Why Everyone Needs Nasturtiums

Edible flowers have always seemed like a nice idea. Grow a few pansies to throw on top of a scoop of ice cream and delight your friends. It’s exotic.  Still tastes like a flower though.

Nasturtiums are different. Every part of the plant is a spicy adventure, not for the faint of heart. They have an amazing zing not unlike arugula on steroids. The flowers are gorgeous flowers are mildly spicy, the leaves are arguably even hotter, and the green seed pods taste like organic wasabi peas!

Nasturtiums have other benefits besides adding spice to salads. They are an excellent companion plant, improving the flavor of nearby veggies. I grew a few from seed last year and planted them randomly in my raised beds…they lasted all year, twining up the tomatoes and providing beautiful pops of color. They seem to be extremely disease and pest resistant…apparently the bugs think they are spicy too, so the plants are always picture-perfect. Several times before a frost I cut the entire plant, only to have the beautiful lilypad-shaped leaves and bright flowers fill in again. They keep forever in the refrigerator. I didn’t have a chance to make nasturtium pesto in 2015, but I DID pickle two jars of seed-pods, which some people call poor man’s capers. This year I have three kinds of nasturtiums to try out, including a stunning dark red ‘Black Velvet’ variety. I couldn’t wait….they are already popping up!

-Sam