#abelmoschus

It’s February! Time to start my sowing fever! Here are various seedlings currently living in my home with me so far.

- Claytonia rubra

- Carolina Reaper pepper

- Hopniss/Groundnut (Apios americana), an edible tuberous legume native to Turtle Island and traditional indigenous food source.

- White sage (Salvia apiana). Hopefully I won’t kill this guy since the plan is for it to act as a free source of sage for Indigenous folks who use this species.

- Yuzu! (Citrus X junos) I don’t expect this to fruit any time soon (or possible ever since seed grown fruit trees are capricious) but the leaves are very fragrant and can be used as a a culinary herb or potpourri. To me it smells a little like fruit cereal.

- Sunset hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot), a sister species to okra used for leafy greens.

Abelmoschus

Photographer: Dennett

Whew!! I did so much repotting and putting stuff outside today. Not bad for someone with chronic fatigue! (Though I am now in bed and really don’t want to leave.)

Woahkra! It’s an okra!

I love how large seedlings like cucurbits push the soil up in such a way that it looks like a mini excavation explosion when they germinate. Also baby Agave(?) in the bottom! The cucurbit is Cucurbita ficifolia— the fig-leafed gourd.

Cronched some Miners Lettuce. I pulled this one up just to see what their root systems are like (making sure they’re shallow rooted enough to not interfere with intercropping with things like tomatoes) and took a big bite out of it. They’re very delicate in flavor like the lettuce they’re named after.

Garlic pennycress! (Mummenhofia alliacea)

I got these as wild greens seeds. They have a bitter taste that’s a similar sort of bitter as toasted garlic.

Sacrificed another corn seedling to see if it’s able to survive the current temps. This is a self feeding corn capable of nitrogen fixation.

Okra babies!! I'm getting an extra early start on my fruits and veggies. :P

Did a restock at Chocolati Greenwood! Edible plants will be trickling in over the next few months! Right now I’m putting out perennial kale for sale! They are also 2 for $10! The next things I am putting out for sale will probably be sunset hibiscus (Abelmoscus manihot)— not a true hibiscus but a sister species to okra used for the tender leaves, flowers, and immature fruit pods.