Does anyone go for at least one experimental plant each year? I mean something fairly different, not just a new variety.
If so what are you going for next year? Or would that spoil the surprise when we see the photos next year...
I certainly do... but haven't decided yet... possibly Blue corn.
This years was the fabled Paracress!
(http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e190/Plot52/paracress.jpg)
You can eat it... like chewing that stuff dentists use to freeze your mouth!
;D
My current experiment is seed of several species of Trillium, and I'll be getting more of the more 'difficult' seeds shortly. As for veg, I'll be trying chillies and aubergines again, but I haven't decided on anything else.
we went for banana flavoured passionfruit and a very tiny cucumber like plant called melothrie
three cucs, too many, they clamber all over everything
lovely plants, no flowers or fruit yet on the passionfruit, looking forward to seeing them this growing season :D
I'm going to try some soya beans, also my apricot tree and boysenberry will arrive early next year.
I ordered a couple of rootstocks to propagate fruit trees. Never done this one before.
Last year we planted a cherry tree and had 3 little tiny cherries this summer, I also planted grape, but no fruit so far. The plants grow like mad anyway, so I'm just happy that they didn't die.
Oh, and I had chili last year and never again!
I didn't really know what to do with them and nobody liked them, too hot! They also somehow pollinated sweet pepper and it was a waste.
You could have sent them to us, we get through masses.
Am hoping to receive two quince trees next week, have never grown these and am looking forward to them. Someone kindly gave me a small bag of quinces to make jelly with, and that was it, I was hooked!
Last year I tried the coloured carrots, Purple Dragon and Yellowstone I think they were called. The yellow did better than the purple, but to be honest I wasn't too impressed with the taste, but then it could be all in the mind - the colours did put me off a bit :-\
This year I grew a different variety of Cape gooseberry called Physalis pruinosa 'Pineapple' which grew well, the plants were a lot shorter and more sprawling than Physalis edulis, and there were lots of fruits which ripened in a shorter time. I did find that the fruits were a lot smaller though, and dropped much more easily when ripe.
QuoteThey also somehow pollinated sweet pepper and it was a waste.
It is not possible for one plant to change the characteristics of another by pollinating it's flowers. Any plants produced from the seeds would be a hybrid of the two but pollinating a sweet pepper with a chili pepper will not make the sweet pepper fruit hot
:D One of the Italian chaps on site took a cutting off his fig tree and planted it up the shed end of my plot, just a nice suprise one day when I walked in and he'd planted it for me. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.
Quote from: Merry Tiller on December 03, 2006, 02:08:19
It is not possible for one plant to change the characteristics of another by pollinating it's flowers. Any plants produced from the seeds would be a hybrid of the two but pollinating a sweet pepper with a chili pepper will not make the sweet pepper fruit hot
It is difficult for me to argue with that because I don't know much about the subject, I only know that I had 10 chili and 10 sweet - but they were all hot at the end.
I searched the web about planting chili and sweet peppers together and this is something I came across:
"If you plant sweet and hot peppers too close together, your bell peppers may end up being hotter than you want and your hot peppers may be more like lukewarm peppers. "
from http://www.cosmicchile.com/xdpy/kb/growing-chile-peppers.html (http://www.cosmicchile.com/xdpy/kb/growing-chile-peppers.html)
This year I grew watercress in a pot stood in a saucer of water and it was very successful. Next year I'm trying the pineapple cape gooseberry mentioned earlier by Jenny. I usually grow peruviana but they are thugs, even in pots!
G x
I grew black peppers this year - they didn't turn black but they were very tasty!
Also grew blue carrots (the only ones that grew by the way 8) )
I've done a (rather large ::) ) seed order from Marshalls for next year with unusual stuff I've never grown before: Sea Kale, funny looking cucumbers etc.
I like to make my Father-in-law guess what they are! He hates being wrong about anything. It whiles away many hours in the shed .. him saying:
"It's a pear"
"No it's not"
"It is ... it's a pear"
"No it's not"
"It's a variety of pear"
"No it's not. It's a medlar"
"Which is a pear"
"No it's not"
Etc etc etc etc ;D
Georgie! I tried to grow watercress a couple of years ago and failed :( How deep was the pot you planted them in??
;D ;D ;D (Even kids grow watercress at school in cottonwool) ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Merry Tiller on December 03, 2006, 02:08:19
QuoteThey also somehow pollinated sweet pepper and it was a waste.
It is not possible for one plant to change the characteristics of another by pollinating it's flowers. Any plants produced from the seeds would be a hybrid of the two but pollinating a sweet pepper with a chili pepper will not make the sweet pepper fruit hot
Might it not affect the heat in the crossbred seed? ???
Quote from: Trixiebelle on December 03, 2006, 13:58:27
Georgie! I tried to grow watercress a couple of years ago and failed :( How deep was the pot you planted them in??
About 12" and I stood it in a 2" saucer of water. I got the seed from T&M.
G x
we went for banana flavoured passionfruit.....
Wonder if that is like the melonpear??
"She" did the different coloured carrots too, I agree the colour was not right!!! Although they were not always orange were they?
