what out-of-the-ordinary vegetables did you grow this year?

habitat_gardener · December 21, 2011

I'm picking mache (aka corn salad or valerianella) now. It's a cool-season salad green that's not in the lettuce or spinach family. I planted it from seed one year and it's come back ever since. It's spread itself around the garden, but it's well behaved.

I started celery Redventure from seed in mid-May, planted out about 30 seedlings along the edges of my tomato beds a few months later, and now they're forming a lovely carpet of green. I haven't tied them up, and I'm finding fewer slugs on them than on the green varieties of celery (or maybe it's too cold for them). The stems are still thin, though, so it's more of a soup veg than a raw veg.

I have a Purple Peacock broccoli plant that's lasted 3 years (with a gnarled woody stem), but I haven't found aphids in the flower heads, so I planted more from seed. It's a beautiful plant, like a flat-leaf kale with ruffled/shredded edges and magenta veins. I enjoy eating the leaves in the garden.

I got 3 seeds of Japonica Striped Maize from a local seed bank, planted them in the ground in the middle of the squash jungle, and pretty much forgot about them. They grew about 4-5 ft. with leaves striped pink/red, green, and creamy white, a pretty ornamental grass. The kernels are dark purple -- very decorative! I read they make a good popcorn, but haven't tried it yet.

What interesting varieties did you experiment with this year?

rnewste · December 21, 2011

First time I've ever grown Celery. I planted Tango Celery seeds on June 6. Plants are still reaching maturity:

The "good" news is that they are relatively disease and insect resistant:

So, it will be about 200 days to maturity. One must be patient!

Next year, I will try the Utah Celery variety as a comparison.

Raybo

Ruth_10 · January 4, 2012

Hey, Ray, you forgot to take the grocery rubber band off that "plant" on the left.

But seriously, nice looking celery.

I usually try to plant something different each season. One year it was Egyptian cotton. One year black edamame. Another (couple of years) peanuts.

I bought some seed for scorzonera last winter but neglected to plant it.

**nctomatoman** · January 4, 2012

I did a late summer planting of Brussels Sprouts seedlings that were looking great - until I took down the motion detector sprinklers (everything else was out of the garden and I didn't want to waste water or batteries) and Bambi and company found them quickly - that would have been my most "out there" planting (for me!).

Tomatillos were lovely plants but a failure in terms of yield - am giving up on them (we had 4 different types - they grew to 6 feet tall, had loads of flowers, but took forever to finally set - then Fusarium seemed to take the plants).

We are going to do Spaghetti Squash (we love it and it is not inexpensive in the store), and some dried beans (Black Beans and Cranberry Beans), since we eating them so frequently.

habitat_gardener · January 5, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruth_10

I bought some seed for scorzonera last winter but neglected to plant it.

At a garden-produce exchange in the summer, a person from Germany was talking about a wonderful root crop that he'd only seen and eaten in Germany. Best thing he ever ate! I did some research and figured out it was scorzonera.

Jeannine Anne · January 6, 2012

I grew Agretti and Sorrell for the first time this year also Skirrett which surprised me by producing seeds in it's first year.

I fall planted walking onions, ramsons, rampions and a few other perennial things that have gone in my new perennial veggie garden.

XX Jeannine

livinonfaith · January 15, 2012

I grew Rat tail radishes and Mexican sour gherkins this year.

If you don't know, Rat tail radishes are grown for their long seed pods, not their roots. I didn't get my seeds in the ground until mid summer, but they still did well.

From one packet of seeds I got quite a bit of variety in the plants. They ranged from purplish to medium green to bright green. The flavor was also variable. Some had a stronger radishy bite, and some were milder.

The plants kept going until last week when we had several days of hard frost in a row. They ended up being larger than I thought they would, a couple of feet high, about 15" wide and then they fell over and ambled for about three feet. I used some of the young leaves as greens, kind of like mustard greens. The flower heads would also be tasty. I'll grow this one again.

The Mexican gherkins took a while to get going, but once they finally did, they put out quite a few of the tiny little things. The plants themselves were just adorable. We didn't really like them when they were ripe. The skins became too thick and they had an odd sour taste. When they were still about 3/4 " long, they were quite tasty, though. We would just pop 'em like grapes. I only had a few seeds and I don't know if I'll plant these again, at least not this year.

