3/16/2012

Unusual Vegetables & Edibles

Rebecca McMahon Horticulture Agent Sedgwick County Extension

What is the most unique edible you have ever grown?

1 3/16/2012

Expand Your Horizons!

• Becoming a Vegetable Explorer – Common Vegetables with a Twist – Less Common Vegetables – Uncommon Edibles – I Never Guessed You Could Eat THAT! • Sources for Planting Stock

Becoming a Vegetable Explorer

• Be open to eating new types of foods

• Be open to eating strange colors

• Don’t expect everything to work

• Be Careful!

2 3/16/2012

Do Your Research!

• Where did the plant originate? • Does it have unique requirements? – Day length or light – Temperature – Soil type • What part is edible? • How do you know it’s mature?

3 3/16/2012

Common Vegetables with a Twist

• Tomatoes • Swiss Chard • Peppers • Brussels Sprouts • Eggplant • Cauliflower • Carrots • Cutting Celery • Beets • Potatoes • Beans

Tomatoes

• Numerous opportunities • Hybrids, Heirlooms, Hybrid Heirlooms • Red, orange, yellow, green, striped, purple/black/brown, white • Beefsteaks, oxhearts, roma, huge, tiny, etc. • Stuffing Tomatoes –like a bell pepper! • Peach Tomatoes – fuzzy skin like a peach!

4 3/16/2012

Eggplant

• American, Italian, Japanese/Asian, Thai, Indian • Mostly purple, white, shades of purple, striped, white, green • Many sizes • Orange/red varieties tend to be bitter!

5 3/16/2012

Eggplant

Carrots

• Carrots: red, orange, yellow, white, purple

• Until the 1500s, there were no orange carrots! – www.carrotmuseum.com

6 3/16/2012

Potatoes

• Beyond Red, White, & Russet

• Fingerlings • Red & Blue potatoes • Heirloom potatoes • Varying amounts of starch/water – textural differences

Fingerlings

• Smaller, oblong shape • Variety of flavor, texture, color characteristics • Not “new” potatoes, harvested early

7 3/16/2012

Less Common Vegetables

• Long Beans • Shallots • Tomatillos • Onions • Husk Cherries • Bok Choy • Cucamelons • Other Asian greens • Fennel • Jerusalem • Leeks Artichokes • Walking Onion

Tomatillos/Husk Cherries

• Planting time/Growing season –same as tomatoes • Should start seeds indoors and transplant

8 3/16/2012

Tomatillos

• Physalis sp. – Solanaceae –Nightshade • From Mexico (Pre‐Colombian) • Highly self‐incompatible – need multiple

Husk Cherries

• Physalis sp. (Ground Cherries) • Sweeter flavor – “pineapple” tomatillo • Resemble Chinese Lanterns (related)

9 3/16/2012

Onions & Shallots

• Egyptian Walking Onion

• Potato Onions

• Shallots

Egyptian Walking Onions

• aka Tree Onion, Topset onion

• Allium cepa var. proliferum

• The topsets fall over and root, hence the “walking”

10 3/16/2012

Potato Onion

• aka Multiplier Onion • Sometimes confused with shallots • Planted in the fall • One onion set will produce 8‐12 onions

Potato Onion

• One onion set will produce a clump of 8‐12 medium‐sized onions • Store 8‐10 months • Replant from your own bulbs

11 3/16/2012

Shallots

• Common in French cooking • Onion flavor, but milder • Cook down so you have the flavor, but no chunks of onion

Shallots

• Plant in fall, like garlic • Each “bulb” planted will produce a cluster of bulbs • Keep moist (not wet) over the winter

12 3/16/2012

Cucamelons

• Aka Mexican Sour Gherkin, Mouse Melons, etc. • Cucumber family –small leaves, delicate vines, tiny flowers • Needs heat –may be late to produce without vertical trellis

Jerusalem Artichokes

• Helianthus tuberosus • Edible root – starchy and sweet, crisp – Eat raw, baked, boiled, etc.

13 3/16/2012

Jerusalem Artichoke

• Can be aggressive • Best to treat it as a perennial sunflower!

