Shiso seeds

[lorna-organic]

Does anybody grow shiso and have seeds to trade? Is shiso invasive, being a member of the mint family?

Lorna
Boycott Monsanto

[SandyAnn]

Lorna, I have a few seeds left. This plant doesn't like cold at all, so its pretty much done after the cold snap we had last week. Well, that, and I had ignored it over the summer and let it go to seed. I never bother gathering seed since it re-seeds itself like crazy, but there were a few dried blooms still hanging on and I've got a few seeds for you with one caution: I've grown both basil and shiso in the same pot. I don't know that they will cross pollinate, but they look EXACTLY the same when the blooms have dried and all the leaves are gone.

A friend gave me a hunk of it in a pot a couple of years ago with a warning that it is invaisive, so I've kept it in a good size pot and get plenty of it every year. Bummer that I don't like it very much. Good news is that I found a website with some interesting recipes: http://www.loghouseplants.com/Article_Shiso.htm

PM an address and I'll be glad to send you what I have. It doesn't look like much, but I'd just toss it onto some good potting soil and see what happens.

Sandy

[Imp]

Are you looking for the red or the green shiso ( perilla)?

[lorna-organic]

Thank you, SanyAnne, will pm. Imp, I didn't know Shiso comes in red. I'm only aware of the green.
How are they different?
Lorna
Boycott Monsanto

[Imp]

I know that the red ( purple) is used to make the pickled plums red in Japan, but haven't grown either one as yet.

I am not sure, but think I may have a small amount of the red, I can check this week if you want me to. I have to get some time off and sort my seeds ( and clean the house, the yard needs mowing/weed eating and the alley...LOL).

[lorna-organic]

Thanks, Imp. The article I read on shiso made it sound like there was only green, although they did list perilla as another name for shiso. One of my girlfriends is from Japan. I'll ask her, she knows a lot about Japanese cooking--good cook. I'm primarily interested in the shiso for medicinal qualities. I do make one dish for which green shiso is an ingredient, which I've never been able to get my hands on so I've made do with parsley.

Lorna
Boycott Monsanto

[SandyAnn]

I've read about the red, does it have a different taste? Green is what I have.
Sandy

[Ajla]

You've convinced me too! I'm going to try this out next year.
I've found a place that sells the purple one over here.
It's supposed to have a slight ginger/cinnamon flavour!

[lorna-organic]

That jicama and shiso salad sounds good, SandyAnn. (It has tomatoes, too, but I would omit those as I am allergic to them.) I had inari sushi the other day, which is the fried tofu pouch filled with rice and vegetables. It was topped with shiso chiffonade. The flavor was terrific. I was really surprised to learn from that article that shiso has naturalized in parts of the US. Well, it is a MINT! I'll be growing it in pots!!

Lorna
Boycott Monsanto

[TennOC]

Perilla grows wild here in TN, much to the consternation of soybean farmers who call it "teaweed". Speaking of which, it does make a great herb tea.