ideas for more than one use from edible plants

[CityChick]

I read an article in a mag recently (some of which have already been mentioned here) about getting multiple use out of certain veg: eg eating the tops of brussels, broad beans and the leaves of beetroot, and leaving a stalk when you harvest cabbage and then cutting a cross in the stem to encourage new growth from the cut.  Plus you can eat pea shoots if you pinch out the tips. That kind of thing...

Any other suggestions for how to get more than one use out of any edible plants?

[CityChick]

[saddad]

No other ideas but that cross in the cabbage stump can be very productive... if you like loose greens as the heads often don't fully form you can quadruple your crop!
;D

[Mrs Ava]

Some flowers are edible, but then of course you are reducing the amount of fruit - however, courgette/squash flowers are edible, stuffed and deepfried.

Hearting lettuce I never pull up but cut and like with kale, after a couple of weeks you have a lovely loose mop of leaves.

Cor, wracking my brain now....

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

Instead of pulling up stuff when they start going to seed, we'll let them go to seed, for seed sprouts. certainly we'll be trying it with radish (rat's tail) and broccoli. Quantities of some of the broccoli anti-cancer chemicals aremuch reduced even with light steaming, so broccoli sprouts seem a good idea

[euronerd]

Stalks from nearly anything, ditto leaves, thick ribs from (say) cabbages, onion tops, all end up in stir fries (frys?) here. Particular favourites are broad bean tops and beetroot leaves. The possibilities and combinations are almost endless. It is for this reason that I'm nearly always short of veggie stock.  ;D

Geoff.

[STHLMgreen]

beet leaves:
really good shredded on salads. i also hear they're really good roasted (with rosemary and olive oil), which i plan on trying next time i get some beets.

onion stems:
they all get eaten here

it would probably be good to stay away from tomato and rhubarb leaves though   ;)

i'd love to find out more things i can eat.

[saddad]

The rats-tail radish are great snack food when working on the plot!
;D

[sawfish]

I like the stalks of brocolli if you cut the outer skin off. Only the top bit though.

[quizzical1]

Any trimmings when preparing vegetables for cooking, for example broccoli stalks, carrot peels, pea pods etc. can be diced up and chucked in a saucepan of boiling water to make either a vegetable stock, or the base of a really wholesome vegetable soup. The addition of chunks of potato, swede, carrot, leeks, parsnips etc. will make a really warming soup for this time of year, and could even be your maincourse if enough chunky veg included. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!

[okra]

Of course you could produce awine with most trimmings, pea or bean pods

[Barnowl]

Can you eat the big leaves from purple sprouting broccoli ?

[saddad]

I should imagine so, although I have never tried!
;D

[Barnowl]

Just seems a bit of a waste to put so much of the  plant on the compost heap.

Although it's my favourite vegetable, in terms of return for space used, I'm beginning to have my reservations about growing PSB. I'll try closer planting this year!

[saddad]

Try shredding it first if it is a bit tough... or use it in soups. Have you tried Purple Cape Cauli ? they are about ready now and are far more controlled than PSB plants!
;D

[Barnowl]

That looks interesting, but like PSB it needs a long time in the ground. On the other hand I suppose anything that you want to survice the winter needs to build itself up beforehand. Plant in about May?

As a PSB substitute I'm planning to try succession planting Cima di Rapa, but it doesn't look likely to survive long enough to crop in Feb/March.

[Chantenay]

In Dig for Victory days, they reckon they got a new crop of spuds from potato peelings, provided the peeling had an "eye" from which to chit.
I also saw Carol Kline the other day, eating sprouts grown from sweetcorn seeds (a la bean sprouts, not brussels), which sounded interesting, and would be a good use of corn that had "gone over" and was past eating but suitable for saving as seed.  (Beware F1 hybrids).

[machman5]

I was going to ask what Rhubard Thrasher meant by 'sprouts' but then I read the entry from Chantenay and think I have the gist of it now!  Do you mean you can grow 'bean sprout' type sprouts from broccoli and sweetcorn seed?! 

I'm fascinated, how do you do this and then, how do you cook them, I'd love to have a go.  I have heard of growing sweetcorn until they are 4" seedlings for a salad (I think this was 'Growing your own' last friday) has anyone tried this?

Also, while I'm here (showing my incredible ignorance!) if you cut the leaves off your beetroot plants, do they grow back and do the beets still grow ok?

Donna.

[MacArthur Park]

Hi to everyone, new to the board, but here's my humble input!

I grow sprouts in a sprouter that I bought years ago, they are still available in many seed catalogues. Once sprouted, the seeds are better eaten raw, in salads, sandwiches etc.  I haven't tried the sweetcorn, but if mine come up this year I may well keep some cobs to try.

As for the beetroot, I read that you can use them three times; one thinning you use for the leaves, the second you use as baby beets, and the third are your full sized beets. Hope this helps.

[Froglegs]

Not fond of them myself but the rest of the famly like them  brussel tops. and what are rat tail radish? ???

[Froglegs]

family. :P