Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#31
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
|
#32
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
|
#33
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
Derek wrote:
Hi Rusty I have lots of seedlings and shrivelled fruit with pips on - want any? Some of them are probably crossed with either wild strawberries or Royal Sovereign as the fruits tend to be of all sizes from ickle to top-joint-of-thumb. That's very generous of you, I have grown strawberries for over twenty years, but never Alpines, (never even tasted any) . I would be grateful for the chance to attempt to grow some. I'll pack some of each up. I wouldn't publish address on Usenet if I were you. (My e-addy works if you remove the foobar) -- Rusty |
#34
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
In message , Rusty Hinge
writes wrote: Rusty Hinge wrote: black nightshade berries, I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they rather poisonous? No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica. Should be good and ripe, but unripe ones will do you no more harm than green tomatoes. http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/solanum.htm "3.2 Poisonous parts of the plant Solanine, a glyco-alkaloid, is found throughout the plant, with the highest concentrations in the unripened berries. The concentration of solanine increases in the leaves as the plant matures (Cooper & Johnson, 1984). When ripe, the berries are the least toxic part of the plant and are sometimes eaten without ill effects (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962)." Simmer with as little water as needed to stop the fruit catching on the pan. Add about a tablespoon of sugar per cup of berries. Add tartaric acid to taste, and simmer a little longer. Very difficult to tell apart from blueberry pie filling. (I ate my blueberies off the bushes as they ripened - well, those that the black bloodybirds didn't get...) I collected some red nightshade the year before last and they were propagated at a well-known plant station somewhere near Norwich. There were about three black nightshade plants to one red in the seedlings, which told me something. Kew didn't have red nightshade seeds for their millennium seed project, but they have now. (They said they couldn't tell me if red nightshade was edible, but I supplied the 'well, I'm not even ill' info...) Are you talking of Solanum villosum, or of a red-berried form of Solanum nigrum. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
#35
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
Sacha wrote:
On 2010-10-28 17:57:32 +0100, Rusty Hinge said: wrote: In article , wrote: Rusty Hinge wrote: I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they rather poisonous? No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica. Is there an easy way to tell the difference between Solanum Nigrum and Belladonna? They are ... very similar. We have one or the other on the allotment (quite a lot of it) Yes. They are like stoats and weasels[*]. Deadly nightshade is a lot larger, with larger leaves and much larger flowers, and is a perennial. Black nightshade is typically small, and is very much an annual. [*] A stoat is stoatally different from a weasel, and a weasel may weaselly be distinguished from a stoat. I pine for my marten yearnin' for the ermine But notter otter? -- Rusty |
#36
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
In message , Rusty Hinge writes wrote: Rusty Hinge wrote: black nightshade berries, I'm sure I'm going to make myself look very foolish here, but aren't they rather poisonous? No. Eaten on every continent except Antarctica. Should be good and ripe, but unripe ones will do you no more harm than green tomatoes. http://www.inchem.org/documents/pims/plant/solanum.htm "3.2 Poisonous parts of the plant Solanine, a glyco-alkaloid, is found throughout the plant, with the highest concentrations in the unripened berries. The concentration of solanine increases in the leaves as the plant matures (Cooper & Johnson, 1984). When ripe, the berries are the least toxic part of the plant and are sometimes eaten without ill effects (Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962)." It's gathered and eaten extensively throughout the world, especially (IIRC) in South Africa. Apart from turning my skin green, tanning to a deep purple, they haven't done me any harm... Simmer with as little water as needed to stop the fruit catching on the pan. Add about a tablespoon of sugar per cup of berries. Add tartaric acid to taste, and simmer a little longer. Very difficult to tell apart from blueberry pie filling. (I ate my blueberies off the bushes as they ripened - well, those that the black bloodybirds didn't get...) I collected some red nightshade the year before last and they were propagated at a well-known plant station somewhere near Norwich. There were about three black nightshade plants to one red in the seedlings, which told me something. Kew didn't have red nightshade seeds for their millennium seed project, but they have now. (They said they couldn't tell me if red nightshade was edible, but I supplied the 'well, I'm not even ill' info...) Are you talking of Solanum villosum, or of a red-berried form of Solanum nigrum. From the way they cross, I would guess, the latter, though Kew didn't give a Latin name. I sent them a complete plant with carefully excavated roots, and they nursed it on and kept seed. -- Rusty |
#37
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
Rusty Hinge wrote:
They are almost totally different, though the leaves are similar to S. nigrum. Atropa belladonna has rather foxglove-like flowers and a squat/flattened berry nestling in a voluminous calyx, stem about three feet. Uncommon) Flowering should be over by now. Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a smaller plant with small tomato-like flowers, white petals and the centre is yellow. Flowers until frost kills the plant off. A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next year. :-) |
#38
|
|||
|
|||
Things like that are nothing to worry about. There were reports in the press a couple of days ago that a nursing mother drank a blue-coloured commercial sports drink, and it turned her breast milk bright green. Since it was a commercial product it must be completely safe.
