Feeling like a new adventure in the garden? Try growing some unusual vegetables. These are not new vegetables because they have been around for thousands of years, but are not common around here.
Romanesco (Roman Broccoli) grows a tight, spiral head. Its flavor is much milder than regular broccoli. This is one of Gordan Ramsey’s favorite vegetable.
Cucamelon is nothing but a gherkin cucumber for pickling. These smooth-skinned fruits are good eaten raw or pickled with a slightly bitter taste. While the size of a large grape, they are one of the most prolific plants.
Lemon or apple cucumber grows to the size of a small apple with yellowish or white fruit. They are very mild and not bitter. Also makes good, sweet pickles.
Tomatillos have been grown in Mexico forever. They are a berry with a paper lantern covering the fruit. Belonging to the nightshade family, so all parts of the plant are poisonous except the fruit. Two plants are enough for a family and grown like a tomato. You can dry the fruits which will taste like cranberries with a hint of tomato taste.
Winged bean (there is also a pea plant with winged pods) which can be cooked like a regular bean. Most varieties need something to climb on.
Bitter gourd (balsam pear) resembles a cucumber used in Asian cooking. When mature, cut them open and eat the sweet, red pulp.
Most of us know what kohlrabi is. For those who do not, it is related to the cabbage family with a bulb (swollen stem) that form above ground. Can be eaten raw or cooked.
Salsify is a root vegetable tasting like oysters. I grew it one year and liked it. The only thing salsify needs are loamy soil and not compacted soil. You can also eat the stems.
Celeriac is a vegetable that forms a swollen stem above the ground. It can be eaten raw or cooked tasting like celery but can be grown with less water.
Prickly pear cactus, while not grown much as a garden vegetable here, it is down south. The fruits which a sweet and juicy, can be eaten raw. The leaves (pads) are stripped of their needles then sliced and cooked.
It’s stated that all carrots started out purple. A Dutch Queen wanted orange carrots, so after much breeding, they had an orange variety that gains popularity. We are going back to the darker colors because they have more nutrients than their orange cousins.
