Buck's Horn Plantain NT - Ferme de Sainte Marthe seeds

The Buck's Horn Plantain is a culinary herb somewhere between a salad leaf and an aromatic herb. It is used in Mesclun mixed salad leaves, adding a salty note, but also for medicinal purposes, to relieve minor burns or cuts. It is sown from March to September and can be harvested all year round.

Less well-known than its cousin the Lanceolate Plantain, the Deer's Horn Plantain (in Latin, Plantago coronopus) is a biennial plant also known as Crow's Foot or Staghorn Plantain. It is native to Europe and belongs to the Plantaginaceae family.

Growing naturally in dry and compact soils, where it faces little competition, this biennial plant has a spreading rosette habit, composed of deeply divided narrow leaves and topped with arching flower spikes.

In the garden this herb is cultivated for its very tender young leaves, which are consumed raw in salads or cooked like spinach. It can also be used to treat minor wounds such as insect bites, as it has emollient and astringent properties.

Harvest: Young leaves can be harvested all year round, as needed.

Storage: Leaves should be consumed immediately after harvest.

Gardener's tip: Like lamb's lettuce, Buck's Horn Plantain is sown in uncompacted soil. While the rosette of this plantain naturally spreads close to the ground, it may have a slightly more upright habit when cultivated.

Untreated or "NT" seeds come from plants grown conventionally (often with the use of pesticides), but they do not undergo any treatment after harvest. These seeds are allowed in organic market gardening when organic seeds are out of stock.