Cabbage Thistle (Cirsium oleraceum)
Cabbage Thistle
(Cirsium oleraceum)
The cabbage thistle was once a common sight in our ancestors cottage vegetable patch
Cabbage thistles
are extremely easy to grow, they seem to thrive in any soil though the more rich and moist it is the lusher the growth will be. Untroubled by pests, they are happy to be left alone in a sunny corner where the bees will enjoy the flowers in the late summer.
The young leaves are available and can be cooked as a green in the spring, and you can lift and divide them in early spring to increase your plants and harvest the roots, which are also eaten and said to be a good source of inulin.