Comments on: What can I grow that I just can't buy?

Question: What can I grow that I just can't buy?

fcain — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:16:09 -0800

I was wondering if I could get some suggestions on strange, tasty, and difficult to purchase food I can grow in my garden.

I've been growing food in the garden for a few years now, and I'm really enjoying it. The problem is that it's the same old, regular stuff: green beans, lettuce, radishes, etc.

I was wondering if people had suggestions for unusual stuff I could try growing. Stuff I could mail order, or seek out and then grow that I've never tasted. Or it goes bad so quickly that I'd never be able to buy it in a store.

Let me give you an example. My landlord has a fig tree, which produces delicious figs for about 2 weeks of the year. They're so fragile and when they're ripe, they go bad in just a day or two, that I can't imagine how you could buy them in the store.

So what else could I grow?

By: zadcat

zadcat — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:20:29 -0800

It depends where you live, both to give realistic suggestions about what might grow there, and what might not be readily available.

If you like Asian food, why not try growing bok choy or other Asian vegetables?

By: dilettante

dilettante — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:23:13 -0800

Can pawpaws grow in BC? It would take a pair of trees, and several years.

By: zadcat

zadcat — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:26:43 -0800

OK, try Seeds of Diversity - this site is a seed exchange for heirloom vegetables and unusual varieties of veg that are not sold in grocery stores.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:29:47 -0800

Saffron.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:34:04 -0800

Miracle fruit

By: saffry

saffry — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:34:47 -0800

I have the same idea as zadcat. Investigate heirloom veggies and fruits. Not only are you growing for yourself, but you can help keep these strains alive in a world where mass-production of veggies has led to food that looks good and is easily packaged but tastes like cardboard.

I think that this melon was a variety that I ate while working at a farm museum years ago, and it forever changed the way I thought of melons. So yummy.

By: judith

judith — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:40:56 -0800

there are plenty of things that are available in stores in relatively hardy and tasteless varieties that are infinitely better fresh-picked, like berries or, as you mention, figs. you could also try heirloom apple varieties, if apples grow in your part of the world. seeds of change is a good resource for organic seeds.

By: shinybeast

shinybeast — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:41:11 -0800

Romanesco broccoli.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:43:49 -0800

Aw, I was going to suggest figs! I can get them in the store (Trader Joe's) but store bought ones absolutely cannot compare to the ones from your own tree. They're dry and have a lot less actual fruit than tree ones. On the other hand, figs are a pain to harvest; they excrete a sticky "milk" that a lot of people are allergic to. You could test this on your landlord's tree. I get a rash from picking figs, which obviously makes a fig tree a little less appealing for me than for some people.

I might change focus and grow things that you can buy in stores but would never want to - peaches and tomatoes, for example, are readily available for purchase but most people I've met who have been raised on home-grown ones find the ones from the store really disgusting. Or things that are available from stores but at a dear price, such as avocadoes or kumquats.

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:52:45 -0800

Daikon radish, especially for the greens.

Garlic, and harvest the scape.

Stinging nettle, which you might already have as a volunteer. Boiling for a minute takes away the sting.

Jerusalem artichoke, fava beans, and every herb you can think of.

By: Ostara

Ostara — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:56:43 -0800

Quince - it's a relative of the pear that's best made into jams and jellies. It has beautiful ornamental flowers in the spring. I have two of these flanking the front steps to my house.

Heirloom tomatoes, particularly ones that have unusual coloration, like Cherokee Purple.

Blue potatoes.

Paw Paws. Similar to a banana - very custardy.

Persimmons. I love making persimmon bread!

Herbs - fresh herbs are kind of expensive, but growing your own is easy. Try ones you can't buy fresh in stores, like lemon basil, pineapple sage, or chocolate mint.

Edible flowers! Pansies, nasturtiums, etc. Look great on salads :)

Exotic peppers, like red savinas or trinidad scorpions.

Tayberries - blackberry/raspberry cross

Currants

Hardy Kiwis

Rhubarb.

Loganberries.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:59:51 -0800

UBC botannical garden discussion forum.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:01:31 -0800

Oh, 2nding Ostara on persimmons. See if you can find soft persimmons, which you pick and then allow to ripen further until they are a squishy mess. Then mix with yogurt. I have never seen those in stores for obvious reasons - even right after picking, they're way too soft to ship.

I assume there are major climate requirements, but dates are also totally different when fresh - they're buttery and rich, instead of dry and sweet. I mean, they're also sweet, but there's a lot more to them than that.

Clearly I love this question. Great one!

By: Cat Pie Hurts

Cat Pie Hurts — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:13:52 -0800

Fiddleheads!!
They're really tasty and extremely cool looking.

By: mds35

mds35 — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:18:50 -0800

Black, white or purple carrots.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:20:38 -0800

Peas. Seriously. How often do you see fresh peas in the grocery store? They're always frozen or canned. And trust me, they are sooooo much better fresh.

By: Xere

Xere — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:21:06 -0800

Pandan, if you're into a certain subgenre of Asian cookery. Puddings, rice cakes, chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, oh my!

This has reminded me to continue my quest for aforementioned plant, for my near-future garden.

