Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

I once saw the "hunger gap" referred to as "starving time" in medieval 
Europe. Isn't that nettle used as a medicinal? Not familiar with garlic 
cress. Is it garlic chives? I'd guess that climbing spinach is New 
Zealand or Malabar, not true spinach. Is wheat or potatoes widely grown 
there? They grow other grains? What keeps well in the ground through 
winter?

On 4/24/2014 1:07 PM, John D'hondt wrote:
> We are months away from peppers, tomatoes and beans. Plenty of winter 
> crops left but many of them are going into flower now. Not bad to eat 
> either those flower tops. Spring perennials are up such as climbing 
> spinach, sweet cicely, garlic cress, alexanders and a good few others. 
> And then there are of course the edible "weeds" like stinging nettle 
> and dandelion. Nothing against nettle soup or stir fried dandelion 
> flowers.
> Traditionally this period of the year was called the hungry gap. Not 
> because there is nothing to eat but rather because a lot of nice 
> edibles are not recognised as food by native Irish people.
> John
>
> > Ciao Italia! A Conversation with Mary Ann Esposito
> > http://www.i-italy.org/bloggers/11713/ciao-italia-conversation-mary-ann-esposito 
> >
> >
> > Had to run this one as my partner cooked Italian when she was big 
> > enough to reach the kitchen counter, and her mother from Compania. 
> > Like Mary Ann she's been telling me simple cooking with good 
> > ingredients is best and easiest, and growing best tasting vegetables 
> > is the best way to start. she's got me growing
> > friariello peppers now with our strain of tomatoes & romano beans to 
> > come soon. After all people had to eat before supermarkets & 
> > industrial farms, and will again.
> >
> > paul
> >
> > ______