Blue Petal

Green studio magic! 🍃 Shaking off the digital dust because things have been incredibly busy here at Blue Petal Botanicals.

This is what a kitchen bench full of beautiful nasturtiums looks like right before the magic happens! We’ve spent the day prepping this harvest to process into a gorgeous batch of vibrant, peppery Nasturtium Salt - a core ingredient for our signature Possum herbal seasoning.

Between sorting these stunning leaves, finalizing this year label verifications and getting winter seedlings tucked into the earth - the days have just flown by.

While our recent Fermenting workshop had to be postponed, our hands haven't stopped creating winter wellness goodness for you all. Keep an eye out for our next post as we open up bookings for our beautiful July winter sanctuary workshops!

What winter prep are you working on in your patch today? 👇


Blue Petal

Summer Glory to Winter Roots!

The two faces of the Jerusalem artichoke. Swipe to see the summer glory hiding inside these winter roots! ☀️

Home after a long Saturday shift on my feet and tonight’s dinner is straight from the soil. These knobby little roots were freshly dug from the garden today, but just a few months ago, they were towering over the patch in a sea of bright, beautiful yellow blossoms - closely related to the sunflower.

I love this reminder of nature’s perfect design. In the summer, they capture the sun's energy and in the winter, they store it deep underground to nourish us exactly when we need grounding, gut-loving prebiotic fuel.

Time to slice these up, toss them in some olive oil and sea salt, and let the oven do the work. The perfect way to refuel a tired herbalist after a busy week.

Stay warm out there tonight, Taranaki! 💛


Blue Petal

Experimenting with new life in Blue Petal Herb Field is one of the greatest joys of working with the land. 🌱 This season, we grew Mashua (Anu) for the very first time!

As it was a small trial crop, every single root will be saved as planting stock to establish a permanent home in our food forest next season. But as a grower, my mind is always leaping ahead to the kitchen - and specifically, to the fermenting jar!

While Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) looks almost identical to the familiar NZ Yam (Oca), it is a completely different plant. In fact, it belongs to the Tropaeolaceae family, making it a close relative of the common garden Nasturtium.
The entire plant is edible. The leaves carry a gorgeous, fiery, peppery kick—even more robust than a standard nasturtium. While we aren't eating the tubers yet, the whole plant - leaves, flowers, seed pods and the tubers are absolutely ripe for wild fermentation.

This is exactly the kind of magic we will be diving into at our upcoming Fermenting Workshop. We love exploring how traditional garden wisdom and simple kitchen crafts collide to create true culinary medicine.

Space is limited, so if you want to learn how to turn your garden abundance—from roots to peppery shoots—into vibrant ferments, here is the link to secure your spot: https://bluepetalnz.com/shop/ols/products/sauerkraut--simple-ferments-sat-20-june

Have you ever tried fermenting wild or peppery garden greens before?



Blue Petal

☀️ Tomorrow on Herbal Wisdom: Waking up the Internal Sun ☀️
As the winter chill settles into Taranaki, it’s time to stoke our inner furnace!

In this episode, we are exploring the power of botanical heat - how we can use common kitchen spices and local native plants to warm our blood and drive circulation right to our fingertips and toes.

We’ll be diving into the medicine of:
🧄 Garlic: The Great Circulator and blood cleaner.
🫚 Ginger: The Deep Belly Heater to kindle your metabolic fire.
🌿 Kawakawa: Taranaki’s heart-healing pepper tree—our shield against the damp.
🌶️ Chili: The catalyst spark that moves the whole system.

When: Tue 9th & 16th June at 10:30 AM
Where: ART 104.4FM | Access Radio Taranaki
Listen On-Demand: bluepetalnz.com/podcasts

Grab a warm cup of tea and let's stoke the fire together!



Blue Petal ARTFM

A marriage made in heaven... 🥬✨

We are always so incredibly humbled when our creations find a special place in your daily kitchen rituals. This gorgeous note from Jane H. absolutely warmed our hearts today!

While many of you love your daily morning swig for that vibrant, fiery wellness boost, Jane’s brilliant idea of using our award-finalist Turmeric-Ginger Oxymel as a live, zesty salad drizzle is pure culinary medicine. The earthy warmth of the turmeric and the bright kick of ginger cut through crisp garden greens beautifully.

It turns out Jane is onto something deep - using these vibrant, warming spices in our daily food is the ultimate way to stoke our vitality during the chilly months.

📻 Tune in Tomorrow Morning! If you want to dive deeper into how these fiery botanicals work their magic, join me tomorrow morning (Tuesday, 9th June) at 10:30am for a brand new episode of Herbal Wisdom on ARTFM (104.4fm).

This week’s episode is all about "The Internal Sun: Fire, Spice and Circulation." If your hands and feet are always the first to freeze when the winter chill sets in, we will be exploring how to use the blistering summer heat stored inside garlic, ginger, chili and local Taranaki kawakawa to stoke your digestive fire and get your circulation moving right to your fingertips.

(Missed the live broadcast? Catch it on demand anytime via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at https://bluepetalnz.com/podcasts ).

Have you tried using your oxymels in your kitchen creations like Jane yet? We’d love to hear your favorite ways to enjoy them!

👇 If you're ready to try Jane's salad trick and wake up your own internal sun, a fresh batch of our Turmeric-Ginger Oxymel is stocked and available here: https://bluepetalnz.com/shop/ols/products/turmeric--ginger-oxymel



Blue Petal ARTFM