Are you growing anything that you've never eaten?
This year I'm growing shallots and chard for the first time and have never eaten either. I hope I like them! (I've never even seen chard in the shops - is it available?)
Celeriac.
I saw some celriac babies on sale at the market yesterday but resisted as I haven't a clue as to planting distances, cultivation etc. Any tips?
i'm going to try romanesco this year and i've never eaten that. last year it was chard but we didn't really like it.
Celeriac and cape gooseberries. Last year it was chard for me as well. It took a while to work out how to cook it, but after a few culinary failures we quite liked it.
Believe it or not, I am growing pumpkins and squashes this year which I have never eaten before. Â I am quite excited about it, as thanks to DorisP I have some lovely seeds to try. Â :) busy_lizzie
Loads of stuff chard, shallots, celeriac, kale and probably some other stuff after I've been back to the seed shop!
In a way, everything is new, but in terms of things I've never tasted before... Romanesque cauliflowers, asparagus peas, texel greens, oriental spicy mix, butternut squash, oakleaf catalogna lettuce, spanish 'black round' winter radishes and miniature white cucumbers...
I ate pumkins and squash for the first time last year and enjoyed them sooooooooo much ive decided to grow my own this year. It also helps that the kids will use some for halloween so their pretty excited about growing them too. Feels like im killing 2 birds with 1 stone, get to eat lovely homegrown squash and the kids will nag me to go down to the lottie every day to check on their progress, everyones a winner, except the wife. oops.
Aww thanks BL! You can become addicted to growing them like the rest of us! ;D
For me it is celtuce......a lettuce whose ribs supposedly taste like asparagus!
(I expect the slugs will get to them before us! ;D )
I am mainly growing different varieties of things I normally grow, just so we get a colour and taste change! carouby de maussane mange touts, barlotto climbing beans, purple kohl rabi etc!
I'm trying salsify this year. I've tried scorzonera which I rather liked - and oddly, persuaded me to give parsnips another go after having been brought up on boiled ones, which I hated. Parboiling then roasting is an entirely different kettle.
So I am hoping I like salsify.
I too am growing chard (var Rainbow) alongside my traditional beetroot, though I haven't ever tried it.
moonbells
everything i grow i have eaten before, and liked.
but, there are a few things i have never even seen the seed leaves of - brassicas being one whole family my grandparents never grew. so that is interesting for me.
(used to spend my summers at the grandparents' huge plot amonst the veg and stuff)
things that arent so readily found in the shops are kohlrabi and scorzonera both are much more common in germany. looking forward to a good harvest :)
svea
Oh and how could I forget also - french sorrel and good king henry. And I'm about to order some sweet cicely. (always forget about the herby/leafy things!)
young sweet cicely seeds-yum ;D.
Stephan
French Tarragon: can't stop eating some every time I pass by...
Oh, and nettles - if they count...
I'm trying tomatilla verde and purple, so far they are 2" high. I think you grow and treat them like tomatoes. ;)
I'm growing white nine star perennial cauli and the Romanesco broccoli (or it it a cauli) anyway it doesn't matter.  I've never eaten either but I'm hoping all my seedlings are successful and that I'm eating them come Autumn  :)
I've deliberately bought and tried butternut squash and purple sprouting broccoli this year and loved them both so much that I am definitely growing them. I have never eaten any other type of winter squash, but the butternuts have got me so enthusiasitc that I'm trying about 5 different types.
I'm also giving some purple and yellow french beans a go just because I think they look cool. I can't imagine they taste wildly different from your bog standard green varieties so I don't think I'm being too risky.
I was thinking of giving scorzonera a go, but it looks a bit scary to me. Maybe next year.
Clare.
Oh yes and two types of patty pans (white and yellow). And various different coloured french beans too.
(gawd I can't keep up with all that I'm growing!)
And broccoli raab.
Quote from: aquilegia on April 14, 2005, 17:09:50
(gawd I can't keep up with all that I'm growing!)
Me neither.
Clare.
I'm giving tometillos a try, and shallots, never eaten either so will be looking for some recipes later in the year in Recipes4All. ;) Tried Rainbow chard last year......not that impressed to be honest. Didn't taste of much but it just looks so beautiful when the sun shines on it. I didn't have to heart to dig it up.
florence fennel. Tried last year but the lot bolted immediately. Trying again this year, but if it does the same again, I shall have to buy one to try. I don't normally like that aniseedy flavour, so we shall have to see.
