Topic: ideas for something different next year

[cambourne7]

Not really sowing, but I would recommend yellow raspberries. I've tried 'All Gold' this year and they are delicious!

Also recommended are 'Jack be Little ' pumpkins, I'm growing mine up a low teepee and the kids love having individual roasted pumpkins!

There is quite a bit in the Real Seeds catalogue that looks tempting Louise...... ;D

Yep, i was looking for the jack be little pumpkins but they were out of stock when i was there but there in stock now :(

I agree about the point of growing stuff you never imagined you would eat 3 years ago as this is certainly my case.

One thing i was looking for and did not find was winter savory which appears to be the herb envouge at the moment, so there is another idea why not look at http://www.jekkasherbfarm.com/ and look at something new here?

[calamityjayneuk]

I agree that you have to grow things you will eat, but it adds to the fun if there are a few wildcards in the lottie. Anyway how else will you learn about new tastes?

Being a newish lottie holder I haven't got set in my ways yet. I just grow things I think I might like and see what happens. This year I tried a row of chard, but next year I think I will only grow a couple of plants. I also tried some pumpkins, dumpling squash and outdoor pickling cucumbers but have had no luck - possibly because of the weather. I think I will try again next year though.

Courgettes have always worked for me, so that will become a must in years to come. And I enjoyed my potatoes, grew them for the first time this year and they were yummy, but don't think I will give up half my plot to them as some do.

Next year I think I will have a crack at broad beans and some patty pan squashes. Globe artichokes are tempting, but I'm a bit scared about how big they will get.

[Suffolklad]

To expand on my earlier post, I took my first allotment 3 years ago. I had spent my whole life hating broad beans and sprouts. The ones I was served when a child were big old and tough.

I didn't intend growing them at all, but neighbours said they were so easy I had to grow them, and pick them young - they were a revelation! I even learned to cook the broad bean leaf tips as spinach, and pick the pods very young and slice and cook the whole things as runner beans.

I've grown plenty that I had never previously tasted.....courgettes, marrow, kohl rabi, turnips, pumpkins and squashes and plenty more that I thought I didn't like.....gooseberries, blackcurrants. Need I go on?
This year we tried asparagus peas - interesting, but they have to be picked very young or they are stringy, and for us not worth the effort of growing them.

If we hadn't tried any of these things "new" to us in the first place, where would we be now.....eating a very boring diet that's what !

And I haven't even mentioned the biggest surprise of all - a friend took the trouble to post me a celeriac last year.......all I can say is, I'm growing EIGHTY of them this year, I liked it so much.
They are already a lovely size, and I can't wait to get started on them  ;D

We now have four allotments, keep goats and a hundred chickens, have planted an orchard......be warned this growing/eating lark is very contagious

[carolinej]

Globe artichokes are tempting, but I'm a bit scared about how big they will get.

Mine are 6 ft tall, and about 3 ft diameter, but it is their first year.

cj :)

[Biscombe]

Well said Suffolklad! I can relate to that! We bought our farmhouse 3 years ago

Year 1        
Lets plant some spuds and see what happens, oooh and some cherry toms (didn't even know the variety! ::))
Year 2
Plant eight more tomato varieties, and everything else, get to grips with preserving!
Year 3
Selling organic veg boxes, plants too. Set on a gardener to help me four hours a week (too much for me on my own!) making Jam, marmalade, pickles, chutney, getting chickens!!!! Ooooh planted about 30 or so tomato varieties this year!!

TOTTALY ADDICTIVE!!!!!!!!

[carolinej]

Well Biscombe, you certainly know how to make a girl jealous >:(

My farm is still in the 'one day' stage ;D

cj :)

[growmore]

I am with Tim on this one .I grow the boring old tried and tested veg that I know we like and will eat and see us through the year mostly ..
I keep the family in eggs plus rabbits for the pot and the oven ..
I usually manage something for Christmas dinner to sit beside the beef was turkey last year .
We have between 9 and 12 for sunday lunch If I can keep putting the veg on the table for that it'll do for me ..
I noticed in the supermarket last week cabbages at 98p each .How exotic is that  ;)
Credit to you though if you want to grow the fancy stuff it's a diverse game is allotments ..
After saying all this I did grow a row of chicoggio white beet root last year,it grew well too ....But was too exotic for our lot ..
Cheers from a boring old Yorkie ..  :)     

[Biscombe]

Well Biscombe, you certainly know how to make a girl jealous >:(

My farm is still in the 'one day' stage ;D

cj :)

Yeah, I bet!!!  ;)

[Melbourne12]

everything so far mentioned here has added to the possibilities (which was the whole point of the thread)

I am deadly serious about growing food, I aim to harvest all year round and I do just that but there has to be room for experimentation otherwise you just never know and in fact if you want to harvest something almost everyday from your plots then it is essential. Obviously there is no point growing food you or your family/friends do not like but there is so much out there to try and discover - it is all 'real food' to me and I am a little surprised at your conservatism  :)

An interesting thread.  We tend towards the Tim end of the spectrum, but I think that's because there's very little we don't like, so we focus on practicalities.

We have relatively little spare time, so something that isn't going to give at least a sporting chance of a result isn't on, no matter what Grow Your Own or Kitchen Garden have to say. It may be possible to grow bananas and pineapples in southern England, but it's not where the smart money is.  So most exotica from hot countries is out.  And so are rare varieties that are no longer mainstream because they're highly vulnerable to pests and disease.

