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Plants where all of it is edible

 
gardener
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Location: New England
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Turnips, beets. Nasturtiums too. Chickory. And sweet  potatoes?  I didn’t know the leaves were edible!

Are there lettuces where you also eat the roots? I know that there are some you eat the flower stalks, but don’t know which ones.

Is there a list? Except obviously you can’t keep them growing, it always seemed to me  to be the most efficient type of plant to grow...

 
pollinator
Posts: 11856
Location: Central Texas USA Latitude 30 Zone 8
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I believe virtually all parts of Moringa are edible.  It can be grown as an annual in a cold climate, but must be started in warm temperatures.  http://www.fao.org/traditional-crops/moringa/en/
 
pollinator
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Location: South West France
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Radishes and carrots spring to mind.
 
gardener
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Chayote
 
steward
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This is a great topic!

I am probably the only person who eats spaghetti squash rind.  I roast it like acorn squash.

I feel that almost all parts of vegetable plants can be eaten though the problem is that some parts are not palatable.  Most roots and stems are too stringy.

This year the deer ate all the leaves off the tomatoes, peppers, watermelons and squash.  They must have enjoyed them though I have no desire to eat any of those leaves.

https://permies.com/t/58961/culinary-tomato-foliage

In Mexico, Corn Smut is a delicacy.  Our corn got it one year and I had no desire to try it.

https://permies.com/t/124120/Corn-Smut-huitlacoche

https://permies.com/t/35173/eat-corn-smut


 
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Location: West-central Pennsylvania
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Where'd everybody go?
I'll add Sunchokes, AKA Sunroots, Helianthus tuberosus, and by the Algonquins Kaishúcpenauk.
The flowers after being steamed or boiled taste like squash. I've used the broth from boiling them to make wine.
The leaves are hairy, so don't throw them raw into a salad, but when cooked they take on the flavor of anything they're mixed with and the fuzzies disappear.
The tender sprouts or the tender upper stalks when boiled or steamed have a flavor I can't describe. I'm drying and powdering some for flavoring.
The tubers of course are great food cooked any which way or even raw, dehydrated raw and ground into flour, dehydrated after boiling or steaming and made into instant mashed 'choke powder. I've made wine from the boiled tuber broth too.
 
gardener
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Hollyhock
fava bean
scarlet runner bean
 
pollinator
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Location: West Yorkshire, UK
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We've been eating our broccoli plants, little by little.  First the broccoli.  Then the leaves, mainly cooked as namul, but also cooked like plain cabbage--good with our Sunday roast dinner today.  I know broccoli stems/stalks are good to eat too (after peeling) though I've never tried my own, only the supermarket ones.  Maybe I'll give them a shot once I've picked all the leaves.  
 
pollinator
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I let my radishes self-seed in the garden based. This time of year, they come up thickly and I pull up handfuls of young radish plants before the roots start to swell and cook them whole. Great in soup or steam sautéed as a side.
 
Rusticator
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Sweet potatoes. From tubers to leaf tops - 100% edible - and tasty. The leaves are very spinach-esque, and the stems are somewhere between asparagus and green beans in texture and flavor. The tubers are, of course,  da bomb, almost any way they're cooked.
 
steward and tree herder
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I think all parts of all alliums are edible, most of them are pretty tasty too!
 
Robert Ray
gardener
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Radish rat-tails, the seed pods make spicy stir fry addition, pickle too.
 
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Location: Maryland, USA - Zone 7A
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Essentially all parts of plants within the Mustard family (Brassicaceae or Cruciferae) are edible, including leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, pods, and roots.

When I forage garlic mustard, I make a horseradish-like sauce from the roots, pesto from the leaves and stirfry the stems.
 
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I’ll add arugula.  I love to eat the flowers and especially the seed pods when young.

I didn’t know about the Jerusalem artichokes - leaves and flowers!  I’m excited to try them. Thanks!
 
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I once grew curly (not Italian) parsley in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  It was a hot, dry and, sunny summer. The parsley got to about 9 cm high when I decided to harvest it. I had to wash/rinse it 9 times due to sand and mud.  I used a hose to excavate the parsley which brought up the roots intact.  I made delicious tabouleh with the shoots, but the small 3 to 4 mm diameter roots where definitely the main ingredient that boosted the no salt veggetable soup to outstanding taste levels 😋.
 
pollinator
Posts: 203
Location: Schofields, NSW. Australia. Zone 9-11 Temperate to Sub Tropical
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Celtuce which is the edible lettuce referred to by Jennie, the stems taste like mild asparagus, I love them when making Asian food.

All stems and leaves of broccoli, broccolini, kohl rabi or cauliflower if they have not turned woody.

Nasturtiums, I use the green seeds pickled in vinegar like capers, the very young leaves in salad for their peppery taste, the flowers are lovely with a little drop of honey hit at the base, and I sometimes use a leaf or 2 in a vegetable juice or in cooking.

Sweet potato leaves are a wonderful source of protein used in stews to thicken them or fried until they are crunchy to sprinkle over meals, as well as the roots being so tasty.

Hamburg Parsley can be used for leaves and the roots are yummy and give a parsley taste to anything you cook with.

Young dandelion leaves in salads or roasting the roots to dry and chop to make hot natural coffee substitute or brewed, cooled and used in icy cold drinks with a little maple syrup.

Radish leaves in juices or roots in Asian stir fries or patties.

Appreciating all the suggestions here, I love anything that produces little waste.
 
moose poop looks like football shaped elk poop. About the size of this tiny ad:
Willow Feeder Bundle: Movie, eBook and Plans
https://permies.com/wiki/359686/Willow-Feeder-Bundle-Movie-eBook
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