Hostas and Fiddleheads

I had the kids over last night and foraged the back yard for both new Hostas shoots and small Fiddleheads sauteed in bacon fat with a finishing squeeze of lemon juice last night. They were reluctant at first but soon asked for more.

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We grow hostas, but I’d never given any thought to them being edible (if only the slugs were so clueless :rofl: )

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Hostas are like lettuce to slugs and deer. I won’t grow them for that reason, even though I am always looking for edible perennials to add to my garden.

My #1 recommendation for an easy edible perennial is probably the Egyptian (“walking”, topsetting) onion. I have grown them for more than 20 years and give extra bulbils away every year.

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And rabbits

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We grow hostas all over the place and I never thought of using them as edibles. I guess we feed the rabbits enough bean and pea shoots that they leave the hostas alone. How should I prepare them?

AND by the way, in terms of indestructible perennials, try Shiso. Christine Huang gave me one or two plants two years ago. I put them into a rolling planter that was about 1-1/2’ x 2-1/2’. Last year, it turned into 100+ plants in the same planter after doing NOTHING to propagate them. This year, they are starting to come up and it looks like I will have even more. I use Shiso for pesto, flavoring home made hummus, and all sorts of other things. Maybe the chipmunks and rabbits and ground hogs don’t like it.

Shiso is in the mint family, and like many mints can be invasive. I grow unruly mints strictly in containers.

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Hosta shoots can be cooked just like asparagus (or lettuce or celtuce)–roast, stir-fry/sautee, braise, grill, steam.

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I have a ton of Hostas and had no idea.

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I sauté the young shoots in bacon fat and add salt and pepper.

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Shiso cut into ribbons is great in salads too.