[raisedbed]

Evening All,

I had about 2 square metres of space left at the end of the carrot/parsnip bed so have planted salsify.  My trusty hand book tells me that its an winter vegetable so hopefully this will give me a little bit more veg in the leaner months.

Has anyone grown it before and is it nice!

Thanks

raisedbed

[JayG]

If it were a fantastic veg everyone would be growing it and it would always be on the supermarket shelves.

Not prolific, not easy to prepare or tasty enough for me but that's just my opinion and my vote only counts once! 

(It's often called the "vegetable oyster" but don't be either excessively encouraged or discouraged by that!)

[Kristen]

We got three meals from our bed, which was about half the size of the Parsnip bed (and they must have given us a dozen meals)

Yup, checked Dr Hessayon and his "yield" figures suggest twice as much from Parsnips as from Salisfy (ditto Scorzonera).

Par boiled, then peeled (skin rubs off, but very fiddly to peel before boiling, and the roots "bleed" then sauteed. Tasted lovely, but not on re-heating and not plain boiled or just chucked in the baking tray in the oven with the Sunday Roast.

So I'm not bothering this year, but I may have a more concerted go another year. I might try growing them in a planting hole just filled with sand, or 50:50 sand/compost mix, to see if the roots can be encouraged to fatten up a bit more.

Expectation exceeded outcome, in my case

P.S. They are always in the seed rack though ... I presume people most be growing them? or the seed is dirt cheep to produce so they don't mind the overall wastage?

[PennyS]

Personally I adore salsify.  I've only grown it at home before in a small veg bed and the yield hasn't been bad.  I've got a bigger space for it on the lotty so I'm hoping for a good yield.  It's in a well drained bit so I'm hoping I can get away with leaving the roots in the ground over winter without too many problems.
 
Steamed with a bit of butter ... bliss!  I've never understood why it isn't more popular here.  Go into any French supermarket and you'll always find tinned salsify.

 

[JayG]

Steamed with a bit of butter ... bliss!  I've never understood why it isn't more popular here.  Go into any French supermarket and you'll always find tinned salsify.

 

..............not to mention frog's legs and snails...............! 

[PennyS]

..............not to mention frog's legs and snails...............! 

I'll stick with the salsify if that's OK 

[Beetroot queen]

We have tried this in a bed this year although I am still waiting for a single one to appear  so maybe it wont be a huge crop 

[gypsy]

Steamed with a bit of butter ... bliss!  I've never understood why it isn't more popular here.  Go into any French supermarket and you'll always find tinned salsify.

 
mmmmmm, I just love it cooked like that.

[sandra d]

I`m up in the northeast and I leave mine in all winter. I don`t eat it but I love the flowers. Be  warned, it seeds its self everywhere.

[raisedbed]

Thanks for the comments. 

Regardless of whether I like it or not I now have four 5 foot long rows.  Seems like another vegetable that likes a long growing season.

Thanks

raisedbed