Topic: Giving it a go in 2008?

[bedrockdave]

I'm with the try something different group( if not exotic) but i try one or two things each year , if we like we grow again ,tried Kohl rabi ,salsify and  ja's; love them and will grow all the time ,grew swiss chard this year and did not enjoy so it's a no next year.I'm with a lot of you and trying oca next year and red celery from real seeds. if you don't try you'll never know

[Amazin]

I want to master what I do grow, rather than experiment with stuff that I know nothing about or in some cases never heard of.

No point taking up room with loads of things we prob wont eat

But if you are serious about all the time and commitment you give to your plot then stick with what you know.

(sigh!) and to think, five years ago, I'd never grown vegetables.
Gosh, if only I'd stuck with what I know...

Tell me folks, what's your expert view on purple carrots then - any good?

...or do you secretly grow those newfangled orange ones?

Enjoy!

 ;D ;D ;D

[kt.]

This year was my first with courgettes. They came in abundance . As there is only me eats them in our house I won't bother again. But I came, I saw, and  I conquered.

I agree with bedrockdave. I only try a maximum of 2 new things each year, at least I wont have wasted much of my plot if we dislike the new stuff. There is plenty wasted due to pests and lousy weather. 

Then there is the stuff I want to grow but never seem to have any joy with such as pumpkins. The plants grow great but then wither before they fruit. 2 years running they have not materialsised, so do you waste the space again or move on to pastures new?....

[star]

Well Amazin,

I grew Purple Dragon....or was it Queen? carrots this year. Absolutely brilliant taste and smell, Im so surprised the carrot fly didnt find them. I will grow again in 2008, but more succesional sowings and more packets. As I found there were not too many seeds to a pack.

They didnt get too big for me though, maybe I was too eager to eat them :D

[Eristic]

I've just been googling for something absolutely nothing to do with gardening but somehow got distracted away from the topic. (It only happens to me). Now I was of the opinion that Mangel Worzels were an old English stalwart but it would appear that it is also a recent introduction of about 200 years.

Trawling through a google achive of the period reveals heated debates amounst the farmers of the day writing posts in the weekly farming magasine hotly debating the merits and otherwise of growing these new fangled roots over a period of several decades.

If you've got time to kill have a read.

http://books.google.com/books?id=4dcEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=mangel+worzel&source=web&ots=G5otVg8lNJ&sig=ftn3nNnb4vMZTk80PzlHRgjJmKA#PPA159,M1

[jennym]

That's a fascinating read Eristic.

Amazin, I reckon them new-fangled orange carrots taste a mile better than the purple  ;D

Seriously, though, we ought to try at least one new thing every so often, just to make sure we aren't missing out. I tried growing mooli radish this year, was amazed at how easily it grew and didnt get attacked by the slugs and grew fine and long and white, even though my soil is heavy. Only thing was, the whole packet germinated and although I gave loads away, still ended up digging some in.

[saddad]

Winter Radish like "Black Spanish" are very reliable for a late crop. They are 'hot' if grated raw but boil out just like turnip..
 ;D

[VP]

Seriously, though, we ought to try at least one new thing every so often, just to make sure we aren't missing out. I tried growing mooli radish this year, was amazed at how easily it grew and didnt get attacked by the slugs and grew fine and long and white, even though my soil is heavy. Only thing was, the whole packet germinated and although I gave loads away, still ended up digging some in.

I grew them 3 years ago and now they're like a weed on my allotment  :-\

[Rob08]

Winter Radish like "Black Spanish" are very reliable for a late crop. They are 'hot' if grated raw but boil out just like turnip..
 ;D

A lot of the 'new' crops that I am focusing on next year are overwintering or winter growing plants - the maca and turnip rooted chervil grow through the winter for harvest from March to May, and I am still trying to source seed for a few other plants that prefer to grow through the winter or are very late maturing (Nov/Dec/Jan).

[Robert_Brenchley]

Many of our regulars, like tomatoes, sweetcorn, squashes, etc, were outlandish innovations once.

[Rob08]

Many of our regulars, like tomatoes, sweetcorn, squashes, etc, were outlandish innovations once.

and a lot of the 'new' crops we are trying out these days are simply forgotten crops that were once popular.

[flowerofshona2007]

I never said i DONT try anything new and i did list a few 'New' items im trying in 2008 BUT !!
Have you stopped to think that even though the climate is changing it has always been doing this,
we learn to adjust the way we grow our crops ie, raised beds, hot beds, mulching, ect in my eye that is what
gardening is all about, finding ways to grow plants to there best against all the odds  ;D
I  love the idea the plot manager who's plot is next to mine trys out new ideas, if he has some spare seeds he will sow them at odd times ect and maybe 3 types to a row just to see if any of them do well !

[djbrenton]

At the City allotments prizegiving a couple of years ago the Lord Mayor said in his speech that he was amazed at all the exotic things people grew nowadays - like sweetcorn and courgettes!

[Rob08]

I never said i DONT try anything new and i did list a few 'New' items im trying in 2008 BUT !!
Have you stopped to think that even though the climate is changing it has always been doing this,
we learn to adjust the way we grow our crops ie, raised beds, hot beds, mulching, ect in my eye that is what
gardening is all about, finding ways to grow plants to there best against all the odds  ;D
I  love the idea the plot manager who's plot is next to mine trys out new ideas, if he has some spare seeds he will sow them at odd times ect and maybe 3 types to a row just to see if any of them do well !

