Perennial Veggies

[livinonfaith]

Oh, it sounds a lot like a collard or a loose leaf cabbage. That makes sense. I guess you could just pick the leaves as you need them. Nice!

My grandfather grew the Jerusalem artichokes and my grandmother pickled the tubers. They were very crunchy and had an interesting flavor that is hard to describe. I would guess that it is one of those things you would either really like or really hate. (I really liked them, but one of my cousins didn't.)

As I recall, they have beautiful flowers, so even if you don't use them for food, they would certainly brighten up the garden. Good luck with them!

[Tracydr]

I would love to have Jerusalem artichoke and that cabbage sounds fabulous. I'll wait on the cabbage, it would probably burn up in AZ. I'll give it a try after we move, which will be sometime in the next year.
I assume with the JA, I could buy some at the store and stick them in the ground? Our gourmet grocery sometimes has them. The extension office says to plant them in January but if their so hardy, don't you think they'd grow anytime?
I'm sowing some Welsh onions, chives and more garlic chives this weekend. They do really well here. I also bought some African blue basil to try, although that may end up being more for ornamental, I heard its very campherous. It might be good for tea. Or, maybe the hummingbirds will like it.

[Jeannine Anne]

Yes, you can plant store bought ones. I would just pop them in the ground, they will grow, but don`t harvest them till all the foliage has died down at the end of the season, then harvest them as you need them, they store better in the ground, of course I have never grown them in a very hot climate .

Don`t forget they can cause very much gas!!

the basil sounds interesting. I have my herbs in a seperate place to my Perennial veggies. I have to admit as I have got older I am growing less herbs as I find I have my favourites that I couldn`t do without but I used to grow many more.

I have never pickles JAs but I think I will have a go this year, it sounds interesting. I wonder too how they taste as French fries.

XX Jeannine

[owiebrain]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Owiebrain- with the pomegranate, it's a true desert plant. I would plant it in a cactus mix and keep it dry, dry, dry. The citrus like good drainage and not too much water, once established, although I've not ever grown them in pots. Not too much fertilizer but a bit of organic stuff. Mine get some chloriosis so I have to give them iron every once in awhile. Pomegranate likes an alkaline soil so they shouldnt need iron too often.
I haven't tried bananas, yet. I just bought some giant bird of paradise, which look like bananas but are ornamentals, growing to 15 feet and beautiful flowers for hummers.

Thanks for the info! I've still not planted the pomegranate and banana. I hurt myself last week and my seed starting area is in the basement -- a long set of concrete steps. Think I'll have hubby help me figure out crawling down there this week so I can get those started, along with my warm season veggies. It's so warm here that I feel terribly late in everything but it's not all that bad in reality, I guess. Mr. Frost will come spank me if I try to get ahead, that's for sure.

Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne

I have just ordered Jerusalem Artichokes and Chinese Artichokes.

Oh and I have Babbington leeks to plant now, a firend sent them from the UK, I may have mentioned I was getting them. They are perennial.

So my perennial bed is fast getting very interesting. I can't wait for it to start producing.

How is everyone else doing?

Owiebrain, I will keep the info coming and if I get cuttings from my Daubenton further down the road I will share.

XX Jeannine

Thanks so much for the offer, Jeannine! I'll definitely take you up on that should they do well for you. I've never heard of perennial leeks. Gotta go google those!

What variety of JAs did you get?

Originally Posted by Tracydr

I would love to have Jerusalem artichoke and that cabbage sounds fabulous.

I have JAs from a friend. This particular variety is supposed to stay crunchy even after it's cooked, like water chestnuts. Others turn to mush. I originally got starts for them a few years back, planted them, and they did well. And then we moved and I never got to taste them. So a friend sent me another start when we moved here fall before last. There were just a few, small ones so I've left them in place to multiply. There's enough out there right now that I could share if either of you would like a few starts. They don't usually wake up until much later in the spring so I'm sure I could still dig them without making them cranky. Really, though, they are pretty tough once you get them going, it would take a lot more to mess 'em up!

I keep wanting to babble on about fruit in here since my brain tends to lump all perennials together. LOL

I did do some work today on my "perennial" lettuce bed. It's cut & come again lettuces that have seeded in place and are coming up strong. There are even several plants that have survived over winter, believe it or not. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised considering what a warm winter we've had.

