitute (as they were in some parts of the world after World War II) and the unripe seed pods can be pickled in vinegar as they are a good substitute for capers. I used to think that the caper came from the Nasturtium but have since learned that the caper actually comes from the pickled bud or berry like fruit of the spiny Caper Plant, which is a shrub native to the Mediterranean.
I have never cooked with Nasturtiums, but the flowers and leaves can be added to salads, soups and stir-fries as well as to flavour vinegars. They apparently taste great when finely chopped and mixed into dressings or added to butter, and you can even stuff the flowers with something like a cream cheese based filling and eat them whole *gulp* look out for some Nasturtium recipes coming up on the blog soon.
Or … maybe not ?!
I have since learnt that they can be quite a pesky garden plant if not properly controlled. They self seed and return year after year, and they do spread like wild fire – and quickly, too ! (I’ve even found stray seedlings growing in my lawn !) It has been recommended that I remove them (or at least, thin them out) before they flower again, so that they have no chance to self seed again. (Else my Nasturtium ‘patch’ will rival the size of my husband’s wheat crop this year – ha ha !)
I only have yellow and orange Nasturtiums, but I believe that they can be found in a variety of other colours such as rose, cream, salmon, scarlet and crimson. They grow in either direct or indirect sunlight (I have found that mine here grow best in full sun).
Nasturtiums originate from South & Central America and are an edible plant. Both the leaves and the flowers can be eaten and have a peppery taste similar to watercress.
When the seeds are dried and ground they can be used as a pepper substitute (as they were in some parts of the world after World War II) and the unripe seed pods can be pickled in vinegar as they are a good substitute for capers. I used to think that the caper came from the Nasturtium but have since learned that the caper actually comes from the pickled bud or berry like fruit of the spiny Caper Plant, which is a shrub native to the Mediterranean.
I have never cooked with Nasturtiums, but the flowers and leaves can be added to salads, soups and stir-fries as well as to flavour vinegars. They apparently taste great when finely chopped and mixed into dressings or added to butter, and you can even stuff the flowers with something like a cream cheese based filling and eat them whole *gulp* look out for some Nasturtium recipes coming up on the blog soon.
Or … maybe not ?!
