Nasturtium Tom Thumb Alaska

The marbled leaves of Tom Thumb Alaska are a wonderful foil to the flowers in shades of red. Grow this among your veggies or in your greenhouse for the edible flowers, leaves and seed. It is also useful as a sacrificial plant near crops such as broad bans where they will be the preferred choice for the dreaded blackfly; they are also said to be beneficial to apple trees.  Its usefulness does not stop there, listed by the RHS as a pollinators plant, lots more about the secrets of the easily overlooked nasturtium can be found below

Flowers summer until cut back by low autumn temperatures.

Height maximum of 30cm

Annual

Price for 20 seeds

SOW: under cover in pots or modules in February/March or in April where they are to flower.  Harden off pot sown plants before transplanting.

GROW:  they like free draining soil & will thrive in poor soil.  They don’t need feeding as this will produce more leaves & fewer flowers. 

ENJOY: in your salads and your garden - so much more to discover...

WILDLIFE:

• Bumble bees love the sweet nectar and get a generous dose of pollen
• Listed by the RHS as a pollinators plant
• A food plant for the Green-veined White
• Predatory insects are also attracted to the nectar and pollen
• Nasturtium leaves hold the water droplets which provides a water supply and bathhouse for butterflies and the other insects visitors.

EDIBLE:

• Flowers (the petals are the best bit) can be chopped and mixed with mayonnaise or yogurt for a summer dip or be scattered on salads – they have a peppery taste
• Nasturtium leaves leaves have a spicy, watercress-like flavour, chop small amounts into summer salads or dry them to add colour and a peppery hint to homemade seasoning salt
• The plump immature seeds can be pickled, as they contain high levels of oxalic acid they should be eaten only in small amounts.

GARDEN:

• As a sacrificial plant in the veg patch – it is a food plant of the Green-veined White and can also lure the caterpillars of Large and Small white butterflies away from brassicas particularly later in the season.
• Another sacrificial use is to attract blackfly to the nasturtium leaves and away from your beans.
• Rarely eaten by slugs and snails.
• If you give nasturtiums too much love (be it nutrients or water) you get grow all leaf and none of those gorgeous flowers
• The benefits of including nasturtiums include attracting beneficial insects, a ground cover to help retain moisture as well as preventing weeds.
• Its credentials as a companion plant are even more pronounces as it produces an airborne phytochemical that deters whiteflies, some beetles, and other pests away themselves and the nearby plants.
• They are also said to be beneficial to apple trees: we certainly find they put a nice show of colour in the dappled light even if we can’t pin point how the trees benefit.

HISTORICAL:

• The whole plant was eaten by the Incas
• Early English herbalists referred to nasturtiums as “Indian cress” after the conquistadors discovered them in the jungles of Peru and Mexico and brought them back to Spain in the 16th century.
• King Louis XIV had them planted at his palace at Versailles
• It wasn’t valued in Europe as a food crop or for medicinal use until the petals and flowers began being eaten and made into tea in the Orient.
• Nasturtiums reached North America by way of European settlers from the 1700’s

OTHER:

• Safe for pet rabbit, guinea pigs and other small mammals, including flowers, leaves, stems and even seeds… seeds can fall victim to mice in the garden
• The ancient Incas and native South Americans used the plant for its antibiotic and antibacterial properties while Europeans ate it as a treatment for urinary tract infections
• During Victorian times the floriography (language of flowers) had nasturtium as representing conquest, victory & patriotism.   
• Flowers and leaves contain vitamin C - nasturtium was eaten as a scurvy preventative.
• The Vitamin C might help to explain why there are wide ranging health benefits attributed to consumption - scientific evidence doesn’t support these uses & no human trials have taken place.
• Please Note: we do not promote the medicinal use of plants – guidance and information should be sought elsewhere.

SUITS:

• Vegetable gardens, greenhouses & polytunnels
• Ground cover to retain moisture.
• Edging
• Companion planting & sacrificial planting
• Wildlife gardens
• Cottage style, informal planting
• Gravel gardens, courtyard garden