Tips for Growing Nasturtiums

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Companion Plants to Nasturtiums: Cabbages, Cucumber, Potatoes, Radishes, Roses, Tomatoes, Zuchini
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Antagonistic Plants to Nasturtiums:
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Pest Control Tip: Nasturtiums are helpful in controlling pests such as aphids and white-flies in your garden.
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"Nasturtiums are the most readily recognized edible flower, having made their debut on salads in restaurants across the country. Their bold orange or scarlet color enlivens mixed greens. Up close, they have a slightly sweet fragrance, but their unique flavour sets them apart. Pop the entire flower into your mouth and as you chew, you first get a sweet essence from the nectar, followed by a bold peppery tang. Make colorful and flavourful vinegar from nasturtiums by adding flowers to a good white wine vinegar. Let it sit in the dark (light will fade the color) for several weeks. Strain the flowers out and pour the vinegar into a clean glass bottle. Use it to make a flavourful salad dressing. You can also make a unique martini with vodka steeped in nasturtiums. In addition to orange and scarlet, nasturtium flowers come in yellow, pale orange, cream, and bicolors." -- Edible Flowers, Cathy Wilkinson Barash, Richters
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The Nasturtium Journal

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June 19, 2014
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I didn't make "the lazy mistake" with the kale and lettuce though, and had my seeds ready for planting as soon as I pulled out the old plants. I don't know how this will work, perhaps it's too late in the season already, but I planted ten nasturtium seeds in each of the previous lettuce containers. It says on the package that they should be planted indoors before transferring them outside two weeks after the last frost. Well, that time is well gone by, but the package also shows they grow until October, so I figured that's still quite a bit of time to have them. I made the mistake of planting a non-edible flower (Petunias - below left) to attract pollinators when I started the garden this year. From now on, nothing grown that isn't edible, I figure, so I wanted to try nasturtiums and see what they're like to grow.I didn't make "the lazy mistake" with the kale and lettuce though, and had my seeds ready for planting as soon as I pulled out the old plants. I don't know how this will work, perhaps it's too late in the season already, but I planted ten nasturtium seeds in each of the previous lettuce containers. It says on the package that they should be planted indoors before transferring them outside two weeks after the last frost. Well, that time is well gone by, but the package also shows they grow until October, so I figured that's still quite a bit of time to have them. I made the mistake of planting a non-edible flower (Petunias - below left) to attract pollinators when I started the garden this year. From now on, nothing grown that isn't edible, I figure, so I wanted to try nasturtiums and see what they're like to grow.
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July 25, 2014
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Nasturtiums

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The nasturtiums I planted last month have come up nicely, but no flowers yet. I should have planted these all in one pot, or better yet, I should have planted them in with the tomato plants, since they are companion plants. Out of the package of 20 seeds which only actually contained 19, seven of them came up. Not a blazing success, but they do fill in quite well as they grow. Still, I shouldn't have used two pots for them.
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September 10, 2014
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Also, I was able to add some nasturtium flowers to the above salad, which gives it a little bit of extra zing as well as making the salad look rather unique. It was a little late for them to bloom, since I planted them mid-season when they should have been going much earlier, but they made it! I certainly like the idea of growing edible flowers - it just seems more, ahem, "manly" to grow flowers you can eat than something girly like petunias. Next year, only edible flowers. Grrrr! You go, man!
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Left: Nasturtiums / Right: Tomatoes

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