Topic: Question: Three different vegetables

[Tee Gee]

Tee Gee, if you were only allowed to grow three different vegetables, what would you choose and why?

Well because I like so many vegetables it was quite difficult to make a choice so I have come up with the following three:

1) The Humble Potato ( a maincrop multi purpose variety)

This is a must because it is easy to grow, it stores well and is very versatile in so far as it can be used in so many ways.

But for this vegetable during the war years I think I would have gone hungry many times.The way my mother produced highly nutritional dishes from our meagre rations was just amazing.

When you think they can be; boiled, baked,roasted,mashed,creamed and form topping on such things as shepherds pie, or any leftovers fried. If they were a bit past their best they could be used in soups & stews.....definitely my No1 Veg.

2)  The Sweet Pepper this is another very versatile vegetable as it can be eaten unripe or ripe, it can be eaten cooked or raw it can be stuffed with all manner of savoury ingredients with chilli con carne being one and sea food cous cous another. Curry & boiled rice is also very nice.

It can be chopped up and used to garnish  the potato be they boiled, mashed or fried.

It is also a vegetable that can be shredded and frozen, or stuffed and frozen making it a dish that can be eaten at any time of the year.

3) Had you asked for fruit / Veg I would have chosen the Apple as this is something else that can be prepared in so many ways for eating.

But you asked for veg so my third is the onion  I don't think there is anything nicer than carmalised onion with some fried potato leftovers and some shredded sweet pepper thrown in for good measure. Like the others it is easy to grow, stores well, can be eaten raw or cooked in many ways definitely has to be one of my top three.

I think to have all of these means I will never go hungry, as I can use them on their own or all together in a number of very tasty dishes.

I hope that answers your question Silverleaf.....sorry for the wait...Tg

[Silverleaf]

Great answers! I love that you chose such versatile veg. Thanks. :)

[Paulh]

I really enjoy growing my potatoes and onions (I don't have a greenhouse, and don't do peppers, though I do grow chillies), but if the question was what three vegetables do you grow because it is so much better than buying them, I would go for courgettes (yellow, if you won't allow me green as well), sweetcorn (though it's been poor the last two years) and beans (French, runner and broad in that order if I have to choose).

Perhaps peas (mangetout and garden) should be in there.

Marrows!

Winter squash, of course.

Garlic?

Are lettuce and salads a different category?

Help!!!

[Jeannine]

I think my choices might depend on why I was choosing them, if it was just a growing thing then I would chose the things that are bad or very expensive in the shops like tomatoes.or  a special winter squash

If it were a choice of only three veggies I could have  due to some catastrophe and was only allowed space to grow three.. I would choose..


Potatoes as again they are just about life sustainable and can be used in so many ways and store so well.

Beans  a dual purpose one  I could use as a dry that stores well and a fresh one too

Tomatoes as they are the basis of so many things...


BUT my garden space  could be used twice a year so I think we should have six, the above three in the warm months. and the below three in the colder months.

Leeks, which can stay in the ground which would make up for the missing summer onions.

Kale which would give me spring greens and heavy harvests.

A root veggie, again one that would store or stay in the ground I could manage with that

[Duke Ellington]

My three would have to be ...
SWEETCORN as I love it so much and even though it's not as good frozen I still freeze it.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH/WINTER SQUASH I love the fact it's stores so well and so long.
BORLOTTI BEANS Can be used young like French Beans, grow them on,pod them and use them as you would broad beans and if I have loads I dry them and use in soups etc.

[Elfeda]

Courgettes, potatos and leafyveg

because

1. I can pick all of them all through the season with no much successional palnning..just one more planting in between does extend it.
2.no much weeeding required as the cover as much ground.
3.they allow some comapanion plants(shhh...)
4.I can mix and match any combi's with these

[Vinlander]

The only criterion I rate is the one about what's rubbish (or not there) in the shops.

Starting with fruit: Plums - absolute and total washout in shops (unless your local greengrocer is in a growing region) - though if Pluots/Plumcots were widely available I might rethink this because unlike plums they actually seem to ripen off the tree.

I can't think of any other fruit where the difference is so great - I grow some really amazing heritage apples but I still enjoy Braeburns as long as they are fresh from Britain in Autumn, or even better in Spring fresh off the boat from the southern hemisphere, preferably NZ (not some French rubbish that's been in store for 5 or 6 months - it's the only time I buy only where I can see the country of origin).

Sweetcorn - but only the non-enhanced types (not "tender"/super/ultra-sugary whatever). If you've never eaten the real thing within 30 (preferably 20) minutes of picking then you haven't lived... The sugary ones don't have much more flavour than a sugar cube (kids prefer them - what more do I need to say?) but they do keep that flavour well - doubling the justification for not growing them - because the ones in the shops are not much worse than fresh ones.

Kelvedon wonder peas eaten fresh from the pod are enough reason to grow them - cooking them to the same flavour as frozen peas (good though that is) is a Sin...

If I allow myself two options that are available - at a price - then:

Tomatoes - Gardeners Delight and Sungold (though piccolino are so nice I grow them from the seeds in the fruit - £7 a kilo is just stupid for toms but it's a very good price for 1000 seeds!).

I do the same (piccolino) thing with mini-sweet peppers - same price same logic.

Cheers.

PS. I've been calling the mini-peppers "chiquitas". I saw some in Tesco's last week and it was "chi-" something else... Now I've forgotten again. Darn it.

[cambourne7]

potatoes
onion
tomato

[johhnyco15]

butternut
tomato
beans