Author Topic: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.  (Read 12285 times)

Vinlander

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Now it's harvest time we are seeing testaments to all sorts of crops that aren't worth growing.

Stuff that is actually only useful as "famine food" and isn't doing any favours as "challenges"/"novelties"/"projects" for people with more money and time than sense.

Good luck to the latter - I used to dabble myself - but they can sap the morale of novice gardeners who would otherwise find the hobby properly fulfilling.

I think it's worth starting a blacklist while giving "different strokes" a chance to comment. I'll include a < for the many so called  "-substitutes" that are pointless because there are others 10x better, and ! for troublesome weeds.

Offthe top of my head I'd like to nominate:

Achocha
Apios americana <!
Asparagus pea
Magentaspreen <
Red orache <

Throw your rotten tomatoes here!.

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

squeezyjohn

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2017, 14:06:51 »
Haha ... I don't completely agree with Achocha - but I thouroughly agree with Orach and Magentaspreen!

I'd like to add for consideration: cucamelons/melothrie which make a fiddly, meagre crop of sour, insipid, tiny cucumbers ... and oca, the much lauded lost Inca crop which make an abundance of tiny tubers that are too fiddly to wash, normally slug damaged and when cooked taste much less nice than a potato.  Oca also volunteers itself the next year as it's impossible to find them all and gives you yet another weed in that patch.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2017, 14:08:50 by squeezyjohn »

Paulh

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2017, 17:47:25 »
Varieties of fruit that are "perfect for growing in pots on the patio" or in hanging baskets.

ed dibbles

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2017, 18:28:14 »
I would add celtuce to your list. It is easy enough to grow but of limited use. One of those veg you grow once and never grow again.

Achocha fall into that category for me. They are easy enough to grow but fiddly to prepare and the flavour unimpressive, to me at least. So they were only grown the once. The giant kind may be easier.

Oca has a good flavour so I definitely wouldn't put it in the famine food category. We use it in stews and roasted vegetables. There are usually enough larger ones to make the crop worthwhile however I agree about the volunteer problem. People go to such lengths to have new potatoes for december yet these are easier to grow than new spuds and are harvested at precisely the right time. :happy7:


ACE

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2017, 19:33:46 »
tiger nuts, lovely head of grass but blank under the ground.

squeezyjohn

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2017, 21:53:57 »
tiger nuts, lovely head of grass but blank under the ground.

My tiger nuts grew tubers ... but the yield of new nuts was smaller in weight than the amount I planted!  They're also impossible to clean.

Deb P

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2017, 09:36:33 »
Rats tail radish
Khol Rabi
Okra....too much effort for sod all result!
I would add all melons as they are my nemesis and I've tried all sorts of varieties in all sorts of settings and have yet to grow a melon bigger than a tennis ball. I can however grow Sharks fin melons bigger than basketballs but sadly they are not as nice to eat! And grow like Triffids!
If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴

http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk

gwynleg

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2017, 09:47:24 »
Deb, why kohl rabi?! I grew it once and didnt like it as a vegetable initially, then another allotment grower encouraged me to try again. If you slice them, toss in some olive oil and seasoning, then put them in the oven, they are wonderful!

BarriedaleNick

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2017, 10:03:03 »
I love Khol Rabi - great sliced in salads and stir fries and a nice early crop.
I cant grow celariac - all top and no trousers and they go direct to the compost bin.
Moved to Portugal - ain't going back!

Deb P

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2017, 10:10:23 »
I just think kohl rabbi is one of those things most people try growing at one time, then never grow again! I didn' t find it tasted of much even when eaten small, it was like eating a cabbage stalk!
I can grow celeriac however, they do well on my clay soil, they love moisture.
If it's not pouring with rain, I'm either in the garden or at the lottie! Probably still there in the rain as well TBH....🥴

http://www.littleoverlaneallotments.org.uk

squeezyjohn

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2017, 11:34:20 »
Couldn't disagree more. I grow more kohl rabi than any other brassica over a year since discovering the variety gigant which can get as big as a football and doesn't go woody.  Sweet and crispy when eaten raw without all the heat of a radish, tender and sweet like the stem of broccoli when steamed, boiled or stir-fried.  The edible bit gets far less damage from slugs and other pests.  Early plantings can give you plenty in May-June and later plantings can stand in the frost through winter for harvest as and when needed.  If it gets really bad you can harvest them and store in a cool place like a squash for over a month.  If you have too much of a glut it is a perfect texture replacement for swede or carrot in a traditional Branson-like pickle.

I think everyone should try it.

Vinlander

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2017, 12:02:08 »
To sum up (ignoring the ones that some hate & some love): Rat Tail radish seem properly pointless - they need a lot of pod-picking over a very short period so you only need one or two plants. Better to plant a row of any other giant/winter radish, eat the good roots and let a few go to seed for the pods in Spring - they are just as good as the ratstail/munchen-bier type.

After that we get left with mostly stuff that I don't grow for various reasons - but not because they aren't worth eating.

Melons are a labour of love - I gave them up years ago because they are one of the few fruits that can be bought perfectly ripe at a reasonable price (and in London I can get special ones like Ananas). It was depressing to find my own were no better (often worse) in the same weeks when the ones in the shops were as cheap as they get.

Tiger Nuts offer a flavour that is very difficult to source - but before I try them again I'm waiting to hear from people who have tried them in a polytunnel. The same goes for Okra.

Kohl Rabi don't do well for me and I always cut the crisp core out of every brassica head, so I don't need much more of that tasty treat - not enough to make a special planting worthwhile, but I may give them another go.

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

johhnyco15

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2017, 13:39:22 »
radish and giant mustard really not my cup of tea in fact most spicy mixed winter  seeds oh and chicory
johhnyc015  may the plot be with you

saddad

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2017, 16:44:24 »
Shark's fin make a great soup with some crabsticks. Kohl Rabi is great.. why no downs on Cucamelons which I felt were a complete waste of space..

squeezyjohn

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2017, 16:53:46 »
Shark's fin make a great soup with some crabsticks. Kohl Rabi is great.. why no downs on Cucamelons which I felt were a complete waste of space..

I gave cucamelons a down!  Sold as delicious little nuggets ... in reality a mouthful of sour vegetabley stuff.

florence

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2017, 18:12:57 »
I agree - cucamelons - what a disappointment they were. Had one thinking it would be a tasty treat and it was vile.
Salsify has always seemed like a bit off a wasted effort as well.

Beersmith

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2017, 21:40:45 »
I was going to try a novelty next season, in the form of Agretti / Salsola.

Is it worth it? Or is this another straight to bin crop?

Cheers
Not mad, just out to mulch!

squeezyjohn

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2017, 23:12:02 »
I couldn't get it to germinate (salsola)

Silverleaf

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #18 on: November 07, 2017, 02:13:18 »
I wasn’t impressed with cucamelons either, and asparagus peas looked cool but didn’t produce much and didn’t taste very good. But I like oca!

Vinlander

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Re: "Novelties" = best picked straight into into the compost bin.
« Reply #19 on: November 07, 2017, 10:05:50 »
I couldn't get it to germinate (salsola)

Same here - mine were sold under the Japanese name to make them sound more exotic.

If you're after a crisp salty taste then rock samphire is easy and reliable with overtones of parsley.

Pink purslane has a slightly earthy & salty taste plus tiny candy striped flowers - both put it ahead of the other blander kinds - but I can only get it to germinate & grow in pots - it seems happiest in shared pots (it's too small to swamp anything).

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

 

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