Edible Perennial Vegetables: The Mediterranean to New England

We are thrilled to welcome Stephen Barstow to share his Edible Perennial Vegetable Adventures, from the Mediterranean to New England via Central and Western Europe (including Portsmouth, UK), Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland!

Author of "Around The World in 80 Plants: An Edible Perennial Vegetable Adventure For Temperate Climates," Stephen Barstow has devoted 30 years to trialing 6,000 vegetables from around the world.

He will tell us his story, talk about the benefits of perennial vegetables, the importance of eating seasonally (for climate, health and soul) and foraging in the wild. He then leads us on an inspiring global adventure, introducing us to a selection of his top perennial vegetables including winter vegetables and perennials for urban areas, such as the Sherpa vegetables of the Himalayas; forest gardened and foraged vegetables of the Sámi people of Arctic Scandinavia; and the traditional veggie roof gardens of Norway.

COST: sliding scale of $10-30. A nonrefundable deposit of $5 is required to reserve your space with the rest of the fee due at the event. However, we will not turn anyone away if unable to pay - just contact Amy A if needed.

NOTE: Stephen will speak the night before for The Resilience Hub in Portland Maine where he'll cover: New England westwards through North America, South America, Australasia, China, Japan and Korea, Siberia, the Himalaya, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean. You can go to just one or attend both for the full tour! Find out about the Thursday presentation here: https://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/262011274/

More about Stephen Barstow... Stephen’s home and garden are located close to 63.5N in Norway with over 2,000 edible plants, each with an ethnobotanical story to tell. He has a particular fondness for what he calls edimentals (edible ornamentals), edible weeds and onions (Alliums). It is unlikely that anyone anywhere has tried as many different species of edible plants – just witness his salad comprising 538 varieties in 2003 – earning him the title of Extreme Salad Man! Apart from keeping up his garden, he is leader of the Norwegian Seed Savers organization, is developing a Vegetable Sanctuary garden and is a visiting researcher at the Ringve Botanical Gardens in Trondheim. His own garden (The Edible Garden) is also a Permaculture LAND Center. You can follow his work and writings on his site www.edimentals.com

Cosponsored by North Shore Permaculture Collaborative, The Resilience Hub of Portland, Edgewood Nursery & Seacoast Permaculture