We gave each of our girls £3 to choose seeds for their little plots on our allotment. My eldest daughter didn’t want to grow vegetables. She wanted ‘pretty flowers to pick and put in her room’. With her coins she found a packet of nasturtiums and a packet of sunflowers. The sunflowers came to nothing which was a shame but the nasturtiums more than compensated.
The nasturtiums sprouted and spread like wildfire
It was amazing how a £1 packet of seeds has sprouted hundreds flowers to date. They are multicoloured and did wonders keeping the aphids off our green beans – much to my daughter’s annoyance. She also didn’t want me to pick any for eating which we debated for a couple of weeks and then agreed that as there were so many, picking a few of the very open ones might give the little buds some space to grow.
Multi coloured blooms of nasturtiums
Edible leaves, edible flowers and edible seeds originally from South America
What I didn’t realise until a little research and reading was that the leaves and seed pods are edible too. This plant has its roots in South America where local tribes used the leaves mainly for their antibiotic properties.
I wasn’t able to find out how it came across to the UK but in the 1600s, it was known as Indian Cress because it tasted similar to watercress and came from the ‘Andes’. It was highly valued because of it’s edible and healing properties. Nasturtium leaves have a high levels of vitamin C. Some say that eating a couple of the peppery tasting leaves at the onset of a cold can stop it dead in its tracks. Mediaeval remedies would prescribe two leaves three times a day. Timely advice with the wet and cold onslaught of autumn of late!
So we’ve been having the leaves and flowers in salads pretty much ever since…
Salad of mixed leaves, nasturtium flowers and pumpkin seeds
I also made some pesto from the leaves.
Nasturtium Leaf Pesto
Poor man’s capers
I am intrigued about the seeds after reading that in the mid 1900s, the seed pods were used instead of pepper as that was too expensive. They were known as the poor man’s capers. Villagers would dry the pods and then grind them to use as seasoning – sometimes with other dried herbs. To be honest I tried this and the pods simply shrivelled up and went mouldy!
But I do like the idea of using them instead of capers once pickled. Capers are still expensive and seeing that most of our flowers are now wilting, I may give this a go. Visit Garden Betty for the recipe and step by step instructions.
Image copyright Garden Becky
So all in all, I think this super immune boosting, cold busting all edible plant should really be categorised as a superfood. There aren’t many plants that could do all that – all from a £1 packet of seeds!
Have you tried nasturtiums? How do you eat them? What vegetables do you plant them next to?
Related articles
- Fun Flower Facts: Nasturtium (funflowerfacts.com)
- Poor Man’s Caper’s (garden.betty.com)
- California Capers (hitchhikingtoheaven.com)
Great post, I love eating nasturtium flowers and leaves but didn’t know about the pods. My daughter who isn’t keen on salads likes eating these flowers as well as calendula and violets – the prettiness definitely helps! And I don’t even have to plant them, they self-sow every year now – even better value for your packet of seeds.
Oooh I didn’t know that! That’s definitely great value from the seed pack!
Wow, I bet that your daughter was really pleased with those results. I knew that you could eat the leaves as well as the flowers, but not the seeds. See you always learn something new today, and this is a lot more pleasant than some of the rather unpleasant things I had the misfortune to learn about human nature today. Thank you for a happy informative and interesting post!
Thanks for your kind words and for stoping by. I need to go and harvest the seeds. Haven’t been for a few days so hopefully there are loads!
This is the flower that reminds me of long summer holidays spent in the garden as a child. We ate everything, picking the odd pea pod or swiping a raspberry from the canes. We didn’t eat the flowers but would tear off a peppery leaf to nibble at. Your daughters must be thrilled with their beautiful bounty.
I think the first week we came and the plant had sprouted was wonderful. The look of glee on her face was priceless. Thereafter it’s been a playground for lego dollies!
Things never change. We made our trolls camp overnight in their caravan in the ‘strawberry fields’!!
I like the flowers and leaves especially, but also didn’t know about the seeds. This was great incentive for your daughter to get interested in gardening. When I was little my sister had some forget-me-not seeds to sow in her little patch of the garden… they came up year after year and spread all through my Mum’s garden!
I must try forget me not next year. I like the idea of flowers all over our allotment!
I just planted a batch of seeds 5 days ago! they’re yet to sprout but I cant wait for them to grow so I can try the flowers, seeds and all 🙂
Oh you will have them up in no time. They spread everywhere!
We love nasturtiums in salads too. A friend with a prolific garden and an allergy to waste does pickle the pods, but I’ve not tried them myself. Love the peppery leaves and the pop of colour from the flowers. Hope the girls have enjoyed the allotment. They are getting such a great education on where food really comes from. Or rather, *should* come from
They love the allotment. They tend to go and run around and play under this tree or that tree. Painting leaves is a favourite at the moment Last week they found some friends in a neighbouring plot and we didn’t see them. But hopefully the subliminal learning is a good thing and they are absorbing where food really should come from!
HI Urvashi Where did you do your research on nasturtiums please?
regards Susan Sullivan
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 19:24:26 +0000 To: susullivan2@hotmail.com
The library! I found an old flower and plant dictionary 🙂
thanks
Nasturtiums have been a staple in my vegetable beds for the last few years. Their sprawling habit makes them ideal for squeezing into the nooks and crannies of the garden, flowing over pots and trailing down from window boxes. I’ve never seen much aphid activity on mine but I have noticed a considerable lack in cabbage moth damage on Brasiccas that are planted with nasturtiums compared to those without. They are my multi-purpose companion plant to most veggies in the garden now! My favorite things to do with the leaves are to use them in place or arugula in a quiche or tart, or to chop the leaves up with cilantro inside of a cheddar quesadilla. I have not tried a pesto or the poor man’s capers but those recipes sound fantastic, I can’t wait to try them. Great post!
Thanks for the tips. I’m going to plan to do that next spring I think. It’s been a real learning curve. I love the idea of nasturtium in a quiche too. I have a whole batch the harvest this weekend so may try that. Let me know how you get on with my recipes 🙂