Question

Gardener friends--any favorite crops or varieties that are vaguely obscure and you think everyone should grow? A few from me, red russian kale, lemon cucumbers, runner beans, and pink single mums--I think there are several varieties, but they look like pink daisies and are blooming profusely now when little else is--this is for cuts.

#Russian

DavidDuhon 7

Answer 1

I am all for any produce that grows itself. A lot of perennial crops fit that bill, and most fruits are perennial. In my yard, conditions are mostly part sun to part shade, and alkaline clay soil. Not easy. But I have wild southern blackberry cousins, called dewberries, that want to grow all over my back yard. So I am letting them, at least in one quarter of the space. Left to themselves, they trail on the ground, more prostrate than true blackberries, but I have helped them weave into my perimeter chain link fence, plus put up an additional hundred feet of staked guide wires up to 3 feet high in rows 6 ft apart. Dewberries fruit a bit earlier than blackberries and produce single stems with berries from every leaf node (rather than clusters) on 2nd year vines. The only work required from me, aside from picking them, is to prune out old vines that have just produced, to make way for next year's productive vines. Sweet!

Answer 2

Angelica, just chop the young tender stems in spring into any fruit you are cooking, no need to preserve it. Lovage for a rich celery type flavour in soups and stews. Angelica is a biennial but self sows and lovage is a tall herb, neither are difficult to grow.


Author	Author:
Type of abuse	I think this violates the community guidelines. Chat or rant, adult content, spam, insulting other members I think this is illegal. Harm to minors, violence or threats, harassment or privacy invasion, impersonation or misrepresentation, fraud or phishing, etc.
Additional Details If Needed

Post a comment Author doesn't reply Reply Author doesn't reply Add Photo

Enjoy being online again!

2 comments

Recent Visitors 30

Photos 5,418 More

Members 1,540Top

Moderator

Related GroupsMore

Share this post with your group