Nasturnum.

Hi All,

Whilst mooching in the garden i noticed that my Nasturnum dayglow had what i think are seeds on them. The ones in the photo had fallen off and were in the basket. Are these the seeds?


Rusty

 

Yep, they are what Good ole Mother Nature is all about. Aren't they wonderful?
Jenny

 

Yes they are Nasturtium seed cases . If you look at your plant you will see little pods containing 3 seed cases . They will successfully self seed in our climate , sometimes too successfully !

 

Thanks both, I got these out of 1 basket I've not looked at the other one or the 2 pots in the back yet.

Rusty

 

Going to try eating them Rusty?

 

Eh??

 

My old Dad always used to collect the seeds while still green, pickle 'em and they made good substitute capers! I tried but they turned out a tad tough.

Cheers, Tony.

 

Some people dry the seeds then grind them as a substitute for black pepper.

I like the colours of those seeds. Mine are usually just green, fading to brown as they dry.

 

Didn't know I could. I've just got the ones from the other pots and basket and must have 300-400. Might give it ago as clueless said.

Rusty

 

As an aside, I bought one packet of nasturtium seeds about 10 years ago or more, and have never bought any since. I just keep the seeds each year. Because I'm quite selective about which plants I keep the seeds off, I've ended up with nasturtiums that are quite different to the original pastel coloured originals. They now flower really deep orange almost red, and can stand up to mild frosts. This is probably because I like like the bolder colours best so am more likely to collect their seeds, and also because I don't collect the seed until after most of the plants have been wiped out by frost, so I tend to collect the seeds off the ones that have stood up to the frost best.

 

That's actually a good sign. It means they have everything the need. I find that when I grow them in poor soil or in containers (ie anywhere where they'll struggle for nutrients) the flowers are more prominent over the foliage.

However, its all good. All parts of nasturtium are edible, and actually quite nice. Cut some of the upper foliage away to reveal the flowers. You can either using the trimmings in the kitchen, or just compost them, and by trimming it you actually stimulate growth so it wont suffer at all for its hair cut.

From a wildlife perspective, I think nasturtium is brilliant because most of the flowers are under an umbrella of leaves, so the bumblebees can still go to work even in horrible weather, which is quite an important bonus for them as they are already suffering badly, and our horrid weather isn't helping them at all.

 

Save seeds from the ones you like best, and just leave the rest to die when the cold nights come. That way you'll gradually end up with exactly the ones you want.

 

I've grown nasturtiums for years and years. I knew about the flowers and leaves being tasty, but never thought about the seeds! Anyway, here's my first ever picking...


and I'll be going here for the recipe

Regards,
Steve