Nasturtium Tips and a Recipe

At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope that it can be done, then they see that it can be done-then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago. ~Francis Hodgson Burnett

Nasturtiums are one of my favorite edible flowers. If you haven't grown them before you can still sow them and have blooms before fall. They are gorgeous!

Nasturtium seeds can be pickled and used much like you would capers. In 'The Joy of Cooking' by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., New York, 1975) they give a nice recipe for preparing the seeds.

After the blossoms fall, pick off the half-ripened Nasturtium seed pods. Continue as your crop develops to drop them into a boiled and strained mixture of:

1 quart white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Pickling Salt
1 thinly sliced onion
1/2 teaspoon each allspice, mace and celery seed
3 peppercorns

Keep refrigerated and use as a variation for capers.

How do you know if your potted herbs have become too large for the pot they are currently in? The roots will start growing out the drainage holes of the pot, and you'll notice that the pot dries out very quickly, though it didn't used to. Both of these symptoms tell you that the herb needs to be moved to a bigger pot and placed in new soil.

On OFL I have more tips on growing and using nasturtiums:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/nasturtiums.html

~Brenda