How to Grow, Propagate, and Use Nasturtiums

You can grow your own mulch simply and cheaply. It’s called living mulch. Watch Morag Gamble explain the why and how of using Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) as a living mulch and discover all the amazing uses for it - for you, for the soil, for the food forest, for biodiversity. Did you know it’s ALL edible? Morag shares so many ways to eat it and grow it as well as a bit of history and where the name came from.
Our Permaculture Life is created by Morag Gamble - an award-winning permaculture educator, blogger and podcaster - an avid permaculture gardener and founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - teaching permaculture teachers and designers around the world.
Main website - Permaculture Education Institute
permacultureeducationinstitut...

[@af2313]

Nasturtium was a favourite of mine in my old garden. I’ve been travelling for the past 7 months and keen to get back into a house with a garden, I’d never heard of picking the nasturtium seeds and can’t wait to try!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Such an abundant amount of them too! I hope you enjoy the flavours they bring to your meals.

[@mohamedrayani3375]

The reason for the success in your work is that you are a beautiful and kind woman, and I am one of your followers 👍🥀💌❤️

[@HadassahHaman]

I grow and LOVE nasturtiums and LOVED your video. I'm subscribed! Any visitors that tour my home vegetable garden, I insist they taste my nasturtium "pepper lettuce ." They're always amazed!!!! at the peppery flavor! I no longer grow arugula or various lettuces since I'm growing beets, daikons, turnips, etc... where the greens are all edible. Great video! Thx for sharing. ❤🫛🥕🧅🥒🫑🍎🌶🥔🥬🥒

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing what you do. They are amazing aren’t they.

[@HadassahHaman]

@@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife YES!♥️

[@midgetkungfu]

I've grown Nasturtiums for a few years now and I just love them. I marvel at them! So excited to see my seedlings come alive this season. This has given me so many incredible ideas!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Fantastic. I hope you enjoy exploring this plant more.

[@joanna6183]

I use it for all you mentioned and more. Pickled the leaves also with some flowers if you like. Blitz the fresh seeds as a wasabi alternative for sushi.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Wonderful idea - thanks

[@craigmetcalfe1749]

Hey Morag! This was so inspiring to me! I rummaged through my seed bank and found three types of Nasturtiums - Empress of India (with beautiful red flowers), Peach Melba (with Yellow bicolor blooms), and Tip Top Mixed (which offers the gardener a splendid color range of single flowers. I had to giggle when I heard about your yellow walled house because all of my internal walls are yellow and once I get these in the ground, I will have a mass of color and sustainability. Cheers!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

What a wonderful array of colours - your garden is going to be literally Buzzing with bees too

[@sharonpitman5225]

Thanks Morag. Welcome back! Very helpful and informative. I did not know about the pepper suggestion. Good to know…My living mulch currently consists of Brahmi, sweet potato and Warrigal greens. I am growing nasturtiums and hope to achieve what you have eventually. They seem to be spreading slowly. Oh and I forgot violets in the shady areas.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Thanks Sharon. The help of a 15 year old son does wonders for my capacity to get videos produced 🤗

[@medacredland3461]

I love my nasturtiums.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

I think as a child, it was the first flower I knew

[@helenmcgill5563]

I’ve had nasturtiums everywhere in my garden for many years now. Grow them once and let the seeds dry and fall and you will never have to plant them again. They look beautiful through late winter and spring and I’m always sad when they start to disappear as the weather gets warmer here in WA. They prevent pests from eating my seedlings and so much more. In a salad is always my favourite way to eat them 😀

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Lovely- fresh in salad! Yum

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

You’re right - plant it once and if you let the seeds fall, you’ll have for next season. They just keep coming back beautifully. But For those where you are just restoring soils and concerned they might not - simply keep some seed stored too just in case.