We are in process of or tried this year, chillis, cherry tree,apple tree, and non edible things like bamboo and chilean wine palm which is doing well.
Last year we cut the 2 yr old walking stick kale, quite a conversation starter! Look amazing in full bloom and 7ft high!
Nice to get the experienced older gardeners walking past many times wondering what it is, especially the ones we hardly see cos of different times of visiting.... :D
Trying passionfruit here, not bothering with physalis or tomatillo, both gave pathetic yields in reality. My asparagus have been in the ground for almost a year now, from one year old plants - hope to get a first albeit small crop next year. Trying many different types of beans, for shelling.
Tried Asparagus peas last year - like eating grass! :-X
Tried walking stick kale also Andy - amazing monsters which even the pigeons were to afraid to eat!
Cauliflowers are my experiment because in all my years of growing things, I have never successfully grown a decent cauli!
Fruit wise, Asian pear - delicious!
next year I'm doing the hdra experiment on chick peas :)/shades x
angle shades - once soaked some chick peas for cooking, didnt use them and chucked them onto soil, they sprouted fine! But I dug them in when they were still quite small as the area was wanted for something else.
That's quite a range: no wonder there's alway's someone in this forum who knows something :D
Everything was new for us this year (our first) but we did grow Malabar (climbing) spinach, which went well, and tried chillies outdoors (I've been growing them under glass for some years).
Next year's first's are mostly mostly aren't very exciting i.e. we will be growing courgettes, beetroot, caulis and Pak Choi for the first time.
I was planning to grow asparagus peas, but they got a real slating here on the forum so I'm left with Thai Pea Aubergine (if they're horrible I don't want to be told ;) ) and galangal as next year's "exotica".
We're planting asparagus this year. Tried broccoli rabe this year, went to seed like mad and got everywhere! Now all the plots have rabe too. Won't do that again. :P
Also tried swiss chard and quite liked it. Easy to grow and tasty.
Tried a bunch of different squashes too. Might stick with Crown Prince and Waltham butternut next year tho, they tend to be bother prolific and reliable. Still not sure what to do with the giant blue banana squash I have in my kitchen.
I tried Pink Banana Squash this year and am very impressed. Fruited like mad, lovely soft yellowy pink colour, very attractive among all the green leaves on the allotment. The fruit are lasting well, so far. It's lovely cutting into them in December with their orange, juicy flesh. Admittedly they don't taste of much, but I have made them into a vegetable curry with onions, garlic, spices, coconut cream, rice, dahl with spinach and a pool of yoghurt on the side, and it is wonderful. They don't dissolve like courgettes, but keep their shape as chunky firm cubes.
Quote from: artichoke on December 05, 2006, 12:23:41
I tried Pink Banana Squash this year and am very impressed. Fruited like mad, lovely soft yellowy pink colour, very attractive among all the green leaves on the allotment. The fruit are lasting well, so far. It's lovely cutting into them in December with their orange, juicy flesh. Admittedly they don't taste of much, but I have made them into a vegetable curry with onions, garlic, spices, coconut cream, rice, dahl with spinach and a pool of yoghurt on the side, and it is wonderful. They don't dissolve like courgettes, but keep their shape as chunky firm cubes.
I grew Blue Banana Squash for the first time this year, as well as Uchiki Kuri, Marina di Chioggia, Galeuse d'Eysines, Tonda Padana, Connecticut Field and Burgess Buttercup. I've made soup today with some Tonda Padana, and also roasted some with Italian herbs - delicious! I grew
the Banana, Uchiki and Burgess up bean poles to save ground space and it was very successful. As you say, they don't dissolve like courgettes and in my opinion are 100 times nicer!
Betty
Walsall Road Allotments
Birmingham
www.growit.ik.com
Yes, I grew mine among the beans too. Bit of a tangle in there, but I think I had only one very vigorous and prolific plant (lost the lables).
Another nice one with masses of immense, striking looking fruit was Tromboncino, but the fruit don't seem to be lasting so well. Again, they stay firm when cooked.
Oh goody, I'll be cubing my blue banana soon then! :D I also liked Galeuse d'esyines, but it had to be used early because it had been attacked by vine borers and started spoiling about a month after picking. Made looooooooovely soup tho!
I tried Strawberry Sweetcorn this year and I'm doing Rapunzel next year from some seeds I bought in Italy.
Quote from: artichoke on December 05, 2006, 16:17:17
Yes, I grew mine among the beans too. Bit of a tangle in there, but I think I had only one very vigorous and prolific plant (lost the lables).
Another nice one with masses of immense, striking looking fruit was Tromboncino, but the fruit don't seem to be lasting so well. Again, they stay firm when cooked.
I didn't mix my squash with beans, they had their own rows (can you tell I'm a Squash Anorak?lol) I also grow Trombonchino, I'm holding one in my profile pic. Does anyone grow Sicilian Snakes? We had a competition at our allotments to see who could grow the longest one. Great fun!
QuoteI have never successfully grown a decent cauli!
I did it once, years ago, it was almost by accident, I planted them out and found them 6 months later smothered in weeds, they were perfect, all attempts since have resulted in various levels of failure