Gardeners Tips

Common Golden Thistle or Spanish Salsify has golden yellow flowers that look like other members of the Compositeas.

Growing Spanish Salsify

• The plants prefer light well-drained soil. Occasionally it will be found growing wild but as its name suggests it grows well in Spain where it is also known as Spanish Oyster.
• Spanish Salsify is a biennial or perennial plant, which grows 2-3′ tall and is very spiny. The stems are branched at the top, with discontinuous spiny branchlets.
• Cultivation has reduced since Victorian times when it was more popular

Growing for Eating and Cooking

• All parts of the plant are edible but the roots were originally thought  to have a slight diuretic effect.
• Root eaten raw or cooked have a sweet flavour that makes an excellent vegetable though it is rather low yielding.
• The roasted root has been used as a coffee substitute
• Young leaves and leafstalks can be blanched and used in salads
• The flowers are used to adulterate saffron as a food colouring
• In Spain the main uses are in salads or with scrambled eggs .

Read more on the UN Agricultural web site

Ordinary Salsify

• Grown from seed the roots can be stored for winter use.
• Salsify Scorzobianca produces slender, parsnip-like white skinned roots. They can be left in the ground and lifted as required. In the spring the tender shoots of Salsify Scorzobianca make an appetising green vegetable.
• Seeds available from Thompson Morgan
• The roots have a delicious, delicate flavour likened to Oysters or Asparagus.
• Salsify is a good source of Vitamin C and potassium.

Chillies are a hot plant to grow and a little goes a long way so they are an economic crop for the space.

Growing From Seed

• Chilli seeds need to be sown early in the year for a long growing and ripening season.
• Germination can be variable and speed & percentage success is improved with a propagator warmth.
• Use a gritty soil based compost like Arthur Bowers as Chillies like good drainage.

Chilli Growing Tips

• Pot on your seedlings into 3″ pots when the leaves are large enough to hold
• Pot on as they grow into 9 inch pots or larger depending on the variety.
• Chillies are best grown in a greenhouse or poly-tunnel though they can be grown outside in a sunny spot.
• Smaller pots can be used for compact ornamental varieties.
• Shade your greenhouse or conservatory to avoid scorching.

The Complete Chilli Pepper Book: A Gardener’s Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking

Chilli Varieties and Heat

• Cayenne pepper plants will flower and fruit much earlier than varieties such as Habanero, Scotch Bonnet or Naga.
• The slower varieties require much more heat and light and are best kept in a conservatory or greenhouse to ensure they fruit as soon as possible.
• Habaneros take over 3 months from potting on to reach maturity.
• Heat is measured in ‘Scovilles’ .  Sweet Peppers score nil, Jalapenos & Hot Wax 2-8k, Tabasco & Cayenne 30-50k, Habenero & Scotch Bonnet 100-325k and Naga Jolokia upto 855k. Police use a Pepper spray that is rated at 5.3m Scovilles and pure Capsicum is 16m Scovilles. Hot or what?

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