Low nasturtium mix

Tropaeolum majus - mix

Nasturtium is a fast-growing climbing annual. It originates from Peru and Bolivia. It blooms from June until the first frosts. The flowers come in a full colour spectrum from yellow to almost brown, the flower can be single or double, solid-coloured or streaked. It has two growth forms, trailing and low compact. Low, compact varieties reach a height of 20–30 cm. Trailing forms can grow up to 3 m long.

Trailing varieties work excellently in hanging containers, baskets, or as borders for raised beds or decoration for walls. Low varieties are suitable for ground cover plantings. The flowers are a beautiful garnish for various dishes. Buds and leaves, with their mustard oil content, are a welcome addition to vegetable salads. Nasturtium buds or seeds can be pickled in vinegar, which then tastes similar to capers. The plant has positive effects on the human body as it can eliminate many unwanted bacteria. A useful ability of nasturtiums is that they can attract aphids away from surrounding plants.

How to grow nasturtium

• Requires a sunny location. Watering should be regular. Plants tolerate short-term drought. In humid environments, plants rot, suffer from diseases, and flower very poorly. Remove spent flowers regularly. Nasturtiums are very sensitive to frost.

• Seeds can be sown either in March in containers or at the end of April in outdoor beds.

• Plants require well-draining soil that is not too rich in nutrients.

• Do not fertilize the plants. Fertilizing causes the formation of excessively large leaves and poor flower production.

• The plant is attacked by cabbage white butterfly, which lays eggs on the underside of leaves. The hatched caterpillars devour all the leaves in a very short time. Protection consists of timely preventive plant inspection and pest collection, or use of a suitable insecticide.

  Aphids are strongly attracted to the plant, so intensively that they will leave other plants they previously infested. We can use this to our advantage in the garden. Aphids on nasturtiums can then be controlled with suitable products. If we grow the plant for consumption, we try to avoid using chemicals or observe the protective periods stated on the packaging.

• From nasturtiums, we harvest the flower, foliage, and seeds (from June to September). For direct consumption and preserving, we harvest only the flowers.