Harvesting: Nasturtium

Friday, July 31, 2020

July 28, 2020
I have a handful of jewel-toned dwarf nasturtium sprinkled through the vegetable garden. This may not be wise as they're said to attract aphids, but some people use them to distract the aphids from the other, more vegetable-y plants.


Both the nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible, with a pretty peppery punch to 'em! I don't eat the flowers too often because I want them to turn to seed for pickled nasturtium seeds (i.e., poor man's capers).

The leaves, however, are a different manner and are always included in my regular salad greens harvest. Mixed with everything else the pepper-y-ness is not quite as pungeant.


My ~5 nasturtium plants are in different locations in different raised beds in the Vegetable Garden, and they have such different growth! Compare this one from the north-side of the asparagus bed, to the one in the first photo of this post:

And then there's this south-facing plant from the lettuce bed, followed by the north-facing one in the same bed. Different patterns!



It's my first time growing nasturtium (as it is for most of the plants in my garden, except for the kales & lettuces I grew last year, as well as tomatoes and basil), and these were started in my indoor seed starting set-up. Nasturtium did not do well winter-sowing, so I suspect they need the warmer weather.