Perennial Veggies

[fantoma]

I experienced germination problems with them last season.

[Jeannine Anne]

No, I have never grown sea kale but I do know there is a lot of info over in the Uk for growing it. I believe you have to blanch it .

Sources fro seeds..mmm well all over really. Can you be more specific about which ones you want and I may be able to tell you from memory.

[Jeannine Anne]

Just bumping up, and yes I am a member is HSL.XX Jeannine.

[aftermidnight]

Jeannine, the two beans I'm interested in that the HSL have are both pole beans, I'm interested in them because they were both grown in B.C. before they were given to the HSL.
'Sarah's Old Fashioned Black' One from Hidden Cove Lodge on Vancouver Island
and 'Bob and Mary' I think this one is even rarer than the first one. If you ever see them offered I'd gladly reimburse you for them. I've looked for these two a long time but have never found a source for either one of them.

Annette

[Jeannine Anne]

I will try for next year, they don't mail seeds to me but I have them mailed to a friend in the Uk who sends them on..remind me closer to the year end.

I used to have a huge bean collection, and a very big squash collection but I don't have anyone interested in keeping my seeds going so I have gradually passed them on now. I do still buy a few but don't seed save like I used to.

XX Jeannine

Do you have Breglia Romano

[aftermidnight]

Thanks Jeannine, will do. No, sorry, I don't have Breglia Romano, in fact I haven't even heard the name of that one.

Annette

[Jeannine Anne]

I just checked the online HSL catalogue for the 2 beans you mentioned and neither are showing up.

The Breglia I received a few days ago from a friend, they are very similar to my family one, I am going to grow both to see just how different/similar they are. The color is nit quite the same but the shape is bang on.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have received my HSL hard copy catalogues sine writing above, like everything else it was late in the mail.

The first one is an open catalogue that anyone can buy from but it also all the regular veggies from the accepted EU list like all the other seed companies although it does have a few different ones in it. The beans you are looking for would not be in there.

The second on is the one that members can choose their 6 free packets from, we cannot buy from this catalogue. It is not the total of varieties that HSL have , it is just the ones offered this year, it is different every year as they release different things. The beans you want were not on offer this year. I got my membership book too late to order anything from it as there is an ordering deadline. There is nothing in the pole bean group that I have not seen before


What is interesting is there is a purple runner bean, 100 year old heirloom called Blackpod, so it seems there is more than one purple podded runner after all.

[Jeannine Anne]

I have now transplanted 8 Chow Daubenton perennial kale plants and my only one Nine Star perennial cauliflower..I do have more seeds growing on this one now though so will have a few more.

I'm growing sorrel (great stuff, but it didn't form seeds, although it flowered; good thing it's a perennial; this is its second year; it was pretty small the first year, but much bigger this year). It has a nice, pleasant sour taste.

I'm also growing the Chinese Lantern Gigantea ground cherry. It's supposed to be a perennial to zone 3. It hasn't even flowered, yet. So, I haven't had the opportunity to taste it or save seeds this year. Hopefully the plants in the ground are still alive (an Amana Orange tomato grew over one of them, and Giant Cape Gooseberry ground cherries are towering over the others). I do have one in a container, though, but I'm not sure how well they over-winter in containers. Should I transplant it?

In addition to walking onions, you might try the Green Mountain multiplier onion, potato onions (like the Yellow potato onion), shallots, and maybe some bunching onions (I'm not sure if they multiply like shallots, or if they only last a year or two).

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

Hi Jeannine, It would sure be easier that's for sure, but rhubarb can be iffy as a long term perennial in So California as it can't go dormant properly and the roots rot. The longest I have had one last is into the 3rd spring, but it died over that summer. Some suggest you don't even try growing it here, others say go with seeds, especially of varieties that you can harvest the first year (like Glaskins Perpetual). My hubby sometimes has kidney stone issues so I wanted to get a low oxalic variety and Glaskins is the one that is always mentioned. I have wasted too much money on roots that die before I get a harvest so it's looking like seeds or nothing as far as rhubarb goes for me from here on. If I can get them to last a couple of years I will be pleased, but it may be that I will have to grow them as an annual (sigh). I hope the seeds some out fairly true as I would really like the low oxalic acid trait. I may have to just plant a bunch at a time to be sure I get enough low acid plants - if I plant too many...oh well, I'll just have to make more pies and preserves.

You might try growing Cucurbita ficifolia. It's a squash that is supposed to live about seven years and do well in southern California (probably due the shorter days in the south, and the warm winters). The fruits are said to keep in storage for a few years. I still have a fruit left from last year on a shelf in my bedroom (so it has almost reached the year mark). The leaves are edible. It grows fast in cool conditions, but it fruits when the days are shorter. It can survive hot conditions, but it seems to like it cooler than most squash (so it's curious that it does well in southern California).

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. …

Cacti are a great idea for a perennial source of fruits and vegetables (the pads/tunas), even in cold areas. Opuntia humifusa is a popular cold hardy prickly pear. There are many others, though. This site has lots of them. We have some kind of cactus in our yard, but I'm not sure what it is.

Sempervivum tectorum (not a cactus) is also edible, and both perennial and cold hardy. I eat some kind of Sempervivum (hens and chicks) sometimes.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by shule1

You might try growing Cucurbita ficifolia. It's a squash that is supposed to live about seven years and do well in southern California (probably due the shorter days in the south, and the warm winters). The fruits are said to keep in storage for a few years. I still have a fruit left from last year on a shelf in my bedroom (so it has almost reached the year mark). The leaves are edible. It grows fast in cool conditions, but it fruits when the days are shorter. It can survive hot conditions, but it seems to like it cooler than most squash (so it's curious that it does well in southern California).

I grew this for a few years. AKA shark fin melon. A couple years ago, I liked it as a summer squash, but my partner didn't like it at all, and it took up a lot of room, so it fell out of the rotation. They were solid, around 4-6 pounds each, and prolific, and my single plant was producing more than I could eat.

I still have 3 mature ones sitting on the front porch (2 years old)! In the past, they have lasted a couple years for me in storage, though one got a soft spot and started to get moldy. The ones that were stored longer became a bit dried out inside compared to the fresh ones. I added them to lentil stews -- the insides were white and similar to spaghetti squash, but with a firmer texture. Fairly bland.

Have you tried the leaves?

I still have some seed, but it's probably 3-4 years old, unless I break open one of the 2 year olds to see if it has viable seed.

[Elizabeth]

The Cucurbita ficifolia sounds interesting. I have a new arbor that I was planning on putting one of the long edible Lagenaria squashes on next year. I will have to think about adding this one to the mix Chayote is another option for the arbor. and is is a short-lived perennial here.