Asian Greens

• Bok Choy • Tatsoi • Mizuna • Komatsuna • Shiso

14 3/16/2012

Bok Choy

• Brassica rapa var. chinensis – AKA Pac Choi, Pak Choi, etc. • Very popular Chinese green • Dark green leaves with white or green stems • Mild leaves, crispy leaf petioles • Best for fall (mid‐August) planting in Kansas

Mizuna

• Brassica rapa var. nipposinica • Toothed leaves reminiscent of oak leaves • Sweet with a mild mustard taste

15 3/16/2012

Shiso

• Red, Green, or Red‐Green • Used in sushi or for pickling • Grows similar to basil • Reseeds prolifically!

Uncommon Edibles

• Alpine Strawberries • Celeriac • Amaranth • Parsley Root • Asian Herbs • Crosnes (Chinese • Sorrels Artichokes) • Oxalis • Oca • Lemongrass • Yacon • Ginger • Garden Huckleberries

16 3/16/2012

Sorrels

• Rumex sp. • Red Rib • Garden Sorrel • Various others • Lemony, tart flavor • Prefer cool weather/maybe some light shade

Garden Huckleberries

• Solanum melanocerasum • Grow like tomatoes • Not edible until fully ripe –Black, dull, soft • Cook and add sugar • Don’t confuse with Nightshade!

17 3/16/2012

Crosnes

• affinis –Mint family • Aka Chinese Artichokes • Small, crisp, tan • Eat raw or cooked like a potato • Low growing, mat of leaves – similar to spearmint

Crosnes

• Plant in fall or spring, well‐drained soil • Plan for it to grow as a perennial • Harvest in October • Goodwin Creek, Companion Plants

18 3/16/2012

Gingers

• Ginger, Galangal, Cardamom = Zingiberaceae • Love heat and humidity • Have to overwinter indoors • Takes 2‐3 years to have harvestable roots • Some have showy flowers

Lemon Myrtle

• Backhousia citriodora • Native to Australia • Woody shrub • “Queen of the Lemon herbs” • No plant material available in U.S. – Can buy seeds –4% germination rate – Grows slowly

19 3/16/2012

I Never Guessed You Could Eat That!

• Stinging Nettles • Nasturtium seeds • Mallow • Gladiolus • Chufa Nuts • Daylilies • Campanula • Tiger Lily bulbs • Houttuynia • Ice Plant • Sweet Violet • Fiddle Head Ferns

Stinging Nettles

• Urtica dioica • Rich in vitamins A, C, D, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium

20 3/16/2012

Stinging Nettles

• Cooking or drying neutralizes the stinging • Use only the young shoots –delicacy for soup • Similar in flavor and texture to spinach

Chufa Nuts

• Cyperus esculentus var. sativus • Aka Chufa Sedge, Yellow Nutsedge, Tigernut Sedge, Earthalmond

21 3/16/2012

Chufa Nuts

• Edible tubers, slightly sweet, nutty flavor, crunchy when raw • Best to consider it a perennial

Gladiolus

• Flower petals are edible • Taste like lettuce with a teaspoon of sugar on it

22 3/16/2012

Ice Plant

• Aptenia sp., Mesembryanthemum sp., etc. • Fleshy succulent leaves are like really juicy lettuce • Trailing/ground cover • Has small flowers

23 3/16/2012

Great Resources ‐ Books

• Rosalind Creasy – Herbs, Flowers, Mexican, Asian, French, Heirlooms, Italian, Rainbow, etc. • Unusual Vegetables by Anne Halpin • Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book by Jane Grigson (includes growing & cooking) • Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier

Great Resources ‐ Websites

• www.pfaf.org • http://www.unusualherbsandedibles.c o.uk/herbs/index.html • http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/ • http://www.uni‐ graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html

24 3/16/2012

Seed & Plant Sources

• B & T World Seeds • Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds • Seed Savers Exchange • Kitazawa Seeds • Evergreen Seeds • Bountiful Gardens • Nichols Garden Nursery

Seed & Plant Sources

• Irish Eyes Seeds • Fedco Seed • Native Seeds/SEARCH • Ronnigers Potato Farm • Seedman.com • Tradewinds Fruit • Seeds of Italy

25 3/16/2012

What are you going to try?

Questions?

http://thedemogarden.org

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