Forgotten Vegetables

[Diane Whitehead]

This is an interesting YouTube video:  15 Forgotten Vegetables Medieval Farmers Grew That NEED To Come Back

Skirret, Alexanders, Good King Henry, Salsify, Scorzonera, Welsh Onion (which actually came from East Asia, not Wales), Lovage, Corn Salad, Turnip Greens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJnIZiH5fyM

[AndrewB]

Thanks Diane! I actually watched a similar video on youtube recently, titled very similar and discovered that there is hamburg root parsley and is sweet like a carrot and leaves of regular parsley on top!

[galina gardiner]

I think I must have been reincarnated from a medieval farmer.  We eat almost all of them.  Also tried crambe maritima, but this didn't grow - too cold even in central England.  Whereas Welsh onion, land cress and Corn lettuce aka lamb's lettuce we ate just minutes ago for lunch.  Excellent survivors in our winters and fabulous this time of year. 

Scorzonera is a favourite, beautiful yellow flowers too, as is salsify with its blue flowers.  For some reason some scorzonera flowers are double or filled flowers, both make a great ornamental feature in the garden.  Their flower buds and leaves are also edible.  And you can leave scorzonera in the ground for two years, when they make truly fat roots.  More useful than salsify, which goes woody on flowering. 

I sow turnips late in the season.  Depending on the arrival of winter, we may get some late roots, but the foliage always survives and makes a lot of 'greens' in early spring. Magenta Spreen, a form of Fat Hen with a pink centre, is starting to come up right now at the earliest opportunity, always self seeds and comes up by itself, no spinach sowing needed.  And the Welsh onions have supplied us with onion greens, with only a quick pause during the coldest months, and they are now growing again.  We use them chopped like chives on our lunchtime salads every day.  Lovage has not made an appearance yet.  And is struggling here a bit generally.  But in England we had a patch of it, always one of the earliest to pop up and so good chopped in omelettes.  I have tried starting skirret from seeds, which need stratifying, so far without success unfortunately.  If I can beg a root from somebody (unfortunately I have never met a skirret grower anywhere), I will surely give that a try too. 

What a wonderfully useful video.  Everybody should have a few of these in their garden.  And what they say about the nutritional value of these, is definitely worth noting.  Thank you Diane.       

[Adrian]

We growed very easily mizuna cabbage and diplotaxis tenuifolia (aragula).
Diplotaxis tenuifolia can growed at all location or the soil is very dry.

[Steph S]

Lovage makes a great seasoning for early spring parsnips or potato salad.  My one plant is now enormous, covers at least 3 square feet at the base.  Enough for a 50 family CSA.
I planted skirret two years ago: only one plant made it through the first winter.  If it survived again, I'm planning to move it to a better overwintering spot. 
I do grow root parsley as well, and made a cross with a favorite leaf parsley, hoping to get some combination of good roots and sweeter leaves.   Tried planting those as part of the cover crop after garlic comes out in August last year, and was hoping some might overwinter, but it doesn't look like any will make it through the freezes of bare spring.  Root parsley is a nice alternative to carrots, if there are carrot pest problems.