December 21, 2011	#1
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,543	what out-of-the-ordinary vegetables did you grow this year? I'm picking mache (aka corn salad or valerianella) now. It's a cool-season salad green that's not in the lettuce or spinach family. I planted it from seed one year and it's come back ever since. It's spread itself around the garden, but it's well behaved. I started celery Redventure from seed in mid-May, planted out about 30 seedlings along the edges of my tomato beds a few months later, and now they're forming a lovely carpet of green. I haven't tied them up, and I'm finding fewer slugs on them than on the green varieties of celery (or maybe it's too cold for them). The stems are still thin, though, so it's more of a soup veg than a raw veg. I have a Purple Peacock broccoli plant that's lasted 3 years (with a gnarled woody stem), but I haven't found aphids in the flower heads, so I planted more from seed. It's a beautiful plant, like a flat-leaf kale with ruffled/shredded edges and magenta veins. I enjoy eating the leaves in the garden. I got 3 seeds of Japonica Striped Maize from a local seed bank, planted them in the ground in the middle of the squash jungle, and pretty much forgot about them. They grew about 4-5 ft. with leaves striped pink/red, green, and creamy white, a pretty ornamental grass. The kernels are dark purple -- very decorative! I read they make a good popcorn, but haven't tried it yet. What interesting varieties did you experiment with this year?

January 4, 2012	#3
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Hey, Ray, you forgot to take the grocery rubber band off that "plant" on the left. But seriously, nice looking celery. I usually try to plant something different each season. One year it was Egyptian cotton. One year black edamame. Another (couple of years) peanuts. I bought some seed for scorzonera last winter but neglected to plant it. __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

January 4, 2012	#4
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I did a late summer planting of Brussels Sprouts seedlings that were looking great - until I took down the motion detector sprinklers (everything else was out of the garden and I didn't want to waste water or batteries) and Bambi and company found them quickly - that would have been my most "out there" planting (for me!). Tomatillos were lovely plants but a failure in terms of yield - am giving up on them (we had 4 different types - they grew to 6 feet tall, had loads of flowers, but took forever to finally set - then Fusarium seemed to take the plants). We are going to do Spaghetti Squash (we love it and it is not inexpensive in the store), and some dried beans (Black Beans and Cranberry Beans), since we eating them so frequently. __________________ Craig

December 21, 2011	#2
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	First time I've ever grown Celery. I planted Tango Celery seeds on June 6. Plants are still reaching maturity: The "good" news is that they are relatively disease and insect resistant: So, it will be about 200 days to maturity. One must be patient! Next year, I will try the Utah Celery variety as a comparison. Raybo

January 6, 2012	#6
Jeannine Anne Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,553	I grew Agretti and Sorrell for the first time this year also Skirrett which surprised me by producing seeds in it's first year. I fall planted walking onions, ramsons, rampions and a few other perennial things that have gone in my new perennial veggie garden. XX Jeannine

January 15, 2012	#7
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	I grew Rat tail radishes and Mexican sour gherkins this year. If you don't know, Rat tail radishes are grown for their long seed pods, not their roots. I didn't get my seeds in the ground until mid summer, but they still did well. From one packet of seeds I got quite a bit of variety in the plants. They ranged from purplish to medium green to bright green. The flavor was also variable. Some had a stronger radishy bite, and some were milder. The plants kept going until last week when we had several days of hard frost in a row. They ended up being larger than I thought they would, a couple of feet high, about 15" wide and then they fell over and ambled for about three feet. I used some of the young leaves as greens, kind of like mustard greens. The flower heads would also be tasty. I'll grow this one again. The Mexican gherkins took a while to get going, but once they finally did, they put out quite a few of the tiny little things. The plants themselves were just adorable. We didn't really like them when they were ripe. The skins became too thick and they had an odd sour taste. When they were still about 3/4 " long, they were quite tasty, though. We would just pop 'em like grapes. I only had a few seeds and I don't know if I'll plant these again, at least not this year.