[ThePragmatist]

Hi,

I am going to give Globe Artichokes a try next year and see how they do. I was also considering salsify and scorzonera. Do you reckon they are worth it? Also, are there any other unusual vegetables that you can't easily get in the shops that are worth growing?

Cheers!

[Paul Plots]

I think if you know you like something it's always worth giving it a go. You never know until you try.

I started growing butternut squash because we like it and it mostly grows very successfully down here - saves on the shopping bills although it's no longer an "unusual" vegetable in most shops.

Good luck with our trials.

[compostqueen]

If you don't like the globes, after trying them, then they are gorgeous plants to behold, plus the goldfinches love the seed heads.  Also the fruits look lovely on the side in the kitchen    They are a bit of a faff to prepare and there's lots of waste, so you need a lot of plants to get a decent crop but if you don't mind that then they're worth it 

[pdblake]

I grew a row of globes from seed this year. They are huge. Only one bore fruit this year, along with a preexisting plant I inherited with the plot. I found them quite easy to cultivate. Unfortunately they are a bit of a faff to cook, though I found quartering them while small and young meant less messing about and fewer stabbed fingers.

[surbie100]

I've gone for versions of things that I like but that I either can't buy in the shops or are expensive - purple kohlrabi and beans, asparagus peas (not many people like them, but I do), yellow and stripey courgettes, sorrel, italian chicoria, crystal lemon cucumbers, scallop and turk's turban squash etc...

I don't think globes are a faff to cook - you can leave them simmering in a pot while you get a dipping sauce ready and then eat them hot with your favourite distraction (film, book, radio etc).  :blink:

[ThePragmatist]

Cheers! Seems there is some love for the Globe Artichoke. I am glad someone likes the asparagus pea as well, I just finished reading a blog post with a series of comments all comparing them to spiky cardboard. I was beginning to feel a bit sorry for it!

[GrannieAnnie]

The only way I like asparagus peas was to steam them and serve in a white cream sauce!

[8doubles]

I grow Globe Arti`s (to be honest i just let them get on with it) but do not eat them, if i need something to smother in butter home grown sweetcorn is much better.
I grew scorzonera for a couple of years but it is less tasty than a carrot or snip.
IMO Achocha is an unappetising weed , asparagus pea is pretty but bland.

Mooli radish is worth a go if you are into salads , grated mooli is a definite plus when added. :blink:

[Jamrock]

Rather than growing unusual veg which may or may not be worth it when it ends up on the plate I prefer to grow specific varieties of things i like to eat that are not easily available in shops or are very pricey

New potatoes rather than maincrop

Shallots rather than maincrop onions

Chilli varieties that you don't see in the shops

Borlottis and other french bean varieties

The list goes on!

Obviously if you have the time and room to grow everything then brilliant but this is rare

[Paul Plots]

Chinese cabbage might be worth considering. It seems to prefer cooler weather. Sown late and transplanted mid to late summer it stands well when the weather's cold. Young it can be eaten as a salad leaf and later stir-fried or steamed.

Just a thought. 

[JayG]

Although I like to try new crops I never do more than one experiment per year, mainly because I've got a garden rather than an allotment, so everything I grow I has to be something that a) I know I like to eat, and b) is reasonably productive, and some things I've tried were neither (which could be why they're not easy to find in the shops!)

If space were not a consideration I'd also probably try globe artichokes - salsify underperformed for me and I'm not quite sure I liked it, and let's just say that asparagus peas had very pretty flowers.  

[Paul Plots]

Although I like to try new crops I never do more than one experiment per year, mainly because I've got a garden rather than an allotment, so everything I grow I has to be something that a) I know I like to eat, and b) is reasonably productive, and some things I've tried were neither (which could be why they're not easy to find in the shops!)

If space were not a consideration I'd also probably try globe artichokes - salsify underperformed for me and I'm not quite sure I liked it, and let's just say that asparagus peas had very pretty flowers.  

Red flowers and pretty shaped pods.... but can't eat pretty and flavour wasn't a hit at home.
Sweet peas for pretty . 

[marcofez]

I love artichoke, my mum cooks them just right!!! 
Pick them young as that keeps them tender when eating! Lovely! :blink:

[thestens]

What about Jerusalem artichokes dead easy to grow and dead versatile. I usually have salsify( or the other one in which I can't spell) in and find them useful - as someone else said perhaps not as tasty as carrots or parsnips  -but how much are C  and P at the green grocers.

[New shoot]

Each to their own I say and finding your preferred veg choices is half the fun of growing  Having said that, I think a few unusual veg are worth trying and also different unusual varieties as Surbie says.

Salsify was not a hit with me, but it is very easy to grow, so worth trying just to see if you like it.  I like asparagus peas, but you have to pick them small and I can recommend seakale, which you force and blanch in the spring like rhubarb.

Some veg just tastes amazing when grown at home as well.  You can't buy tomatoes and sweetcorn like you grow yourself and a freshly pulled carrot is a different creature to a supermaket offfering    Picking soft fruit which costs a bomb to buy rates pretty high as well