Ok then -by special request from Rhubarb Thrasher and to cheer us all up........
New Zealand Spinach - I was given three little plants and they grew and grew. It looks nothing like normal spinach and has small more fleshy leaves and remains much chunkier when cooked. OH will eat this spinach cooked. :D
It didn't go to seed until the very end of the season and because the plants get so large you can keep picking it for ever!!!
Do you feel better now RT? ;)
Runner Beans.
I could have fed the five thousand with my crop last year. ;D ;D
Kohl Rabi - didn't like the thought, grew them for the other half. They didn't get that big - and they were delicious. Growing lots more this year. ;D
Celeriac but cocked it up big time - doing ti right this year.
Mine was lettuce all sorts I had so many last year but my pets wern't moaning lol
Cucumbers! Previously they ad refused to grow, last year, on the lottie and in the greenhouse up rhey shot. Must have been enjoying all that damp air! Nothing else did! ;)
Hi all,
My great find last year were giant miike mustard greens & osaka purple mustard greens, sown in Late August, 6 plants of each have cropped all Winter & are still producing leaves now. Cook like spinach ,or eat raw in salads, absolutely brill ;D. Seeds available from www.realseeds.co.uk/
Adrian.
Pak Choi, now its a must. Aduki beans, too cold, various other fancy beans, blackeye, black turtle no luck either. Wont be doing fancy beans again.
Strawberries. From 24 plants came at least 20 strawberries from each. My swede also came up very well. Best so far.
Also Kohl Rabi... snap! ;D
I feel a bit mean saying I never grew anything nice and new last year. Now that the curly kale is finishing, we're going to miss it a lot
Quote from: sawfish on March 30, 2008, 10:18:56
Pak Choi, now its a must.
I might try that this year. My Missus is really into stir fry's (It's a high cholesterol thing) and I believe that's what the Chinese use a lot?
I've not seen anyone growing it at my place. Is it hard to grow?
Pak Choi is the easiest thing I have ever grown. Its so lovely in a stirfry chucked in at the end, really crunchy with succulent stalks.
OK, thank you very much. It's on the list.
just watch out for the slugs, they love pak choi..
ours was strawberries and barlotti beans, loads and very tasty ;D
Pineapple flavoured Physalis (Cape Gooseberries). I had over 100 fruits off two plants and they ripened much quicker than other varieties I've tried.
G x
Last year my biggest success was my lettuce and rocket. We were on diets in preperation for our August wedding, and we saved a bloody fortune on supermarket salads! ;D My sweetcorn grew nicely too but a lot of the cobs never ripened as we had hardly any sun last year. I'm looking forward to trying again this year.
I also bought some dwarf french bean seedlings on a whim from the garden centre for £3, and I got stacks of beans off them. They were delicious.
Berlotti Beans; somebody gave a few and I grew a few then bought more. Brilliant crop - you can either eat as pods or as beans. They are fantastic colours and grow well, even in the Summer we had last year.
F1 hybrid Cool Breeze cucumber- an amazing # of cucumbers with no work. some even produced fairly well in part shade. Made wonderful cuc-onion-sour cream salad (definitely not low-cholesterol salad)
Grew Vegetable Spaghetti last year - the fruits were quite large and when cooked really did produce spahgetti-like strands - great for stir fries! They were easy to grow and managed better than courgettes and other squashes in the cool and wet.
Will definately do the same again this year.
Have you tried Lambs Lettuce Laney? We have had some out over winter and it makes a great early salad lettuce substitute. Outside all winter with no protection... lovely now with some of the early sorrel and garlic mustard...
;D
American land cress - still cropping and did so all over winter along with the oriental greens (pak choi, red mustard, tatsoi, chinese cabbage and others). Will do these again as gave some really nice winter salads and also good in stir fries.
well everything last year was first year!! But my successes were
parsnips (late direct sown, but too many ofthem and discovered my lot won't eat them :( )
strawberries (perpetual type that gave 3 crops, lovely)
late sown yellow wax dwarf beans, got a few kilos
parsley and rocket (self seeded everywhere!!!!)
sprouts and leeks (got several meals out ofthem over the winter)
on the whole last year everything summery rotted :-\ but the autumn crops were a success
like antipodes, nearly everything i grew last year was my first! caulis, lettuces, sweetcorn, marrows, purple sprouting brocolli (which is only just starting to sprout- i'm wetting myself with excitement!!) cabbages, kale, potatoes (we put them in late and only got dolly potatoes :( ) radishes, turnips!! had so much fun. i'm growing so many new things this year, licorice, sea kale, loads of tree and bush fruit, leeks, pumpkins, peas, broad beans, carrots, spring onions, parsnips...!!! can't wait!
A whole row of Icelandic poppies,( which are about to flower again.) Big bright bunches all summer.Two rows this year.
Alpine Strawberries from seed - very easy and the fruits were gorgeous!! Would be wonderful for decorating puddings -- if they ever got as far as the kitchen.
Spinach Bordeaux - very quick growing and beatiful as a salad leaf - and then very good just used as spinach.
Endive from Real Seeds - leaf one - much quicker than the hearting type and fab tasting.
Quote from: redclanger on March 30, 2008, 09:39:00
Kohl Rabi - didn't like the thought, grew them for the other half. They didn't get that big - and they were delicious. Growing lots more this year. ;D
Celeriac but cocked it up big time - doing ti right this year.
What does Kohl Rabi taste like? Never had it.
I tastes like brassica stem which is what it is - but that doesn't sound very appetising does it. Tastes lovely - crunchy fresh sort of nicely cabbagy :-\ ;D
Dahlias from seed - sowed a cheap packet early on, and they flowered all summer with lovely big brash colours that really brightened up the plot - smashing ;D
Parsnip 'Gladiator' - we,ve always grown nonF1 varieties on principle, but got Gladiator (F1) accidently - still digging lovely long canker free snips today ;D
Sounds daft - but everything! It was my first season so everything I grew was for the first time. Was especially impressed with the January King cabbages though - still have a few left.
twinkletoes
I loved my indian summer sweetcorn last year becuase you could just eat it raw from the plant. my mouths watering at the thought! And also it was such a fab year for peas my favs were onward they just kept on giving. and were yummy.
Also and always my helichrysum flowers (ceverlastingflowers) were just gorgeous and i have lovely colourful dried bunches that got me through the winter grey.
X sunloving