Month: April 2023

How-tos

How-to harvest and eat Hosta shoots

EllseyKay

Hostas are delicious. Not in a weird, convince-yourself-it’s-good way (*cough* dandelion), they’re actually SO good, and I’m told that eating them is quite popular in some parts of Asia.

Unlike cake, you can also eat your hostas and have them, too! A few harvests of the shoots of well-established hostas will not maim or even alter the appearance of the plant in bloom.

The taste is mild and fresh – like a soft asparagus, or a swiss chard with absolutely no bitterness. They can be eaten fresh (in salads), or my preference is to quickly toss them in a fry pan and finish with a splash of white wine (see my recipe here).

The ideal time to harvest is when the shoots are pointing straight up, before the leaves start to unfurl. This is when they are their most tender, if you wait longer they will be more fibrous. For me this happens just before my last frost date.

  1. Make sure that you know the plant you are targeting is a hosta! All types of hostas are edible, but there are a few nasty plants that can resemble hosta shoots as they emerge. Lily-of-the-valley can look like slender hosta leaves, and they start to poke out in the garden at the same time. Lily-of-the-valley is decidedly NOT edible.
  2. Use clean clippers. I like to use my small garden shears, the ones with the curved blade. Scissors might work, but they are likely to crush and bruise the spears and I’d avoid them if possible. A sharp knife is a good option as well.
  3. Cut the hosta shoots at least one inch above the ground (two if the plant isn’t as well established). This is so that the leftover hosta shoot can access light and photosynthesize, keeping the plant nice and healthy despite your harvesting.
  4. If the plant is small and not well established, harvest no more than half the shoots.
  5. Rinse and enjoy!

Journal

Direct sowing

EllseyKay

It’s April 1, and consistent with the day’s moniker I have planted my first seeds in the ground.

Around here I can expect my first frost-free 24hrs around the beginning of May, but it’s not unusual to have weather anomalies. Days may be below freezing, or they may creep into the high Celcius teens. Local wisdom is often quoted as saying not to plant out until after May 21, although experience has taught me that’s a little too conservative if I’d actually like a harvest before frost hits on the other end of the season.

A few days ago, in a frenzy of clearing last year’s weeds, I planted some climbing peas in the ground. I’ve done this before and gotten no time or yield gain whatsoever from my impatience, but it still scratched an itch to do it. Whenever I know I’m wish-planting I have a back up plan, and in this case I reserved most of my seeds to fill in the gaps or sow-anew.

This morning I put out three kinds of radishes, my yellow beets, and a bok choi seedling. I’ll sow the radishes every two weeks until early June, some more beets in 3 week intervals, and some more bok choi and other brassicas over the coming days. I like to space my early transplants out so if a squirrel or slugs find them and think they’re a tasty treat, hopefully they only get 1-2.

The seeds that I started inside about 10 days ago are doing as predicted. The tomatoes and peppers are slowly sprouting, the melons and squash are already looking like they’d prefer to be in the garden, but they somehow need to wait 6 weeks. Good thing that family transplants so well (they don’t!). There’s something comforting about making the same mistake every year, even knowing that I’m making it as it happens. Plants love to grow… for most of them, it will turn out fine despite me.