songbird wrote:

Nyssa wrote:
songbird wrote:
...
do you like fennel? it is much quicker and easier
to grow.


this year i'm adding pak choi and fennel to the mix.
we'll see how they do in various locations, some with
competition and others with none, and a variety of
soil places and moisture levels.

I don't care for fennel, but I have grown bak choy
several times. I usually stick to the extra dwarf variety
for salads and the dwarf for use in stir fries and
soups.

I'd grow bak choy more often, but I'm the only one
who eats it. I can't give it away to the neighbors, ditto
any other Asian vegetable that I like, so I rarely grow
it anymore. It just rots since I can't use it all.

Nyssa, who needs to recruit neighbors who are more open
to "strange" foods

hmm. good luck with that!

ah, too bad about the fennel as i think it is so
wimpy, especially when cooked that it doesn't really
take much like anything, similar enough to celery
for me to use it.

do you recall any other asian veggies you used to
grow in Michigan? (i'm in mid-michigan...) i'm mostly
looking for those that will self-perpetuate too and
those with firmer and larger leaves. i figure if i
can keep planting a mix of edibles here and they'll
take then it's a good food source if needed, and if
not needed i'll let it be bunny and worm food...


songbird
Sorry, I didn't grow Asian vegetables when I lived in
Michigan, so I can't help with any specifics for there.

But I can steer you to my source for Asian vegetable
seeds: kitazawaseed.com

They're located in Oakland, CA, and have been in business
for ages. Their catalog is worth having on hand both
for the seed descriptions, but also for the recipe suggestions.

Besides the extra dwarf and dwarf bok choy, I also have
grown several varieties of their snap and snow peas,
napa cabbage, and a green called Vitamina which is a
very fast growing cabbage-like green. There are two
lettuce varieties that are among my favorites, Okayama
Salad and Manoa (which even my fussy neighbor loves).
Lots of goodies to choose from, although their shipping
prices are a bit steep, so I only order from them
every other year.

HTH

Nyssa, who just got hit with a winter storm on Monday
after hitting 60+ degrees on Sunday...what a winter!