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Strawberry spinach is one of the forgotten vegetables that is making a remarkable comeback in our vegetable gardens. It is cultivated for its leaves which are eaten fresh in salads or steamed and for its magnificent red fruits. However, make no mistake, although they look a lot like strawberries, they taste more like beets. The fruit should be consumed in moderation since the seed contains toxic agents.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: Chenopodium capitatum
Common names: Strawberry spinach
English: Strawberry blite
Family: Amaranthaceae

Common sorrel variety with large green leaves. This perennial, tangy and lemony, will liven up your soups and salads. Harvest the leaves when they are still young and tender. Little tip: French sorrel can also be used to soothe stings (from nettle and bugs) by rubbing the leaves on the skin.

CARE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: Contains oxalic acid, do not consume in excess.

The baselle is native to the Malabar Coast in the Indian peninsula. Used as a replacement for spinach, it likes heat and light, since it comes from southern regions. A climber with delicious leaves that we eat all summer long, it is as good as it is beautiful to look at. It can be grown both in pots and in the ground.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: basella rubra
Common names: Malabar spinach, Baselle
English: Malabar spinach, ceylon spinach
Family: Basellaceae

MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Malabar spinach is a tropical climbing plant, be careful not to take them out too early in the spring as they don't like the cold.

Graceful dark red lettuce, it is very resistant to the garden both in terms of temperature and insects and pests. Its leaves are crisp and wavy, and it is described as semi-Roman. She often makes a loose, disheveled apple. Excellent in taste. Rare. Thanks to Mr. Paquet for sharing it with us.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: Lactuca sativa 'Ibis'
Common names: Ibis lettuce, semi-romaine lettuce
English: Ibis Lettuce
Family: Asteraceae

MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
Resistant to heat and bolting.

Very crunchy lettuce, which a friend from France sent me as a gift a few years ago. Very easy to grow, it seems to like the Quebec terroir. On the Internet, here is what we found about it "This lettuce has certainly been born in the Champagne region since the beginning of the 19th century. Then over the decades, like many varieties it lost its real name.However, it survived time thanks to its undeniable qualities and was kept by a woman named Angèle and continued on its merry way and its propagation under this last name.Luckily, Gilbert Vincent, great collector of beans, was able to carry out after many years of research to find the surname of this old variety, a joint culture with another very old variety also from the Champagne region, the Alphange à graine noire, and was able to observe that it it was the same variety. Angèle was thus able to find her surname." There is also a mention of the variety under its English names in an 1870s London publication, The Garden by William Robinson.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia
Common names: Angela lettuce
English: Magnum Bonum or Florence black-seeded cos lettuce
Family: Asteraceae

Greater plantain;Plantago major;Plantaginaceae;Medicinal plant. Its virtues have been recognized since Antiquity, in the East as well as in the West. In North America, it spread with European settlers. Native Americans nicknamed this plant "white man's foot", because it grew wherever it trod the ground.;Plantain has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It is used to treat wounds, skin irritations, inflammation of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes, rheumatism, constipation. In general, the great plantain purifies the body.;The fresh leaves of the plantain, washed, can be applied as a poultice to the skin or ingested in the form of an infusion and mother tincture. Very nutritious, they can also be eaten raw in salads, or cooked when they are tougher.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: Plantago major
Common names: Great plantain, big plantain, major plantain, bird plantain.
English: Broadleaf plantain, white man's foot, greater plantain
Family: Plantaginaceae

CAUTION, plantain can be invasive.

Lamb's-quarters (Chou gras);Chenopodium album;In Quebec, we always ate it in times of scarcity. When the vegetable cellar was empty, when spring was slow to come, we picked the leaves and the young shoots and made a well-vitamined soup that we called "fat chicken soup". Of course, there was no chicken in there! The honor of the cook was safe.;Edible annual plant of the family Amaranthaceae. Its name refers to the shape of its crow's feet leaves. Slowly, it colonizes wasteland, vegetable gardens, fields, continents. We find it everywhere. However, this weed has many virtues. Very rich in calcium, protein, vitamins A, B and C, phosphorus and iron. The leaves and young shoots are eaten. However, like spinach, this plant contains a high level of oxalic acid. We will therefore refrain from putting it on the menu every day. The seeds are edible but always in moderation, because of the saponins they contain.;It freezes well and can be cooked with all sauces. To discover in pesto or in soup.;Also called fat cabbage, this plant is at the origin of the expression "to throw its fat cabbage", which means to waste its wealth. Very stupid the one who throws his fat cabbage.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name: Chenopodium album
Common names: Lamb's-quarters, Ansérine blanche, Fatty chicken, Fatty cabbage
English: Lamb's quarters, Melde, Goosefoot, Fat-hen
Family: Amaranthaceae

MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
Does not require fertilization. Harvest mature flowers regularly as the plant can quickly become invasive. If you wish to harvest the seeds, harvest the stems just before the seeds brown and let them dry on a tray.

Curly mallow is a medicinal plant also called curly mallow or Chinese mallow. It was already cultivated in Asia more than two millennia ago. It has emollient, laxative and depurative properties. Its leaves, with their sweet flavor, are eaten raw or cooked. Still young, they can replace lettuce in salads. The stems of the plant can rise almost 2 meters in height.

MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Reseeds itself.

This plant with lobed and narrow leaves has a more pungent taste than that of cultivated arugula. It will appeal to those who love arugula salad as well as gardeners who like to taste a few leaves in passing, on hot summer days.;Arugula reseeds itself year after year.

MAINTENANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
When thinning, be careful not to damage the plants that will remain in place because they are still fragile. When the plants have a few leaves, thin out by removing the weakest so as to leave a plant every 10 to 15 cm. Germination generally takes place about ten days after sowing and thinning can be done immediately after the appearance of the first leaves. The wild arugula is discreet during the winter but will start up again in the spring and will remain in place for several years.

Japanese mustard also called mizuna cabbage. Its flavor is slightly peppery. Traditionally used in soups, salads or sautéed. Also grown as an ornamental plant for the beauty of its serrated leaves. It does not like heat. Better to grow it in early spring or fall.

Crisp spring lettuce, with elongated, strongly cut leaves and a soft green color. Its taste is very sweet. It's easy to grow, and if you let it go to seed, watercress will reseed itself every year. It can also be used as lettuce to cut, as and when needed. Italian heritage variety.