Ben Caesar maintains a hoop house along with a demonstration garden at Fiddlehead Nursery at Beaver Valley in Bruce County. Photo: Ben Caesar
Ben Caesar tends to a few potatoes, tomatoes and other annual vegetables on his little farm in Grey County, Ontario. It’s his perennial plants and their culinary possibilities, however, that have captured the young farmer’s imagination.
“From 90 to 95 per cent of all plants are perennial plants and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be eating more of them,” Caesar said.
“If you go to high-end restaurants, you’ll often get something you’re not used to eating. The culinary trade is often amenable to the kind of thing we’re doing here.”
Raised in the rural community of Elmira in southwestern Ontario, Caesar had long dreamed of owning a bit of land and farming. Today, he has about 30 acres, located along the Beaver River Valley a few miles from Georgian Bay in Grey County.
Fiddlehead Nursery, which he started in 2012, has grown to provide him with both nutritious food and an income for his family. He also works as a carpenter during the winter months.
Perennial species have an advantage over annuals in a number of a ways, Caesar said. They require less in the way of inputs, are easier to maintain and provide ground cover and shade. They can also be good for the environment, supporting insects and even sequestering carbon over the long term.
Weeding is a challenge, although Caesar said he views the work as an aid for meditation that may be best performed in the cooler morning hours.
“I enjoy it. It gets me out to the garden and I’m often eating the weeds I harvest. It’s a great way to interact with the garden and I get to know the plants.”
It’s the culinary aspects of perennials, however, that most fascinates Caesar. While the establishment period is often longer compared to annual edibles, once established, perennials can deliver a consistent and long-term supply of nutritionally-dense food.
Caesar listed his top 10 food perennials when he hosted a workshop at the annual Guelph
Sea kale, a native of Europe, was originally harvested along the coastal areas of Great Britain and Europe where it grows wild among the shale Photo: Ben Caesar
Organic Conference in January. Sea kale, a native of Europe, was originally harvested along the coastal areas of Great Britain and Europe where it grows wild among the shale. That practice continues to this day but the species was promoted for home gardens as early as 1799 when a pamphlet promoting its value was published.
It is also said to have been Thomas Jefferson’s favourite vegetable.
As with other many other edible perennials, it’s the shoots that emerge in the spring that are most often consumed like asparagus although the roots can also be eaten. “It’s like the love-child of asparagus and cabbage,” Caesar said.
Garden sorrel, especially the seedless varieties, is another of Caesar’s favourites with its tart, lemony taste, a surprise for the palate. It is one of the first spring greens to emerge but, unlike many other perennials, remains tender throughout the growing season. It can be used in salads but Caesar has a special fondness for sorrel soup — recipes for which can be found online.
Seedless varieties are easily propagated by dividing the roots.
Chinese artichoke is similar from a culinary standpoint to water chestnut. The grub-like tubers are harvested in the fall and, once cleaned and sliced, provide a nice crunch to salads. The tubers can also be pickled and the spreading species works well as a ground cover.
The edible parts of Caucasian spinach are its shoots in the spring and its tender, new leaves through to the fall. It’s been consumed in Scandinavian countries for many years Photo: Ben Caesar
The edible parts of Caucasian spinach are its shoots in the spring and its tender, new leaves through to the fall. It’s been consumed in Scandinavian countries for many years. Caesar said he makes it into a green sauce which, along with some cheese, can be used as a healthful topping for pasta.
Hylotelephium is a genus of herbaceous perennials better known for their fall colour. Also known as sedum or stonecrop, the leaves can be harvested and when added to salads contribute moisture.
Jerusalem artichoke has been much maligned as a weed species but its tubers have a distinct flavour and it’s a highly productive species, Caesar said. It’s best cooked slowly over a long period to reduce its tendency to induce flatulence in some people.
Harvest as much as you like in either spring or fall with no worry about losing your planting.
Hostas are best known for their blooms but a single harvest of the emerging shoots, when they’re still tightly wrapped, can be taken. This way you can have your cake, or in this case your bloom, and eat it too. Caesar likes them blanched with a bit of salt, pepper and butter.
“I don’t think hostas are a waste if they’re not eaten but it is a considerable source of food,” Caesar said. “We have hostas growing everywhere in North America. It’s one of the few bombproof ground covers.”
Udo—Aralia cordata—is viewed as gourmet food in Japan where it is cultivated in tunnels under Tokyo. The plant requires a long establishment time before its edible shoots, which need to be peeled, can be eaten. Boiled for a short time, they’re traditionally served with sesame seed oil and soy sauce or used as an ingredient in miso soup.
The blooms of day lilies can be battered and fried or used in soups or stews and may also be dried for storage. It’s considered a minor crop in China and Taiwan where the preference is to harvest the unopened blooms. Day lilies may also be eaten raw; a stomach ache may occur if too many are consumed in one sitting.
Mitsuba or Japanese parsley is used as an herb-like vegetable. Caesar harvests about half the plant in the spring or early summer. It has a rich taste which can be used as a base for soup.
Caesar explored several other perennial menu options during the workshop.
He operates Fiddlehead Nursery with the support of his partner Kelly Hopkins and with help from volunteers/WWOOFers accessed through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program.
They have nursery stock and perennial garden books for sale, host workshops and provide support for people looking to design their own gardens. To learn more, check out the Fiddlehead Nursery website at www.fiddleheadnursery.ca
— Jeffrey Carter