Exotic vegetables
 

I felt that I had got stuck in a rut, so am trying the following
this year:

Mouse melon (Melothria scabra)
Achocha (Cyclanthera pedata)
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
Greek Gigantes bean

Any bets on my success rate? :-)

The yacon was bought as a tuber, and has sprouted, but the slugs
or snails got it, so I have watered with Slugclear and will see
if it now succeeds. The others are germinating - I am fairly
confident of the last two, but have my doubts on the others.

And, of course, only a third of the exotic vegetables I have
grown were worth repeating. Some were marginal (like Chinese
artichoke and oca) and I did for a few years, but others (like
Japanese burdock and cardoon) were disgusting. Curiously, the
former CAN be grown to be good, but I suspect that it needs warm,
wet conditions.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Exotic vegetables
 

In article ,
Nick Maclaren wrote:

I felt that I had got stuck in a rut, so am trying the following
this year:

Oh, I forgot. And rampion (Campanula rapunculus) and pignut
(Conopodium majus), but I am not optimistic about them. The
former has germinated, but shows no sign of reaching its second
millimetre of height.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Exotic vegetables
 

Exotic vegetables
 

In article ,
Gary Woods wrote:

Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)

These need a longer season than I really have; they're a pole bean that
does well if I get started as early as possible. In the U.K. you should be
fine.

Thanks, but I wouldn't bet on it being better here :-( It all depends
on how much warmth and light it needs when cropping. Fairly often,
even my French beans stop flowering early because of a cold spell.

Cherokee Trail of Tears bean

I grow these most years; pole bean that's left on to maturity for dry
beans; very tasty and very productive.

Thanks. Have you tried them green?

Haven't tried the others; I'm adding "Corona" beans, because I encountered
them in a cooking podcast ("The Splendid Table"; saw the host at a garden
conference several years ago) Bought some online and will plant. They're
billed as a runner bean, so should be OK on my usual six-pole teepee.

So is "gigantes", incidentally.

And I forgot one other - Chenopodium giganteum. The slugs cropped
the first seedlings in toto, so I am trying again.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Exotic vegetables
 

Exotic vegetables
 

Hello Nick

In article ,
Nick Maclaren wrote:

I felt that I had got stuck in a rut, so am trying the following
this year:

Mouse melon (Melothria scabra)
Achocha (Cyclanthera pedata)
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
Greek Gigantes bean

Any bets on my success rate? :-)

The yacon was bought as a tuber, and has sprouted, but the slugs
or snails got it, so I have watered with Slugclear and will see
if it now succeeds. The others are germinating - I am fairly
confident of the last two, but have my doubts on the others.

SNIP

In 2008 I grew the Mouse Melon. It grows easily and in a protected hot spot
it is quite rampant. The fruit are quite nice as a snack or in salad, but the
yield is small for the rampant growth, so it did not get a second chance

I have grown Achocha. It is quite good fun rambling along the roof in a
greenhouse. The flowers seem to attract hover flies like mad. The fruit are
interesting like tiny cucumbers. OK in salads, but you need an awful lot of
Achocha to provide a significant weight of crop. I grew it for several years,
and might give it a second try next year.

I have also grown Cherokee Trail of Tears Climbing French Bean. It is trouble
free to grow, has an interesting history and produces a reasonable crop. I
used to grow a number of different varieties of heritage climbing french
beans, but I have now settled on "Mr Fearns Purple Flowered" which looks
pretty, gives a good crop, and freezes well.

My exotic experiments this year are "Dudi Tower Hamlets" and "Starley Red
Peas" (which is actually a french bean from Jamaica) both from the Heritage
Seed Library. I am also repeating one of last years experiments the squash
"Ram's Kodu" which grew well and stored well.

Best Wishes

John

--
John Rye
Hadleigh IPSWICH England
http://www.ryepad.plus.com
--- Using RISC OS Six on an Acorn StrongArm RiscPC and under VARPC ---

Exotic vegetables
 

In article ,
John Rye wrote:

In 2008 I grew the Mouse Melon. ...

