Tropaeolum majus
Tropaeolum majus
Common names: Nasturtium, Cape gooseberry, Indian cress
Photo: George Chernilevsky · Public Domain · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The plant combines ornamental and culinary uses: its bright orange‑red flowers taste peppery and sharp like cress, and the young buds can be pickled as a substitute for capers. As a climber, it greets fences and diverts aphids from neighboring beds.
Care instructions
Plant the large seeds in May directly in the garden on a sunny spot with relatively poor soil, because too much nitrogen produces only leaves instead of flowers. Water evenly and harvest leaves, flowers, and buds continuously until the first frost. A trellis or support helps climbing varieties.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, well-drained, lean
Feeding
Light feeder
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
Nasturtium serves as a trap plant for you. Aphids and cabbage whiteflies prefer it over the brassicaceae next to it.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 34 more species in the catalogue
Source: Trap plant practice in organic horticulture
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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