Nutritional analysis of cold-climate perennial vegetables

Methods

Summary

We will analyse the leaves of three of the following plants: Hosta (Hosta Sieboldii), Linden (Tilia cordata), Caucasian spinach (Hablitzia tamnoides) and Scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica). The plants are selected based on four criteria: 1) taste, 2) a relatively high crop yield, 3) indication of being nutrient rich and 4) has been  grown close to each other in the same soil at established perennial vegetable cultivation sites. 

This is the minimum number of plants we will evaluate. If we will be able to raise more money than our funding target in the crowdfunding campaign, more plants will be included in the analysis. The leaves will be analysed for important nutrients such as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Folic acid, Protein and Beta carotene, as well as for water content and fibers.

The same analyses for a common wild plant with well-known nutrition values (e.g., stinging nettle Urtica dioica) will be performed in order to compare our results. This result could also be compared to already documented nutrition values of the species, in order to examine whether the study site could be considered representative for cultivating vegetables considering, e.g. soil factors. 

The time of harvest of the plants will be at the peak of ripening and before blooming. The time of harvest will vary between plants and will be decided when the growers consider it to be optimal. The vegetables will then be picked, weighed for fresh weight, and photo-documented. Some vegetables will be cooked before they get analysed, to reflect the way they are normally used. Leaves will be packaged and sent to accredited laboratories. Swedish standard analysis methods for minerals and vitamins in food will be used.