[@foggybummers]

Thank you, this video was most helpful and informative. We sold up and purchased two acres in a deciduous meadow within a commercial conifer forest North East Scotland. Currently living in a caravan as we build our new home which hopefully will be ready late Summer. From the get go we dedicated ourselves to self-sustainability and started with Hügelkultur beds and no-dig. Two and a half years in and our garden is growing grand. In time, we plan to expand the garden and transform her into a food forest, so I’m delighted to have found your channel. Only problem is I must resist the urge to binge watch, the sun is shining (finally) so must get out into the garden and make the most of it 🌺

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Have fun tending your new place and creating abundance and biodiversity

[@ecska]

I was already in love with my nasturtium plants. This is the first year I'm growing them. I started them from seeds. They are beautiful, very useful and tasty! But I did not know that this is a medicinal plant as well.Amazing! Thank you very much for this video!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

and just such happy plants in the garden too

[@andryalopez3805]

You’ve inspired me to plant nasturtiums in a part of my yard that is barren. Thank you for sharing.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

You are so welcome. And I hope this helps restore that part of your garden 🤗

[@BB-wl1lu]

I was given 4 nasturtium seeds but I didn't know anything about them. I put 1 in each corner of my garden box and oh my goodness I did not expect them to take over, but they were absolutely beautiful, the bees and hummingbirds loved them!

[@lsb9073]

Love the idea of dried seeds as pepper! I mean, how many capers can anyone use? Going to defo give that a go😊.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Mine are just starting to dry - busy collecting for this :-)

[@LittleCountryCabin]

I learned so much!! Thank you for sharing ❤

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Happy gardening 🌿

[@annmarie3520]

Thanks, lots of info I didn’t know about nasturtiums!❤

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

There’s just so much about every plant that is so fascinating - and why they so intrigue me 🤗

[@stherky]

I love it for all the reasons you mentioned but also here in the west of Ireland it flowers in my garden well into December, it gives that little bit of colourful joy in the dark months of winter.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

How beautiful- there are so many reasons to appreciate this lovely plant

[@SpiralMagic]

Thank you so much for this one! Nasturtiums are one of my favorite, I used them as a living mulch this year and they're will going strong, and not a weed in sight. Going to get my grinder out now... (Make my own PEPPER??? OMG!)

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

I know - their weed supressing capability is phenomenal

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Let me know how you go with making nasturtium pepper

[@lianessyes7238]

Wow, such a bountiful living mulch, thanks!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Abundant and super easy and hardy - my kind of living mulch 🤗

[@cari.one.living.system]

love love love!!!!! nasturtiums are so handy - i will plant some so it reminds me of you ..

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

That's beautiful Cari 😘

[@SharonLeeCreative]

Fantastic! Thanks so much Morag. 😊

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

You are welcome. Happy gardening.

[@andreah1124]

I planted nasturtiums in the hoop house one year and have never needed to replant since. The seeds sow themselves and the floor of the hoop house is covered every year with them. The tomatoes and peppers grow happily with their protection 💝 what an amazing plant. I also use alyssum as a living mulch. Smells wonderful!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Sounds like a delightful space!

[@peterlawrence738]

Thanks for the “growing from cuttings” tip, new to me

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Oh yes! The ‘new plants from old’ trick is my go to around the garden with all kinds of plants.

[@mattivation_inc.]

Have eaten the flowers & young leaves as salad additions, but I love the idea of nasturtium pepper & capers. Also the tea idea m. Thanks

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Edible from seed to seed 🌿

[@preciousmarychamakavinga7849]

Waal this is fabulous and inspiring Morag. This reminds me of the way living mulch was used in the past by elders of the land back here in my homeland. They would always plant pumpkin leaves underneath maize and the pumpkin leaves would act as mulch. I will definitely try this out this year as our rain season is approaching

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Hi! 🤗 Please do try Precious. I wonder what else you remember from traditional growing practices 🌿

[@user-dw8is1tl9o]

Just planted some Nasturtiums, looking forward to the colour and cooking. Thank you.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Fantastic! The colour burst is fabulous. Which colour did you choose?

[@jeniphernyanga5542]

This is very wonderful. This among the crops that we need to plant in our farms so that it creates double benefits. The most one being improving the soil covering the soil and conserving water. Such crops here in Africa we call them indigenous crops and they have been destroyed. So we need to regenerate them. If we can get it in Africa we can integrate it in our farms. Thank you for sharing with us your wide knowledge.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Hi Jenipher 🤗. Lovely to hear from you here. I wonder what local indigenous crops with these qualities you can find and plant . You probably don’t need to import.

[@annipetratos9401]

Agree with you emphatically... nasturtiums are wonderful plants. So beautiful and so useful

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes indeed - such a ‘happy’ plant that brings so much vibrancy to the garden

[@annipetratos9401]

Often a subject in the paintings I have on my wall...and my own attempts

[@tbpal7114]

​@@annipetratos9401❤

[@veronicamartinezmedema8273]

Thank you, wonderful information.