Tomatillos-think Chinese lanterns-Physalis-and they grow very bushy so pinch out a bit. In my opinion raw and on their own the flavour is `odd` but make a salsa and wow!!!
EJ-Florence fennel can be a sod-I like the variety `Rudy` -but I did not do a bulk order this year so you will have to be patient until I can send you some seeds :).
Stephan
;D :-*
First ever season so I haven't grown any of the plants before (except tomatoes in a growbag in the garden). However, I have been inspired by A4A to try some things I have never eaten - celeriac, salsify (from Lidl 29p, on a visit there to snap up a couple of the cheapo polytunnels a few weeks back) and kohl rabi. Will be growing some fennel also which I have had once and really liked.
The only thing I grew without first trying it was Chinese Artichokes, I shall never bother again
Well we're not strictly growing them, since we inherited them and they seem to be doing fine with zero input from me....but gooseberries are something that I've never tasted before. And we now have 10 bushes!- yikes
Mini pumpkin "Munchkin". Bought the seed last year, but it arrived too late. Got a refund and got to keep the seeds! Yay! Anyhow, never eaten pumpkin in any form. Will be looking on here for recipes come harvest. 8)
Chard (Bright Lights), very old seed, not sure if it will germinate.
Thai Aubergines (long, thin and green) courtesy of cleo. ;)
Hey, Aqui
Really pleased you are growing shallots! They are so great when you are cooking something special and make the flavour of sauces great. Chard is a great vegetable and overlooked by many but cooks would challege that! Keep up the good work! :D
This year my adventure crop is Asparagus Peas, they look quite easy to grow and I hope they are a substitute for the real thing which won't be ready for harvest for another year.
Trying swiss chard this year. Will see how it goes - seem to be mixed responses to it here!
I'm doing the Lumina Pumpkin. Not for culinary but for the sheer fun of growing a pure white pumpkin for carving at halloween...
Apparently MM if you keep them fleeced against the cold it keeps the skin white
what on earth is good king henry???
Purslane. I have tasted it once and hated it but I grow a patch every year because my mom loves it.
Diver - it's a periennial leaf crop - you use the new shoots like asparagus and the leaves like spinach. Seems a bit of a complicated one to germinate, but I'm giving it a try!
Last year I tried growing Salsify and Kohl Rabi for the first time having never eaten either. A German friend had told me about Salsify, and how it's quite popular on the continent, but that she'd never seen it over here. So that was enough to make me want to grow some. Unfortunately I didn't get to eat any as they didn't grow very well last year. So I'm going to give them another go this year.
Fingers crossed I'll get to eat some this year :)
I''m also doing Hamburg Parsley...... Any one esle try that?
ooooh lots new!
melons, kohl rabi, cima di rapa, various different cabbages and brussels,(different to last year, i mean!), french beans, celery, celeriac, mange tout, petit pois, shallots and different varieties of favourites-tomatoes, peas, broad beans, cucumber.
sweat pea - salsify (or rather the black version scorzonera) is much more common over there, as is kohlrabi.
i am growing both as they are difficult/expensive to find in the shops :)
svea
Fennel and chicory. I've always been up off growing chicory because it seems to be 'complicated', but I've found a type that doesn't need forcing.
Growing rainbow bright chard for about the third successive year, even though I've never managed to persuade myself to eat it! I just love the colours.
I tried shallots before I bought any - wish I'd tried them ages ago as I like them more than onions. I'll be growing lots more next year!
Lillypad
Svea
Do you have any tips on growing salsify and kohl rabi?
I don't know what I did wrong last year, maybe I sowed them too late, but the salsify didn't grow any bigger than about finger thickness, and the kohl rabi didn't get any bigger than cherry tomato size.
I wondered whether I should have watered them more, and I didn't feed them either.
no tips from me, i am fraid. my granma used to grow them - this is also my first year to veg gardening :)
i know kohlrabi need lots of water though. or at least plenty of it. should be a very trouble free veg otherwise.
dont know about salsify - scorzonera can be left in the ground for a second year if the roots are too small. you should check out gavin's website - he has grown the stuff before.
http://www.keirg.freeserve.co.uk/diary/default.html
check his veg section, you will find the info there.
good luck (to us both)
svea
Quote from: Svea on April 22, 2005, 17:09:30
i know kohlrabi need lots of water though. or at least plenty of it. should be a very trouble free veg otherwise.
Ah! that's probably what went wrong last year then, as I didn't get to water them much!
I grew asparagus peas last year, looked pretty, tasted like tough grass! Pick them when tiny, steam for the shortest time, then eat. Not going to bother again. :-\