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May 06, 2010 Reply with quote #1 Experiments In The Vegetable Patch - What Fun Things Have You Tried?   Most gardeners fall into one of two categories; those who love to grow plants for beauty in the garden, and those who love to grow plants for fun. There are, of course, other motivations for gardening; creating functional landscapes, plant propagation and breeding, optimizing physical and mental wellbeing... But by and large gardeners are either having fun or expressing themselves through the art of gardening.   When it comes to having fun, more gardeners have fun with vegetables and herbs than any other type of plant. The reasons are hard to miss; besides having experimenting with the myriad of veggies that can be grown, there is usually the big payoff in summer and fall of enjoying the fruits of their labors, pun intended. Furthermore there's a special advantage to northern gardeners; a huge proportion of the available veggies can be attempted (even in our short growing seasons by starting the plants indoors), a far greater percentage than trees and shrubs, or even perennials.   So let's talk fun with vegetables and herbs! What are some of the more unusual or exotic varieties you've tried in your backyard veggie patch? Any valuable tips you can provide to help your fellow Northscapers? Share them here, just as the veggie gardening season is about to begin. Here's a few starters from this month's "honorary vegetable" debaters;   Stefan Says...   Heirloom vegetables have been the craze for some time now. Most recently promoted by Martha Stewart, various varieties of tomatoes, eggplants and other tasty garden delights have become so popular that garden centers and greenhouses are exclusively specializing in organically grown and heritage (or heirloom) varieties. For some time now I have been planting these much sought-after vegetables, with mixed results. For the most part, tomatoes have been my passion. Here are some varieties which I feel are great to have.   For a beefsteak type, I have found that Pineapple (aka Hawaiian Pineapple) is a great performer in any climate. I say this as I've found that some varieties are losers in colder climates, while others do poorly in what would traditionally be a great tomato climate, hot humid environments. Pineapple gets its name because it produces large orangish-yellow fruit that has a distinct citrus flavor not unlike Pineapple. Two other great performers which I grew last year were Bali (small spicy pleated, mealy fruit for salads and eating out of hand) and Jersey Devil. I purchased the latter only because I wanted plants which could be grown in a garden of Good and Evil. However, Jersey Devil produced and produced throughout the season with long, pepper-like fruit that rivaled any Roma variety.   There were some duds. Most of the stuffer (hollow) varieties were sparsely fruited and rather small. These might be good for stuffed appetizers but don't expect them to be a substitute for the large stuffed peppers that your mother used to make. Another great disappointment was the Litchi tomato. Once you get through the barbs that persist not only on the stems of the but also on the protective husk, you get the small pea-sized, tender fruit. After you wipe off the blood that is dripping from your hands, you may get enough "berries" to garnish a salad or a pretentious dinner plate.   My experiments in the vegetable patch do not stop at the selection of the plants. Often I try to make the veggie garden a piece of art - sometimes a buffet of beauty and others a torturous labyrinth of overgrown plants. The beautiful experiment was when I planted the vegetables in an arc with the smallest plants (radishes, carrots, lettuce) at the southwestern corner of the patch with the tallest plants (pole beans, indeterminate tomatoes) at the northeast corner of the garden. It looked wonderful and aesthetically pleasing. The trials and tribulations came the following year when I planted several tomatillo plants in the garden. To harvest anything I needed to get my safari gear out and machete my way in. Luckily there were no boa constrictors, or maybe they were just smart enough to avoid this deep jungle. From then on maybe one tomatillo was satisfactory if any at all.   P.S. - The Litchi tomato grew the same way. Thankfully I learned that lesson early!   James Says...   When it comes to gardening, I have a little bit of a "what the heck" attitude. I'm strongly of the opinion that even if your vegetable garden is an important source of food for you, some portion of it should always be devoted to trying out new and interesting things just for the experience.   I regularly grow jalapeno peppers. I love to cook, and hot spicy foods are a big part of my repertoire. Jalapenos definitely need to be started indoors here, usually as early as February. They also need a lot of summer heat to do well, so I put them in the hottest, sunniest, most sheltered part of the garden. More often than not I will have a delightful crop of tangy peppers that I can freeze for the winter, and they produce non-stop until frost. Mmm, chili! Last year I tried growing Mexican black beans and small red Creole beans, and both did surprisingly well for our short growing season. They'll be on the agenda again this year. In the herb department oregano has done well for me and is reliably perennial, while the cilantro (coriander) is vigorously self-seeding - I only needed to plant seeds once!   I've also wandered into the "extreme" for this climate. I've tried growing peanuts here, which was one of the most unsuccessful endeavors I've ever tried. But still, they were fun. And the rabbits agreed - they snarfed down the plants about once a week! Someday I'd like to try ornamental gourds. I know of some people that have success with these in this climate, while others don't seem to have as much luck. I've thought about growing celery, but I hear mixed results from others who have tried it locally. Again, I suspect the growing season may be too short.   What Do YOU Say?   Post your replies to this thread and BE HEARD! Loading...

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