|
#39
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
wrote:
A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next year. :-) I suspected as much. Look around - you'll probably find plenty growing in odd corners. While it's usually assumed to be an annual, I have a plant in my greenhouse which has survived two winters. http://www.motherherbs.com/solanum-nigrum.html for pic, but the text should be treated with caution - a synonym is *NOT* 'deadly nightshade', and I have never heard an authenticated report of anyone being harmed in any way by eating the berries, either cooked or raw. The name 'nightshade might well induce doubt-related reactions, but I often eat them raw in more quantities than the odd few, though they are better cooked, and with a little tartaric acid, at that. Raw, they are slightly sweet, not strongly-flavoured and very juicy. Despite the number of seeds in the berries it will be difficult to set jam without added pectin or acid or both. I recommend not using citric acid as this tends to flavour your jam with marmaladey undertones - which is why I seldom buy any commercial jams these days. -- Rusty |
#40
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
echinosum wrote:
'Rusty Hinge[_2_ Wrote: ;903946']Apart from turning my skin green, tanning to a deep purple, they haven't done me any harm... Things like that are nothing to worry about. There were reports in the press a couple of days ago that a nursing mother drank a blue-coloured commercial sports drink, and it turned her breast milk bright green. Since it was a commercial product it must be completely safe. Of course! Anything fed to the general public is completely wholesome - stands to reason innit. One wonders why animals aren't insulated with trans-fats and fruit isn't sweetened with saccharin or coloured with aspartame. We have got *SO* much to teach Mother Nature... -- Rusty |
#41
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
wrote in news:8ivfkhFjqnU2
@mid.individual.net: Rusty Hinge wrote: They are almost totally different, though the leaves are similar to S. nigrum. Atropa belladonna has rather foxglove-like flowers and a squat/flattened berry nestling in a voluminous calyx, stem about three feet. Uncommon) Flowering should be over by now. Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) is a smaller plant with small tomato-like flowers, white petals and the centre is yellow. Flowers until frost kills the plant off. A-ha. Then it sounds like what I've always assumed was deadly nightshade may actually be black nightshade. I will investigate next summer when we get re-infested. Maybe I'll scare the WI with some nightshade jam next year. :-) WI! We dont hear much about it these days, but years ago my mother and gran and later my sisters were members and organised charity whist drives etc. Ever played whist with the WI? They dont scare easily. I watched a tv. program recently based on the Isle of Wight and it seems that younger women are now battling for management, which surprises me. Also the WI seem to be mainly middle class now, whereas when my family were involved with it the members were not. I might well be wrong and they do some incredible charity work all the same. My best wishes to you and the WI. Baz |
#42
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
Baz wrote:
My best wishes to you and the WI. Thanks. I'm not a member. ;-) It just happens to be a handy building where lots of local community things (such as the gardening club annual show, and various charity coffee mornings) happen, and a lot of WI members turn up at. |
#43
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
On 19 Oct, 11:53, wrote:
What about: Can't get from supermarkets: Gooseberries Loganberries Damson etc. Variety variety: I grow 'Allington Pippin' apples. Glut sluts: Courgettes Runner beans Bramley apples |
#44
|
|||
|
|||
Favourite GYO
bobharvey wrote:
Glut sluts: Heheh. |
#45
|
|||
|
|||
How does it grow with you? On Yorkshire clay, as a small tree (I have it growing over a pergola - I have a rather untidy "tunnel" of apples - a wonderful sight in blossom time, and again when everything is laden with ripening fruit) it is the determiner of my overall apple crop, anything between 50lb and 100lbs. Lovely and crisp and fresh when not quite ripe, but I don't enjoy them quite so much when we're coming to the end of them in December.
My favourite is Cornish aromatic - shape, taste, good looks, although Brownlees Russet wins for pink flower colour.
__________________
getstats - A society in which our lives and choices are enriched by an understanding of statistics. Go to www.getstats.org.uk for more information |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Favourite fragrant orchids | Orchids | |||
Favourite Rose Books? | Roses | |||
Favourite Hedera? | United Kingdom | |||
favourite conservatory plants???? | United Kingdom | |||
Favourite gardening magazine? | United Kingdom |