Appalachian Wild Creasy Greens Seeds (Barbarea verna)

Also known as early cress, creasy greens are a traditional foraged spring vegetable in the eastern and southeastern U.S., a peppery cool-season wild mustard that is excellent sauteed or in salads, used like roquette/arugula.

This naturalized plant is commonly harvested alongside ramps (both reach harvest maturity at roughly the same time), and both occupy similar moist, fertile loamy soils, although creasy greens are more associated with slightly more open, sunny locations.

You can plant these as a virtually carefree garden vegetable, lightly broadcasting them onto bare ground, just barely tamping them into the soil. Spring-sown plants will benefit from occasional watering, while fall-sown greens usually reach mature spring harvest size without any supplemental irrigation.

Not necessarily in keeping with strict hill-folk tradition, but these are excellent flash sauteed with onions and garlic, and finished with a spritz of lemon juice, parmesan, and walnuts (or pine nuts to) make it fancy.

Best harvested early and often. Older plants are less tender and flavorful. Extremely high in iron, manganese, potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamins B6, K, A, C, B2, and folate.

Approximately 100 seeds (0.2 grams).