You can learn more about forest gardening, permaculture, and why we grow the plants we grow in our Forest Gardening article here.
Not everything on this list is available all the time, but everything (edible) that's available in the gardens is on this list. Listings indicate the main harvest time for each crop.
As a rule, greens are best picked before flowering, while the new season's growth is still fresh. If cut back after flowering, most will then produce new fresh growth to eat.
WARNING: It is impossible to completely eradicate non-edible plants from the gardens, and hazards exist if you pick the wrong plant. Please note in particular that daffodils, foxgloves and many types of fungi are common in the gardens and should not be eaten. Please positively identify anything you plan to eat from the gardens using this guide or another reliable source.
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Mizuna
Care: Keep well-watered, especially in warm weather. Remove bolted plants. Protect from pigeons. Resow regularly, but not May-July.
Harvest: Cut individual leaves at any time.
Eat: Tastes spicy and similar to rocket. Eat raw in salads and sandwiches or added to stir fries near the end of cooking. Or try a pesto, or scatter on pizza!
SPRING, AUTUMN
Mustard
Care: Keep well-watered, especially in warm weather. Remove bolted plants. Protect from pigeons. Resow regularly, but not May-July.
Harvest: Cut individual leaves at any time.
Eat: Tastes spicy and similar to rocket. Eat raw in salads and sandwiches or added to stir fries near the end of cooking. Or try a pesto, or scatter on pizza!
SPRING, AUTUMN
Nasturtium
EDIBLE FLOWERS: Leaves and flowers have a hot, peppery taste. Add to sandwiches or salads.
Remove and destroy any parts infested by blackfly or caterpillars.
SUMMER
Nodding Onion
Care: Cut back after flowering and if looking unhealthy, to promote fresh new growth.
Harvest: Any time plant is growing well (spring to autumn).
Eat: Use like spring onions or chives, raw or cooked. Both leaves and flowers are edible.
SUMMER
Oregano
Care: Pick or pinch out regularly to encourage bushy growth and lots of leaves. Cut back after flowering and if fresh growth is required.
Harvest: Leaves, any time during growth (spring to autumn). Snip tops of stems rather than picking individual leaves.
Eat: Use as a flavouring in salads, pizza/pasta sauces, dressings. Widely used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.
SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN
Oxeye Daisy
Care: Remove flower stalks after flowering. Cut back when fresh growth is required.
Harvest: Individual leaves, any time during growth but best in spring.
Eat: Raw in salads or sandwiches.
SPRING
Parsley
Harvest leaves at any time. After flowering, allow to seed.
AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING
Pea Shoots
Care: Pick regularly to encourage new branching growth. Remove plants when shoots get stringy/tough, and resow. This is one of the fastest-growing crops!
Harvest: Snip top few leaves and tendrils, along with any buds/flowers, leaving the bottom part of the plant to grow new shoots. All parts are edible.
Eat: Raw in salads, sandwiches or as a garnish.
SPRING
Peppermint
The mint for tea. Snip tops when harvesting, to promote new growth.
Cut back after flowering. Do not allow to invade – limit runners regularly.
SUMMER
Perpetual Spinach
Care: Sow April-September and plant out when plants are a few inches high. Water well in dry periods. Pick regularly to encourage fresh leaves. Remove flower stalks if they appear.
Harvest: Pick individual leaves, all year round.
Eat: As spinach. Steam for a side dish or add to egg dishes, pasta dishes, curries, bakes, soups etc.
SUMMER
Pineberry
Care: Remove dead leaves. Remove or replant seedlings where plants get too congested.
Harvest: Spring through to autumn. Strawberries are white – test for ripeness by squeezing very gently, as they will be soft when ripe.
Eat: Best raw.
SUMMER
Purslane
Care: Pick regularly by snipping tips to encourage new branching growth. Allow to drop seed at end of season.
Eat: Raw in salads and sandwiches. Said to be a good plant source of omega 3 fatty acids.
SUMMER
Radish
Harvest: When root is a good size – you should be able to see it at the soil surface.
Eat: Raw in salads and sandwiches, pickled, or braised in butter.
SPRING
Raspberry (Autumn)
Care: Cut to the ground in winter. Feed and mulch in early spring, and dig out new runners to prevent spread.
Harvest: When deep red.
Eat: Raw or cooked into desserts.
SUMMER, AUTUMN
Redcurrant
Care: Prune in winter, when dormant: cut out very old or diseased branches, shorten leaders by a third, and aim for an open centred, bowl-shaped bush. Feed and mulch in Feb. Prune sideshoots to two buds in early summer.
Harvest: When berries are bright red.
Eat: Cooked into sauces or desserts, or mixed with other raw berries and sweetened with a little sugar.
SOME PLANTS DONATED BY CARPENTER'S NURSERY - THANK YOU!
SUMMER
Rhubarb
Care: Remove dead leaves in autumn. Feed/mulch in spring but don’t cover the crown as it may rot.
Harvest: When stems redden in spring, until June. Harvest by pulling at the base. Don’t harvest after June; the plant needs time to store energy and grow bigger before winter.
CAUTION: RHUBARB LEAVES ARE TOXIC: they can contain very high amounts of oxalic acid which can damage your kidneys. EAT STEMS ONLY.
SOME PLANTS DONATED BY CARPENTER'S NURSERY - THANK YOU!
SPRING
Rocket
Care: Keep well-watered, especially in warm weather. Remove bolted plants. Protect from pigeons. Resow regularly but not May-July.
Harvest: Cut individual leaves at any time.
Eat: Eat raw in salads and sandwiches or added to stir fries near the end of cooking. Or try a pesto, or scatter on pizza!
SPRING, AUTUMN
Rosemary
Care: Trim after flowering, for shape and to promote fresh growth.
Harvest: Leaves, anytime. Flowers are edible too. Snip shoots rather than stripping leaves off, to encourage new growth.
ALL YEAR ROUND
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