Second, do we really want to eat it in quantity? And can it be preserved? One year we grew half a bed of celeriac, which we love.  But actually, we only ate 4 or 5 of them. We couldn't give them away, since no-one we knew fancied them, and although I know we could have mashed and frozen them, they didn't merit the freezer space. So they quietly rotted.  :(

But we do grow aubergines very successfully in cold frames, and we love our globe artichokes, which are also very striking plants.  I'd recommend both of those.  And a big success for us this year, which we'd not tried before, were climbing French beans. Hardly exotic, but very productive over a long season.

[Multiveg]

When choosing varieties, I tend to go for things not found in supermarkets - purple french beans (I remember trying to get my dad to grow different things after avidly reading the seed catalogues - he wouldn't order any of them so I bought a packet of Purple Queen at a garden centre - he loved them....), heritage tomatoes (though when yellow toms appeared in the supermarket, my dad collected the seed - we had yellow round ones and plum ones which grew well...).
This year, we grew white carrots - thought it was a parsnip at first on harvesting, but it still tasted carroty (not as strong flavoured, perhaps). They say that carrots were originally not orange..
Potatoes, well, we try to keep off ones seen in the shops.
I'll wait for the seed catalogues to arrive (only had T&M so far) before deciding. I will probably get tomatoes from HSL, more peas and beans from them. Looking to expand chillis and perhaps leave my mum with sweet peppers (only got limited amount of windowsill space!).
As for J. artichokes - well, perhaps try growing them where it isn't too windy? My theory is that they collect the wind (as in windbreak), only to release it, erm, later.....

[djbrenton]

One of my favourite 'exotics' to grow ( not really exotic, more uncommon) is cardoon. Cavolo Nero is also well worth growing as it harvest for a very long period. Agretti puzzled me as I couldn't for the life of me work out why it was so desired by Italian gourmets. It wasn't significantly different in taste to grass. Tomatillos and Cape Gooseberries do well in the greenhouse, and angelica just gets on with business in the corner of the plot ( Use a small part of the stem to sweeten drinks instead of sugar, or with rhubarb for diabetics. Sorrel, likewise is a perennial and makes excellent soup.

On a note about celeriac. If you order from seeds of italy, you get a massive quantity of seed. Apart from growing some to size, I also grow trays of densely sown seed as a celery tasting mustard cress type addition to salads.

You could also try sweet potato slips.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Do you eat your cardoons or treat them as ornamentals? If the former, what are they like? All I have to go by is the supercilious attitude of the chef in 'the Victorian Kitchen Garden' when faced with one. For all I know, he may be a total pillock.

[ruud]

My goal next year is to create a new tomato,i have been inspired by a yank who has grown a lot of new varieties.If you are intrested see or google too wildboarfarm.

[djbrenton]

I grow cardoon as both now. I tend to grow a row, eat a few of them and leave the rest as ornamentals for another year. The next year I do the same so there are always some looking spectacular till Winter. They serve as a windbreak too. They are an acquired taste, perhaps, with a slightly bitter flavour, but one I like. It makes an interesting soup.

[Beanzie]

Tried Fennel this year and got a nice crop. Will definately grow again

[adrianhumph]

 Hi all,  :D
                I have tried for the first time, giant miike mustard greens & osaka purple mustard greens. These need to be sown late summer to avoid bolting. I sowed mine mid August & have just picked & cooked the first batch. They grow like spinach, forming large oval leaves that you crop like cut & come again salad. When raw they have a strong mustard flavour , ideal for putting small amounts into salads. But when you steam them the hot mustard flavour is not so dominant. I was very impressed with these, even the leaf stalks are tender (unlike leaf beet) & can be cooked in pieces along with the leaves. According to the label, they are quite hardy & should crop through the winter. Seeds available from the real seed company.
                             Adrian.

[Tora]

I grow many exotic vegetables and have had a success with many. The main reason for taking up the allotment for me was that I wanted to grow Japanese vegetables that are difficult to obtain in this country.

Edible exotics I grow every year:
Green & red perilla - I use green perilla for many things from salads to pasta. I use red one for pickles and cordial.
Gobo (Japanese burdock) - I just love it! Really nice flavour and easy to grow although a real pain to dig up!
Mooli radish - Much easier to grow than small radish. Very useful winter crop.
Yamaimo (Japanese yam for eating raw) - It's one of staple foods in Japan. I planted a section of tuber bought from a Japanese food shop and it grew well.
Japanese spring onions like Ishikura - They have a much nicer flavour than ordinary one like White Lisbon.
Shungiku - It's a strong-flavoured green and often used in Tempura and hot pot dishes in Japan. The flowers are pretty enough to be included in flower border.

I'm also growing Kumara sweet potatoes this year. I can't wait to dig up to see how it's done. :)

[Barnowl]

Celeriac is pretty useful and we really liked Cavolo Nero which crops for ages - June to March in our case.

[antipodes]

very interesting comments on this thread. I know that my lottie neighbors have been surprised by my parsnips (yes they are unknown here!) and by my physalis.
I suppose I am more in the experimental variety! I don't have a freezer big enough to store loads of stuff so it really has to be what can be eaten progressively. The staples are still there because out of the garden they are so fresh and tasty that there is no comparison. But the more unusual potato varieties are worth it in my opinion because new potatoes are expensive aren't they? Some people on my plot seem to not grow much else, which seems a shame to me.
I try not to grow too much of any one thing, I don't really want a glut. I have discovered that 2 or 3 courgettes, 2 or 3 chard plants, two rows of parsnips is plenty,  and the trick is to sow progressively, which I haven't quite managed yet. Live and learn!!
It would be nice to be veg self sufficient but this year's weather put paid to that. Still, as I progress that is my goal in the long term.
Next year? definitely drying beans (cocos, etc) as they are really expensive to buy, sweetcorn, and I would like to give salsify a go. but secretly i am hoping that all my summer plants will work next year as they are the ones that I really like :) (toms, peppers, aubergines, squash).