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Post by mountaindweller on Jun 5, 2012 23:25:44 GMT -5
As a topic derived from the herb topic. Who grows perennial salad plants?
How do you like them? Admittedly I use them usually mixed with lettuce and put some wild leaves in too like dandelion.
Sorrel - tastes OK easy
barbera vulgaris - cress - tastes OK easy
mallow- the leaves are a bit hard for my taste
lebanese cress - there is confusion about the latin name, indestructible, but a bit tasteless
for warmer climates ceylon spinach (I think it's something basela) looks great tastes so so (I can do without it)
burnet, easy but it is more a herb than a salad ingredient
I had red ribbed dandelion chickory and it seamed to be perennial and I liked the taste, but it's nothing for kids (goes well with some fried speck on the top)
alexanders
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Post by caledonian on Jun 6, 2012 8:16:30 GMT -5
Scorzonera. Although it tends to be heavily browsed by rabbits, and would be by deer if they could reach it.
I have better luck with various mint family members - peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, etc.
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Post by johninfla on Jun 6, 2012 10:11:59 GMT -5
I had some lettuces I ordered from Kitazawa seed company that were supposed to be bolt resistant and heat tolerant. They did well for a while, better than my regular lettuces but they have all bolted now. Might have something to do with the mid to upper 90s we've been having for about a month. We really liked the New Red Fire lettuce I got from them. It kept from getting bitter the longest of all our lettuces.
When you say sorrell, is that the same as roselle (H. Sabdariffa)? I ask because I am growing it for the first time mostly for the calyces and have not yet tried the leaves. If it is the same, can you use the leaves raw in a salad or do they have to be cooked?
Thanks,
John
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Post by blueadzuki on Jun 6, 2012 15:07:58 GMT -5
I had some lettuces I ordered from Kitazawa seed company that were supposed to be bolt resistant and heat tolerant. They did well for a while, better than my regular lettuces but they have all bolted now. Might have something to do with the mid to upper 90s we've been having for about a month. We really liked the New Red Fire lettuce I got from them. It kept from getting bitter the longest of all our lettuces. When you say sorrell, is that the same as roselle (H. Sabdariffa)? I ask because I am growing it for the first time mostly for the calyces and have not yet tried the leaves. If it is the same, can you use the leaves raw in a salad or do they have to be cooked? Thanks, John no what I expect he means is garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) I'm not sure the leaves of roselle are edible. |
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Post by MikeH on Jun 6, 2012 15:53:17 GMT -5
Yep, Turkish rocket and bloody dock.
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Post by khoomeizhi on Jun 7, 2012 4:52:18 GMT -5
that ceylon spinach is basella alba or rubra.
new zealand spinach has much better texture and taste for salads...from what i've seen it's only supposed to be hardy to zone 9, but e. toensmeier says his comes back every year at his place in holyoke, ma. haven't tried overwintering it yet.
sylvetta arugula is a nice one, if you can actually get it, and not regular arugula marketed under the wrong name.
young lovage leaves.
daylily flowers and flowerbuds are regular salad additions in this house.
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Post by ottawagardener on Jun 7, 2012 8:26:22 GMT -5
I am a perennial/self perpetuating salad plant geek, always looking for more to add to my bowl. I've tried all the above plus various plantains (tough), bellflowers (not bad, but I like it cooked), yarrow (no, no, medicinal only), scorzonera (excellent but my variety I'd argue is better cooked, too hairy), sweet cicely (excellent), bellis perennis (good in early spring), violets (there is a magical time when they are perfect in spring), lots of types of perennial onion, mallows of various types including curly mallow intended for salad, and more.
If you expand the list to include self seeders, it gets a whole lot longer.
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Post by diane on Jun 7, 2012 23:17:04 GMT -5
Violet flowers or leaves?
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Post by steev on Jun 7, 2012 23:54:35 GMT -5
NZ spinach is icky raw, in my opinion, so not salad fare, for me.
Violet flowers are nice, when I can beat the slugs to them.
Pineapple guava petals are sweet and tasty, as are tulip petals.
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Post by caledonian on Jun 8, 2012 16:36:28 GMT -5
Both the flowers and leaves of violets are edible. The leaves are especially nutritious, though.
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Post by extremegardener on Jun 11, 2012 14:29:20 GMT -5
For true perennials I'll add silene, lovage (in the spring), good King Henry. Hesperis is usually biennial but is really nice for the very first spring greens coming out of the snow. Chicories are also biennial but sometimes lasting a year or so longer, and are excellent spring salad material. The trick is with most to just pick the leaves and buds at the tender growing tips. Most have milder, sweet flavor and tender texture in cool weather, but become unpalatable in hot weather. theextremegardener.com/?p=185 my sugarloaf chicories theextremegardener.com/?p=109 hesperis/dame's rocket |
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Post by steev on Jun 11, 2012 19:53:03 GMT -5
extreme, have you an opinion on patience dock? I'd think it an early sprouter for you.
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Post by khoomeizhi on Jun 12, 2012 8:43:34 GMT -5
NZ spinach is icky raw, in my opinion, so not salad fare, for me. i will admit that its primary purpose in my house at this point is to go into my scrambled eggs of a morning. but i've had it raw plenty of times, alone and in salad, and was never struck by any ickyness. what is it that turns you off, if i may ask? |
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Post by mountaindweller on Jun 12, 2012 22:09:05 GMT -5
Yarrow is not medicinal you only do not fill your salad bowl with it. Just a few leaves and that is nice.
I use violet flowers to decorate salads and heartsease, but admitedly violet flowers are better on a cake.
Is dames rocket the same as usual rocket or is it the perennial form of usual rocket?
Roselle was used for making jam (the calyxes), I never tried it seems to be a lot of space for little, but I think members of this plant family do have edible leaves.
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Post by steev on Jun 14, 2012 1:28:45 GMT -5
The raw taste just isn't good for me, and there is a bad feeling in my throat; maybe it's an allergen to me, but I don't like to throw that term around loosely. I enjoy it cooked, very much.
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