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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. |
#2
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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. |
#3
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Exotic vegetables
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#4
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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. |
#5
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Exotic vegetables
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#6
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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 --- |
#7
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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. |
#8
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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 |
#9
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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. |
#10
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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 |
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