The Nasties Nose Twist

There is nothing subtle about nasturtiums, or nasturniums, as I called them until I was nearly half a century old. Large, brightly colored flowers and leaves that may make your face all twisty.  In fact, the edible leaves pack such a peppery punch that Chef Lee Reich once said “Nasturtium means ‘nose twist’ in Latin, fittingly so because, once it hits your tongue, it kicks you in the sinuses like wasabi or horseradish. Don’t let their innocence fool you!”

They look innocent enough but don't let the nasties fool you!

Before we get into the little details about the nasties, as I now call them, let’s just make note of the company they have kept since they were brought to us from South and Central America.

Thomas Jefferson grew them in his garden at Monticello. He added the young leaves and flowers to salads and pickled the seeds and buds to make “poor man’s capers.”

President Eisenhower used a tablespoon of chopped nasturtiums leaves and flowers as the secret ingredient in his signature vegetable soup.

And at his garden in Giverny, France, where Monet lived and painted for more than 40 years, he planted nasturtiums to soften the edges of the path under his arbor.

Monet planted nasturtiums as a ground cover and to soften the edges of the path under his arbor. Photo from Giverny on Pinterest.

And he often created delicate oil paintings of the yellows, oranges and reds of the nasturtium flower.

Monet often times painted the brilliant oranges, reds, yellows and creams of the nasturtium flower.

Nasturtiums were grown (and eaten) by George Washington at Mount Vernon and by Emily Dickenson. And art collector and philanthropist Isabella Stewart Gardener started a spring tradition of hanging nasturtiums from the balconies at her mansion in Boston.

Nasturtiums hanging from one of the balconies at Isabella Gardner's Boston Mansion. Pix from Pith and Vigor on Pinterest.

And even Winnie the Pooh told Piglet that Christopher Robin gave him a “mastershalum” seed that he planted by his front door. “I’m going to have mastershalums all over the front door,” he said!

So what is so wonderful about the nasties? Every part of the plant, including the roots, is edible and, as mentioned above, add a peppery punch to salads, garnishes, appetizers, pesto, sandwiches, in stir-frys, as substitute for watercress, and even added to butters and vinegars! (I’ll try to do a blog post with some of the recipes I’m mentioning here.)

But wait! There’s more! Nasturtiums are high in vitamin C and are a good source of potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, iron and they contain anthocyanins (an idea for another blog!) and polyphenols which have anti-oxidant properties. They reportedly can help with respiratory issues, increase circulation, stimulate hair growth, improve the immune system and help heal some bacterial and fungal infections and they also have antimicrobial and antiviral properties.

"Climbing" nasturtions are more like clambering, according to Chef Reich. The do somehow managed to defy gravity and grow upright. Photo from Jerry on Flickr/Pinterest.

***DISCLAIMER: Don’t, as BC says he is going to do this summer, don’t eat some nasturtiums, then a little nibble of mint and wash it all down with some lemon balm! I have done zero research about which part of the nasties are used for the above-mentioned benefits. This blog is for educational and entertainmental (yes, it's a word. Now.) purposes only!***

That being said…

Wait! There’s more!

Nasturtiums have particularly sweet nectar that attracts pollinators and hummingbirds. Which makes no sense since the flowers taste peppery to humans! 🤔🤔🤔 Drawing from Yahoo Life on Pinterest.

Nasturtiums flowers have especially sweet nectar that attracts pollinators and hummingbirds.  They can be companion planted to benefit almost every vegetable in your veg patch, by repelling whiteflies and spider mites and by attracting aphids away from your prized veggies. Sneaky little devils!

Nasturtiums as companion plants for kale and other greens. No foes! Plant them! Photo from Family Food Garden on Pinterest.

But wait!

Nasturtiums, whether mounding or clambering, as Chef Reich describes the danglers, hold moisture in the soil, can create shade to keep weed seeds from germinating or weeds from growing, and serve as a decorative and edible ground cover in a food forest or in tree guilds. Whoda thunkit??

Nasties as a groundcover in a forest. Certainly applicable in a food forest! Picture Michelle B on Flickr/Pinterest.

And, when left to decompose at the planting site, they can help improve poor soils by adding back calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassion (think NPK on your bags of fertilizer…) Now you can just grow your own.

Which brings me to the reason for this blog. It all started when I began researching using nasturtiums in my tree guilds this summer and as annual groundcovers to keep the weeds down until my perennial groundcovers are established in the food forest. And I will definitely be using them in my veg garden to get cozy with my cabbages (at least I didn’t say melons, although that would work too!) And also with cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, pumpkins, radishes, brussels sprouts (did you know it brussels has an “S” at the end? I didn’t either until just now!)

Ha! Something to Mulch Over! Mission accomplished! I love me!

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time!

Laurie and BC and The Grizz, Rockie Talkie Rockstar, Dexter, Caspurr and the newest to the fam: Sneakers a.ka. Sneakerdoodle a.k.a Sneaker Dude.