Comments on: Salsify – Oyster Plant

By: Kenny Point

Kenny Point — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:47:27 +0000

Vicie, if you can raise crops like carrots and parsnips you should be able to grow salsify as well.

By: Vicie Bush

Vicie Bush — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:57:26 +0000

Read about salsify in an old Dutch cook book. I am wondering if it will grow in southcentral Alaska? Our winters are long (4 months).
Would love to develop a market for it. Loved reading all the comments about it!

By: Nadya

Nadya — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:57:08 +0000

I found your site looking up Gobo/burdock – very nice!
My CSA farmers offered Salsify last year, & I just sauted it with onions & other root veggies – nice & easy! It was very good, & so pretty when it blooms.
When I was growing up East of the Cascades in Oregon, we had a yellow flowered version that we called ‘milkweed’ (because of the milky sap) & my folks had me pull out.
My former hubby is a biologist, & told us ‘that’s salsify – & edible!’ Over here in the Willamette Valley we have the purple flowered kind – I’d also rarely eaten it, but grew it a few times years ago. I got some seed from a plant close to the sidewalk a few blocks from here, & plan to plant with my fall carrots, in the former garlic bed as suggested in the Tilth guide for this region.

By: Tamara5

Tamara5 — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 19:39:47 +0000

You do not have to peel the Salsify until after boiling, thus saving the trouble of the sticky sap and immersing them quickly into vineagar/lemon water.

By: Dan H

Dan H — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:33:27 +0000

Just peel, boil until fork tender and cool. Dip in mayo – they taste just like artichoke hearts (at least to me). I used to grow them all the time in Oregon. For some reason, my garden quit producing them. The seeds would germinate and the plants would get about an inch tall and then die off. After a couple years, I quit trying. Stores no longer sell the seeds and grocers no longer have them in the produce department. It’s a great veggie and I miss them a lot.

By: Dina Bennett

Dina Bennett — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:27:32 +0000

My Dad is growing salsify (we call them vegetable oysters) this year and they are doing great. He planted the seeds last Fall when we planted the garlic (Upstate NY). I am researching receipes and love all of the comments and feedback found here. The best part is that I already have a market for all that we have growning! I look forward to trying some myself this Fall.

By: Maria Th. White

Maria Th. White — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:13:00 +0000

For weeks we have been wondering what this huge plant in our flowerbed around our mailbox was. We finally took pictures and took it to a nursery to ask the experts there. Today we got the answer and after reading all the comments above, one person (kellysgarden) mentioned the German word Schwarzwurzel and boy did that bring back memories from home. I remember my grandmother fixing them with a white sauce, very delicious. I am all excited about this and whoever planted this seed among our blue and yellow pansies, thank you very much. (wind?) Now I can introduce my husband to this vegetable. I have never seen these Schwarzwurzeln as a plant before. When can I pull this plant /root out of the ground? It is still blooming and getting taller every day. I will put the seeds in our back yard, whenever the time comes and hope for it to grow real good. Thank you and God bless.

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:45:27 +0000

Hi Kenny, I just found out about salsify root this year and ordered seeds off of ebay, got them in the ground today and can’t wait to try them out. Being from south Georgia on the coast I love oysters but you can only buy them during the cooler months. Can’t wait to try out the recipes on this site.