By: Xere

Xere — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:33:51 -0800

Also. Chili peppers, if you're one of ~~them~~ us weirdos who aren't satisfied until the heat produces tears and sniffles. Can't beat a freshly plucked chili.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:36:43 -0800

Does citrus grow at all up there? I have a Moro blood orange tree and a Meyer lemon tree, both dwarf species that could be planted in pots and moved indoors if necessary. I paid about $20US for each, and I get the equivalent of hundreds of dollars worth of fruit from them every year.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:45:23 -0800

I've grown heirloom tomatoes and strawberries that taste infinitely better than anything I could buy (well, maybe the best of a local Farmers Market comes close). Tomatoes and strawberries from the store taste terrible because fresh ripe ones don't travel well so they make them huge and tasteless as they breed for toughness.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:05:21 -0800

Oooh, asparagus is another thing that is always going to be better if you run out and pick some a few minutes before you cook it up.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:18:45 -0800

Salsify. Artichokes. Cardoon. Cavolo Nero. Radicchio. Cape Gooseberry. Celeriac. Florence fennel. Kohl rabi.

I have grown everyone of these except salsify. They are all good.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:22:02 -0800

Oh, and try to get some horseshit and mushroom spawn and grow mushrooms. Yummy, juicy fresh mushrooms.

By: padraigin

padraigin — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:36:34 -0800

Oh man, I used to eat kohl rabi like it was an apple. It's incredible, I can't believe it's not more popular.

Jerusalem artichokes (or sunchokes) are also an incredible, and relatively hard to find, vegetable that is just amazing.

By: paulsc

paulsc — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:45:59 -0800

Orange and white fleshed watermelons look odd, taste great. They are as easy to grow as cantaloupes and honeydew melons, but you may find you need to erect a deer and rabbit proof fence, if you want any for yourself! Also, Silver Queen sweet corn and popcorn are pretty easy to grow. Nothing like ears of Silver Queen on the table 30 minutes after they've been growing on the stalk!

By: salvia

salvia — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:13:19 -0800

We have this berry bush in my yard that produces way more (mulberries? blackberries?) than I could ever afford. I keep meaning to freeze them. It'd take a while for a bush to get that big, though.

By: anthill

anthill — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 03:54:12 -0800

My gigantic patch of basil is something it would be hard/expensive to get at the store, at least in the quantities it takes to make a good sized batch of pesto.

By: plinth

plinth — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:05:26 -0800

Fedco is my favorite seed supplier. They have heirloom and organic varieties and useful descriptions.

I try to plant one "weird" thing every year to see what it's like to grow and if there's advantage to homegrown.

Here are some winners:
Arugula - can't usually find it in a store, amazing flavor, grows well and reseeds
Jet Setter tomatoes - prolific, great flavor
Cherry peppers - way hotter than store bought, nice flavor - used for my own hot sauce
Chard - much better than store grew the argentata variety iirc
Nasturtiums - put the flowers in your salad - pretty

Here are some losers:
broccoli - great tasting, spent an eternity picking off cabbage white caterpillars
celeriac - fragile - never grew to maturity
brandywine tomatoes - honestly didn't taste very good, killed by blight

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:24:03 -0800

One of our biggest garden surprises has been the superiority of homegrown eggplant--there are lots of unusual varieties, and the small fruits that we harvest are sweet, rich, and almost sea-foody. Loofah is always fun, too; folks are inevitably surprised that it's a gourd, not an actual sponge, and the vine is lush and impressive. Lastly, parsley, when grown in abundance, makes a fantastic substitute for lettuce.

By: KathyK

KathyK — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:40:38 -0800

I'm thinking about growing elephant garlic as I can rarely find it in grocery stores. Regular garlic with its many and tiny cloves is so annoying to prepare. I take elephant garlic over regular every time.

By: fidelity

fidelity — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 07:30:52 -0800

No specific items, but Seed Savers has lots of interesting heirloom vegetables, including dozens of tomato, potato, and melon varieties, and all kinds of other unusual things. They have a good catalog.

By: hecho de la basura

hecho de la basura — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 08:17:07 -0800

Shiso or perilla.

By: SageLeVoid

SageLeVoid — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 09:53:29 -0800

The best unknown vegetable is Gobo aka greater burdock.
It's the best kept secret of Japan.

By: Kellydamnit

Kellydamnit — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:04:47 -0800

I'm going to second (third?) basil, if only for the cost.
I just made pesto the other night with basil from a friend's garden- free. Had I gone to the grocery for it I would have easily spent $40 for an equivilant amount.

By: canoehead

canoehead — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:05:56 -0800

Fava (AKA Broad) beans are tasty and grow well here but I've never seen them for sale.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:04:59 -0800

How could I forget passionfruit?

Dear questioner, do seek advice on what works in your region. All the things above are great, but for example, I can rarely grow good eggplants, because it doesn't get hot enough for long enough in here in Wellington.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:05:50 -0800

Passionfruit may called grenadillas where you are. Semi-perennial vine fruit. Totally yummy.

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:11:17 -0800

Arugula - can't usually find it in a store, amazing flavor, grows well and reseeds

Man, you must be living in My Blue Heaven. It is always, every single day, available in the supermarkets where I live. I think it is the perfect salad green, and yes, a good green to grow. mmmm

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:17:59 -0800

Pea shoots are amazingly good.

By: fcain

fcain — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:56:39 -0800

Sorry, I should have mentioned, I live in Vancouver, Canada. We have a tough time doing melons and citrus fruit, but almost everything else is doable.