Saturday 26 May 2012

Totally Mintal


I have been on a fantastic foraging course with Chris Bax from Taste the Wild & I just know that the things I learned from him & Rose will continue to reverberate through my gardening life.

I was thinking of this as I pulled handfuls of goosegrass (Galium aparine) from the bank at the back of the garden today. The tips are edible, and have a faint taste of grassy peas, but the texture is a bit challenging, as the sticky, furry buds roll around your mouth.

I contemplated saving a handful to add to tonights’ salad, but decided they would be happier contributing to the green bin.

I cropped back my mint collection instead. The sudden sunshine has caused an explosion of mint, which has only been really successful here since I planted it in old compost in pots in the front garden last year. It has been covered in mildew during previous years, so a judicious pruning during Chelsea week will hopefully prevent this. I have hung a huge bunch of garden, chocolate, pepper & spearmints in the pantry that have already been used in tea & a quinoa salad. I am hoping to dry the rest for more tea, unless I can think of another forager’s use for it.