[@cis961]

Ciaoo Morag, non ho avuto mai fortuna con il nasturzio; vivo in Italia centrale a 700 mt. Proverò di nuovo la prossima primavera! Grazia

[@radiev15]

Great inspiration. I have an area perfet for a living mulch but didnt think to do it. Thank you. Keen to try the pepper idea too. Already use the leaves and fliwers in salads.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Wonderful. It grows so fast and covers thickly

[@veemusings]

Thanks for that, im off to find some to plant everywhere!

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Happy nasturtium-ing

[@melnikne1]

Amazing. I am just going to grow nasturtium microgreens. Lots of information. Thanks you.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

What a wonderful idea!!

[@daisygurl3601]

Fascinating, Morag! I need to add it to my basil for a new kind of pesto! I love using sedum as a living mulch. It is fairly bulletproof! Blessings…daisy

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Great - l love mixed pestos. Sedum is so drought tolerant and hardy . What does it grow well under at your place ?

[@cherrywilliams5739]

They are a great antibiotic. I dry them, powder them and put it in capsules. 😊

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Interesting

[@akinyicolang69]

Inspiring

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

What edible flowers have you got growing at your gardens?

[@rosemaryogilvie6842]

Did not think of them as a mulch, but will use it now around my fruit trees. I ferment the seeds to make capers as I prefer the flavour vinegar pickles.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Fermented capers - yum! How long do you ferment for?

[@rosemaryogilvie6842]

@@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife ‘m

[@pete-tamwilson2516]

I grow them wild all around my small urban yard. I have a patch of garden that needs attention and gets very dry as I can't grow enough to mulch it along with the rest of the garden. I do find it does in full sun conditions though. I've got a few pigeon peas in the dry patch and trying to get some cuttings from my comfrey in there too. Just started some composting systems in there to get it going. I usually grow sweet potato everywhere as well as ground cover and native violets in shady sections to prevent weeds and we eat them

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes, a mix of strategies and plants is always best - builds the resilience

[@MAGAChickenMomma]

I have a clover living mulch in my vegetable garden that I planted last spring. The previous year was the 1st year I grew a garden (it was also the 1st full year we had lived at our house) & it was awful. I fought waist - high weeds all summer. We had ragweed, crab grass, poison ivy, fireweed, horsetail. I lost most of the veg I was trying to grow, simply because they got overwhelmed & I couldn’t keep up pulling the weeds. Last year, I decided if I had to have “weeds”, I wanted low-growing ones that were of some benefit to plants I wanted to grow. I chose clover. We still had some ragweed but it was easier to see & pull. I grew tomatoes, gourds, cucumbers, melons, beans, & okra. The clover really helped keep the soil moist (we live in Kansas where it’s really wet in spring & really hot, humid, & dry in summer). We did nothing to it except occasional mowing. Then this winter we had some very low temps & it died back. I was getting ready to buy more seed when it re-sprouted - perfect! I let my chickens into the garden over the winter - they love to eat clover so they kept it mowed for me & they were very adept at digging up grubs & bugs - super helpful! Now the gate is shut, plants are in, & the clover is back to work. I will be planting some nasturtiums in amongst my plants this year, too. I love their happy colours & pollinator-attracting abilities, as well as their pest-repelling abilities & other uses.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing. What a great story of positive change.

[@user-pq7xz7sk4b]

I love our nasturtiums, and will add pepper to the ways we can use it. I've had to limit where we grow it, though, as it does tend to attract snails. We've had to remove it from near our asparagus that was getting too much damage from them. The other way we've given plants away is to find a sprouted seed - a seedling with the seed still essentially intact. It transplants well, at least here in Tassie.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes! We keep transplanting all over the place. And giving away small plants too.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

I prefer to keep my nasturtiums out of the veggie patch and under fruit trees just because they grow so wildly- but with your context that is another good reason

[@hannaolsson3445]

❤

[@alysonwelch8790]

Love this info, thankyou Morag. Do nasturtiums need full sun? Or will they grow in shade. It looked in your video as though yours were in shade?