My bigger worry is that our society is so dependent on a handful of food crops, and usually only a small range of cultivars within each crop.  That is very dangerous (as the potato famine and the later wheat crop failure in the 1970's shows).  Currently in my home country they are hugely dependent on maize - it is the staple food for nearly 40 million people, yet increasingly our climate is unsuitable for growing maize.  At some point there will be a total crop failure and people are going to starve, but rather than invest more money in alternative crops (and the marketing to get people to eat them) our government is spending money on irrigation schemes, using up water that is already in short supply.

[Tee Gee]

I'm really enjoying this thread its just great to hear the different ideas and opinions, I think it is a very healthy debate. (even if some people go off at a tangent  ;) )

So long as there are people like we have on these forums who have an interest in the art of growing vegetables I can't see any problem with some people wanting to grow this and others wanting to grow that, all I said was it wasn't for me but I wished those who do the  best of luck.

The other thing is I said was;  I want to master what I grow this not for selfish reasons I just want the knowledge to put on my website to share with others.

As many of you well know, I am prepared to share all my experience with people on this forum, so hopefully those people who are growing these unusual vegetables will share their experiences with us in the fullness of time.

Who knows I might get converted when I get to know a bit more about the vegetables that have been mentioned, and if so, it will be some more information to put on my website.

Would I be imagining things if I were to say that I think we have some immigrants involved in this debate? and we are seeing ideas developing from their countries of origin?

I think this is healthy too! for example; when I started growing veg many many years ago we wouldn't have dreamed of growing things such as Sweetcorn, Peppers and Chillis to name but a few, but now they are quite common and surprisingly easy to grow, I put this down mainly to eating in 'foreign national' type restaurants and people like we have here on this forum introducing it to us locals.

So long may it continue............... but as I said; its not for me, I am a bit long in the tooth for changing my ways now  (I have reached my sell by date) but who knows after this year when I read about all these exotic veg I might get a change of  mind.


Carry on with the debate folks I am loving it ;D

[saddad]

I remember exotics like courgettes in the early 70's (T+M) but being 800' up in the Pennines even tomatoes needed a greenhouse!
 ;D

[manicscousers]

peanuts and physallis..we've tried the physallis and liked it so are going to try to grow our own  ;D

[Jeannine]

Everything is commonplace somewhere and exotic in other places, a decade ago squash was practically unheard of, when I came back to this country in 2000 very few people grew it  and I missed seeing it on patches,now almost everybody grows some form or another,same with corn, now folks are educating themselves as to type and texture, it is not long ago that folks thought of it as cattle food.Look at beans..it used to be runners , now all kinds of beans are grown and they are all different. Melons used to be for the stately homes now there are so many varieties that suit the home garden.

We are also bringing back what was once commonplace.

Growing veggies is like cooking, if you never try something different you might be missing out on a real treat.

I love my squash, I have grown them for about 35 years and still every year I find more and more varieties and there is such a variety of textures and tastes too, just when you think you have tasted them all another one shows up which is very different and so it goes on. Tomatoes are just the same.

I keep an area for trying new stuff and I love it. Sometimes it grows wonderful and I don't like the taste but then I get the real treats too. I don't remember life before winter squash!!

I love Okra but have not had much success here, but next year I am trying again with a vengeance  with several different types and I will find a way.

That is my two penneth.

XX Jeannine

[Eristic]

I'm not so sure how many of us are from foreign parts but many appear to be well traveled and all of us live in a multi-cultural society these days. The sad thing is that many traditional English vegetables seem to be disappearing from the shops with no Jerusalem's and very few parsnips or sprouts.

When looking at other folks lists of exotics for trial next year it's funny to see so many veg that would have been instantly recognised by any Victorian gardener but have become a forgotten food. One of the biggest problems with a new introduction is not always getting it to grow but learning how to harvest, store and cook the produce afterwards.

As an old showman myself I do understand the desire to grow some crops to perfection and beyond but also believe that growing something totally new taxes our skills just as much, as different known growing methods are tried and the results analysed.

[Amazin]

The first 'exotic' veg I ever grew was courgettes! I'd just discovered vegetable ratatouille and found it easy to make (phew!), but the ingredients were sooo expensive back in the day, especially aubergines. However, it never occurred to me that I could grow these Mediterranean beauties here in Blighty.

Then a very green-fingered friend of mine from back home in Scotland (yup, that's about as exotic as I get I'm afraid) said how lucky I was to live 'darn sarf' in a warmer part of the country where it was possible to grow so much more. That made me think. So I gave 'em a go and - WOW! It worked! Now of course I grow courgettes, aubs, peppers, etc - I'm experimenting with overwintering some chillies at the mo - and if I can just get my onions and garlic (on the plot) to succeed this year, I'll have the lot!

So I guess that's the inspiration behind trying the more exotic veg - and fruit too (e.g. the Banana Passionfruit). If I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to at least try, it would be criminal to waste it.  But it's not just experimentation for its own sake - everything's only a novelty once. If I like the taste, it'll be on my list forever more.

If not, well, it's only one packet of seeds, innit....

Now, anyone fancy some Jobrovian Squish-fruit?

 ;D