As promised, this spring update will focus specifically on food crops. I know they don't seem as flashy and exciting as all the flowers, but all my spring bulbs taste horrible.
My first direct sown seedlings to come up are the radishes. I've really struggled with root vegetables here, but last year these radishes did great in this garden. Seeds were saved from radishes last year that I let bolt. Not only are radishes tasty, but the seed pods when green are also a great crunchy snack. The seeds also make a great addition to sprout mixes.
Our first little peeks of asparagus. These are a teaser really, I will almost definitely lose these first shoots to frost before they're big enough to cut. I'm working on another row cover for the asparagus to remedy this problem.
Here's the earliest horseradish sprout. Horseradish is supposed to spread so fast and stubbornly that people recommend you plant it an old tire. This is the first time any of the horseradish I put in the ground came back the next year. I chose this spot hoping that it would help push out some of the burdock you see sprouting behind it.
The lemon balm is starting to get thick already. Lemon balm is in the mint family, and is another very weedy herb. It can self seed here in zone 5, so now I get glorious little lemon balm weeds all over the property.
The chives are ready for first harvest already. They do not spread particularly fast, but are very hardy. With a flimsy cover, I think these would stay green all winter long. The bits of low lying green poking through the mulch is our Frankenmint, a cross-blend of several mint plants that we inadvertently developed.
This peppermint plant that I put out last year looked like it wasn't doing too well. If you look really close, you can just barely a couple little peppermint shoots among the weeds here.
There's the little guy!
Once I looked a little to the right (and to the left), I could see that my initial assessment was missing some important facts! These are planted on the downhill side of my brassica garden. We planted this here because this garden is still a bit in the woods, and peppermint is very effective at deterring insects and other pests.
This parsley has me completely baffled. A woodchuck kept eating this plant last year before we could harvest any, and my parsley usually dies back at the first hint of frost. This apparently overwintered, and doesn't mind the cold at all (nights here still going into the mid 20's). I really hope this goes to seed this year, because I want to save some of them.
Sometimes you can have your flowers and eat them too! These wild violets are edible, and have a very mild, sort of sweet, flowery flavor. These grow wild all over the Northeastern US, and will often flower all through the summer. If you plant these in loose soil, they will grow and spread very quickly.
The round leafed star at the center of this pic is wild garlic mustard. This is an edible weed, with a very mild garlic flavor. If you're ever weed whacking and get a sudden garlic smell, you probably hit some of these.
More garlic mustard. This one is already developing flower heads.
Nearly everyone recognizes dandelions! They are edible, though I am personally not a big fan. They are a bit bitter for my taste. I will still throw some leaves in my foraged salads, though, and I let the flowers bloom in the spring to attract bees.
This sprout is most likely a wild cucumber. They are edible, but I don't recommend them. The skins are spiky, and the inside a lot like okra. If you harvest them at the proper time in the fall, they make great little egg-sized loofah sponges.
I'll finish this post off with a pic of a very overlooked edible weed, lamb's quarters. It has about 1000 other colloquial names, and the scientific name escapes me at the moment. It's the collection of sprouts here with the smooth oblong leaves. This weed is a voracious grower, high in plant protein, and if you have it, you're probably never getting rid of it. Near the center of the right edge of this pic you can see one of the wild cucumbers in its loofah state. The viney sprout with the six leafed nodes is either cleavers or sweet Woodruff, both edible (after cooking, it's kind of spiky!) and with some medicinal properties.
That's another wrap, for now! If you enjoy learning about wild edibles, mention something in the comments. I have a post planned on foraging, and I'll move it up the schedule if there's enough interest.
Also, check out my videos about winnowing seeds for plants like the radishes and garlic mustard.
As always, thanks for stopping to check us out!
The violets make a lovely jelly too!
Oooh, I haven't tried that yet. I'll have to get some done with the strawberries this year!
You've been visited by @minismallholding from Natural Medicine.
Some wonderful information on these plants and why you chose them. I can't believe I've missed you for so long. I’ve featured your post and given you a shout out as a newcomer in The Lotus Garden newsletter, which will be out tomorrow (my time at least!) Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences. I hope we continue to see lots more from you.
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Thanks so much for the attention! You haven't really missed me long, I only just discovered Hive a week or so before the hard fork.
I'm a big fan of your work, and feel honored by the mention.
I do hope to eventually share the entirety of my homesteading experience here, with topics ranging from toasting pumpkin seeds to rebuilding a hydraulic ram. I've already been thrilled by the warm response, and hope I can continue providing things the community would like to see.