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

They thrive in semi shade but do need a little time each day when they get good access to full Sun . They grow so well under fruit trees or tumbling over terraces

[@gxd4828]

Yeah, delicious with sweet chili as a salsa

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

😋 Mmmm - sounds great. What other recipes does everyone have! This is wonderful. Nasturtiums are so abundant we need lots of ways to use them.

[@orandachildren1051]

You look great. Did you work out?

[@_JanetLouise]

mahalo

[@fCLEF007]

Is fumitory a living mulch? Because I found out that's what I have everywhere. It's very pretty (I have the white flower one), but I'm not sure if it's much use. Somebody said to me they reckon it improves the soil in pot plants so they don't pull it out. I'm leaving a lot of mine because I thought maybe it could at least be like shadecloth for the plants underneath.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes, better to have something living covering the soil than bare soil - read more about it here pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fumaria+officinalis. You could try experiments of seeding or planting other things - ones that are edible, medicinal, attractive to pollinators, more soil nourishing …

[@patnunley2341]

I found a nursery last year that had nasturtium plants I’ve tried for years, but they didn’t do too well because was told they like bad soil… so found a spot that has really crappy soil but I do want to plant some in a pot, so is potting soil OK and have you ever planted some in potting soil? My granddaughter is going to help this year so I’m excited to give it a go again.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes. I’ve tried in pots. That can work really well. I’ve seen them successfully tumbling out of a large fruit tree tub

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes. I’ve tried in pots. That can work really well. I’ve seen them successfully tumbling out of a large fruit tree tub. Good luck with it 🌿

[@emma-katerose3907]

I wonder how nastursiums would go under a cadaghi tree. Nothing seems to want to grow under ours and it drops a lot of black soot on everything under it too.... thanks for the great tips Morag, love EK ;)

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Hi EK 🤗. You could definitely try as long as it gets some sun- I’ve seen it grow well under other trees. And I’ve also seen Nz growing well under big trees like this. I’m growing Native ginger under my neighbours cadaghi on the boundary

[@emma-katerose3907]

Thanks Morag! Will give it a try ❤

[@homesteadincrazy7773]

What works best as a living mulch under fruit trees? Thanks.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

This works wonders in many places, but It depends - where are you located? And what other ‘crop’ do you want ? I’ve used pumpkins, sweet potatoes, pepinos, comfrey, mint, yarrow …..

[@TheRugghead]

I got some purse lane and clover

[@forestgirl9233]

So you propagate them the same way as sweet potatoes then, they basically grow the same way as sweet potatoes, I never realized that, good to know 👍

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Yes! Super easy. Make sure they are watered well when getting them to take

[@sandykoval3477]

I heard Nasturtium leaves are a powerful antibiotic for Pneumonia.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

thanks for sharing this

[@margolehman5482]

How long do the seeds take to germinate? I direct sowed (in zone 7B in the US) many almost two weeks ago in my raised beds and I see nothing.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

10-14 days usually if the soil is warm. Did you happen to soak the seeds overnight before planting

[@margolehman5482]

@@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife The package said not to, but I have seen others do that. I've kept the soil moist (and we've had quite a bit of rain as well). Next year I may try starting them inside, but I've heard others have mixed results with that too. Are they particular about soil PH?

[@jasonboucher3374]

Will they grow in zone 3?

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Not really. They prefer warmth

[@annipetratos9401]

Ive had a few disappointments trying to grow them here in Greece...is it too hot?

[@jvcolucci]

It is a winter flower here in Arizona desert.

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

I wonder if there’s a moist spot to get them started - or in a fruit tree pot that gets watered

[@annipetratos9401]

I'll keep trying...I love this plant

[@tbpal7114]

​@@annipetratos9401❤

[@Jakeolivier1]

Mine look sick, idk what I’m doing wrong. I’ve looked for videos on info but everyone says they’re the easiest plant to grow hahaha. 😢

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

Look to your soil perhaps. And the climate and season you are growing them.

[@Jakeolivier1]

@@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLifethanks, I’m in North Carolina zone 7b I believe, I have them under partial sun, they’re about a month old, I water them whenever I see the soil dry

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

@@Jakeolivier1 could be that it's not warm enough for them yet.

[@mysticmoon7360]

Love they idea of maling pepper from the seeds! How long do i roast them for and at what temp?

[@MoragGambleOurPermacultureLife]

I usually let them dry naturally. But you could put them in an oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 mins and check them - maybe a bit more if needed