My mixed garlic bed and walking onions are doing very well. A friend sent me potato onions last year that are poking through the mulch now. There were only three or four of them so I'm watching them carefully, hoping to divide them and have a good stand in the next couple of years. I also started seed this spring for Red Welsh (perennial) onions to add to my onion bed. I figured a little hint of color in the bed would break up the monotony.

Other than that, I've got rhubarb I started from seed last year to transplant into a permanent bed, along with some root starts I bought from Stark Bros. Asparagus, also started from seed last year, needs to go to a permanent bed but I'm not sure if I should transplant them now or wait a couple more years for them to get stronger? Anyone know? The chives & garlic chives need dividing. They've gone absolutely crazy here. And my husband, the nut, dug up wild onions from around the yard and asked me to plant them in a permanent bed last year. Goofy man. Is the yard not a permanent bed? LOL But they're up and doing very well in the little bed I dedicated to them -- and the entire stinking yard.

[Jeannine Anne]

Your asparagus shoould be palnted as 1 year old crowns so they should be OK to go out.

My JAs, I don't know what type they are, I kinds bo booed when I ordered them. There are not may places to get them in Canada and I found no one online who took Paypal, there was one place that sold three different kinds but I had to send a cheque, then another place had three different kinds and I had to e mail them re availability, the third one only had one but allowed me to send via Paypal so I went with that one, after that I goit answers from one of the others but I had already paid. I am undecided about buying a few more now to get a variation.

XX Jeannine

[owiebrain]

Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne

Your asparagus shoould be palnted as 1 year old crowns so they should be OK to go out.

Thanks! I'll try to get them transplanted this week then.

If you decide you want some of my JAs down the road, the offer remains open.

[livinonfaith]

Garlic Chives I do have. Tons of them! If you plant them, make sure that you keep them contained and cut off the flowers before they go to seed unless you want to spend hours each Spring digging up all of the stragglers.

Thankfully, the little white flowers are quite tasty. We toss them in salads, but we don't use many. They are very strong.

[owiebrain]

We love chives & garlic chives -- use them in soups and as toppings for lots of things. Mostly, though, I plant them as a distraction. My kids all love onions & garlic and will eat every last one of them if I don't have a bunch of green onions & chives for them to munch on while we're outdoors.

They always struggled to live at our last place (I couldn't even keep mint alive there) but they seem to do much better here. They're not in anyplace that will cause problems if they escape their beds and my kids are keeping them well-mowed anyway. My kids have very stinky breath!

[livinonfaith]

Originally Posted by owiebrain

My kids have very stinky breath!

When the garlic chives flower in the Fall, my son is pretty stinky, too! He really loves those things.

[Tracydr]

I forgot that I have garlic chives. Sometimes I forget about all the little perennials I have planted here and there around my yard, especially my herbs. I just go out and harvest little bits when I need them, sort of take them for granted.
My three year old eggplants, jalapeños and habaneros, do they count?

[owiebrain]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

My three year old eggplants, jalapeños and habaneros, do they count?

Oh, now that's just mean.

I lived in Phoenix for a couple of years but was stuck in apartments and couldn't really garden. I do envy you being able to "overwinter" so easily but I don't know how anyone keeps things alive in the summers, other than the really heat-loving things!

[Jeannine Anne]

owiebrain, I gave in and bought some other varieties last night, I figuresd I could decide which ones were best, in the Uk I had only i variety. On order I have


Corlis Bolton Haynes,Beaver Valley Purple and Carman.............from Heritage Harvest
Volgo 2....................from Maple farm
Tan coloured grown in Ottawa Valley and a red colour also from Ottawa Valley....................from Yoko's Perfumed Garden

I am curious now to know what kind you have.

Oh and by the way, when boiling them they cook much faster than potatoes, you have to watch them and remove from heat and strain the minute the are fork tender,

XX Jeannine

[Tracydr]

I do wish I could get my mint to survive the summer. It seems I spend the winter trying to get it restablished after it dies every summer. We love chocolate and spearmint, could use tons of it.
Maybe when we move I can have a whole field of it, along with chammomile and nettle.

[owiebrain]

Jeannine, iirc, the person my JAs came from (macmex) didn't remember for sure what variety but thought they might be Stampede.

[Tracydr]

I have an artichoke! I came home from work today and what I thought would be a large stem coming from the center of my monster artichoke plant is actually an artichoke starting to form! My first artichoke. I'm so excited!
I wish I could post photos with my iPad, for some reason it doesn't let me on this forum.