I have grown Achocha. ...

Thanks. Mine will have to look after themselves outside, with
no special position. If we have a good summer, they should do
OK - if not, probably not!

I have also grown Cherokee Trail of Tears Climbing French Bean. It is trouble
free to grow, has an interesting history and produces a reasonable crop. I
used to grow a number of different varieties of heritage climbing french
beans, but I have now settled on "Mr Fearns Purple Flowered" which looks
pretty, gives a good crop, and freezes well.

I grow blue ones and borlotti - I used to grow pea bean, but it's
not useful enough for the space. I have not had much joy with
green climbing French beans, and it seems that Mr Fearns Purple
Flowered is currently tricky to get!

My exotic experiments this year are "Dudi Tower Hamlets" and "Starley Red
Peas" (which is actually a french bean from Jamaica) both from the Heritage
Seed Library. I am also repeating one of last years experiments the squash
"Ram's Kodu" which grew well and stored well.

I am not keen on most C. pepo winter squash (Gem/Rolet excepted),
and grow a form of C. maxima that we call "Piers's Pumpkin", as I
got the seed from my brother in New Zealand and he had no idea what
it was called! It does well in the British climate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Exotic vegetables
 

On 30/04/2014 09:56, Nick Maclaren wrote:
I felt that I had got stuck in a rut, so am trying the following
this year:

Mouse melon (Melothria scabra)
Achocha (Cyclanthera pedata)
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
Greek Gigantes bean

Any bets on my success rate? :-)

The yacon was bought as a tuber, and has sprouted, but the slugs
or snails got it, so I have watered with Slugclear and will see
if it now succeeds. The others are germinating - I am fairly
confident of the last two, but have my doubts on the others.

And, of course, only a third of the exotic vegetables I have
grown were worth repeating. Some were marginal (like Chinese
artichoke and oca) and I did for a few years, but others (like
Japanese burdock and cardoon) were disgusting. Curiously, the
former CAN be grown to be good, but I suspect that it needs warm,
wet conditions.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I planted 3 yacon last year, and the slugs had a field day despite slug
pellets, but when I checked in Jan there was one plant surviving, I
lifted it and brought it into the greenhouse.
It started to sprout in early March so at the start of April I knocked
it out of the pot and it came apart giving me 9 youngsters which have
been potted into 1 ltr square pots.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...pscbdb3fef.jpg
I will plant out in early June and hope to keep the slugs away this year.
David @ a still dry side of Swansea Bay

Exotic vegetables
 

In article ,
David Hill wrote:

I planted 3 yacon last year, and the slugs had a field day despite slug
pellets, but when I checked in Jan there was one plant surviving, I
lifted it and brought it into the greenhouse.
It started to sprout in early March so at the start of April I knocked
it out of the pot and it came apart giving me 9 youngsters which have
been potted into 1 ltr square pots.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...pscbdb3fef.jpg
I will plant out in early June and hope to keep the slugs away this year.

I should have started it off in a pot!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Exotic vegetables
 

On 30/04/2014 09:56, Nick Maclaren wrote:
I felt that I had got stuck in a rut, so am trying the following
this year:

Mouse melon (Melothria scabra)
Achocha (Cyclanthera pedata)
Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
Yard long bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
Cherokee Trail of Tears bean
Greek Gigantes bean

Any bets on my success rate? :-)

The yacon was bought as a tuber, and has sprouted, but the slugs
or snails got it, so I have watered with Slugclear and will see
if it now succeeds. The others are germinating - I am fairly
confident of the last two, but have my doubts on the others.

And, of course, only a third of the exotic vegetables I have
grown were worth repeating. Some were marginal (like Chinese
artichoke and oca) and I did for a few years, but others (like
Japanese burdock and cardoon) were disgusting. Curiously, the
former CAN be grown to be good, but I suspect that it needs warm,
wet conditions.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I am trying a couple of things from
China Lucky fruit Chenopodium strawberry
and
Sieve bean Phaseolus lanatus
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps9b6f8318.jpg
David