Q&A

DEAR NEW FARM:

I'm having a lot of trouble finding productive species—preferably native ones—that are suited to wetlands. Can New Farm help?

David Travis
New Jersey

DEAR DAVID:

We asked our farm manager, Jeff Moyer, who suggested elderberry, blueberry and watercress and who then turned to our demonstration and children’s garden keeper extraordinaire, Eileen Weinsteiger. Here’s what Eileen had to suggest:

The following species perform well in wet conditions:

• Wild rice (Zizania aquatica)
• Water cress (Nasturtium off.)
• Water chestnut (Trapa natans)
• Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
• Duckweed (Wolffia arrhiza) leaves excellent cooked, nutritious 20 percent protein, Vit A, B2, B6, C
• American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) baked root sweet and mealy
• Small reedmace (Typha angustifolia, T. latifolia) roots cooked like potatoes, young shoots like asparagus, seeds have nutty flavor
• Water mint (Mentha aquatica)
• Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
• Arrowhead or duck potato (Sagittaria latifolia) tubers were a staple food of the Chippewa, Pawnee, Algonquian and Winnebago Indians.

NF

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