Everything in moderation is usually a good rule to follow.
Also, data related to consumption of related species is probably more readily available but I haven’t researched much about tropical relatives. There was a thread that touched on this subject which was closed a while back due to some unusual strongly held assumptions from another forum member.
Orach is like lambs quarters on steroids. Easy to grow, self sows, though not as readily as its cousin. It is palatable far after other spring greets, and you can start harvesting it with the first spinach. By July, you can pick a salad for a crowd in seconds. 6 of those succulent dinner plate sized leaves will fill a bowl.
Sylvetta arugula is another Id recommend. It grows itself, almost to a fault. Tough plant, tender leaves with a great zippy flavor. Long harvest season, with overwintering potential. Great winter greens, but good throughout the season too.
No one is going to be fed on leafy greens, but survival isn’t everything.
I’ve seen Orach seeds but have never tried them. Sounds like a great plant to add!
I’m not much of an Arugla user. I have thought about using it like kales when I make soups.
yeah, give it a go. its so much more heat tolerant than spinach, and I actually prefer it.
sylvetta arugula may just change your mind. its a different genus, and has a different texture and flavor profile. its crunchy and doesn’t have that radishy heat, which I dont like much. It has a smoother spiciness that I much prefer
That sounds better then. When I put greens in soup; I generally add it late to keep some texture and nutrients.
Hablitzia. It seemed like a permie hype here in Europe, but it is very prolific once established. The first green out after winter. In spring eaten fresh like lettuce and then for cooking in place of spinach until autumn.
Kohlrabi is one crop that tends to get very little love, but its a real winner in my book. People are unaware of it and many that have heard of it are confused and intimidated by its unusual appearance or don’t know what to do with it. Makes the best slaw or kraut hands down. Its prolific and easy to grow. This one fed us for 3 nights.
Goodness… That’s a lot of slaw.
It is a European staple - cheap and available throughout the year even in the tiniest grocery stores. There is a variety called Gigant that can produce heads the size of a volleyball.
If Sorghum can survive unirrigated in south sudan, it must be able to do that in your county aswel?
Agreed, kohlrabi is a big winner in my garden as well. Brassicas are generally a headache for me to grow due to how many pests like to eat them. Flea beetles and caterpillars annihilate the leaves and I don’t like spraying leafy greens with pesticides if I intend to eat those leaves in the near future. Kohlrabis are the exception for me. They do get some damage from pests but not as much due to their thicker leaves. But even if the leaves do take some damage, I don’t mind since I’m harvesting the bulbous stem, not the leaves. I’ll get a bit of scarring on the stem from pests, but it’s just cosmetic and heals over quickly and I peel the thin skin off when using them anyway. All of the usable parts of the kohlrabi (stem interior) remains undamaged without the use of any pesticides (you can eat the leaves but I choose not to). They do indeed make a great slaw, better than cabbage. I’ve grown Konan and Purple Vienna before. Both have done well, with Konan being more consistent in achieving good sized stems. I am trying out Kossak this year, which supposedly can get pretty big without turning tough/woody.
What type is the one in your picture, hobilus? Thats a good size. Mine typically start to get tough before reaching that size.
That is a variety called ‘supersmeltz’. It seems to generally stay tender despite the size. This one was excellent. The key is to keep them in active growth- they like moist high organic matter soil. When they stall out, they start to get tough and fibrous. I had one ‘supersmeltz’ last year that was easily 20-30% bigger than this one. I brought it to someone’s house to make a big batch of slaw for a gathering but there was already too much food. I left it for them, but they wound up hucking it in the compost because, in their view, “big vegetables are always tough” and “they didn’t know how to peel it or prepare it”.
I have grown a variety called Giant Winter kholrabi (described as a Czechoslovakian heirloom by Southern Exposure seeds) and they generally run between 3-5 pounds each here in hot/humid Virginia. I’m told they’ll get as big as 20 lbs in northern areas, but our summers come on too fast to have enough time for that. They stay tender even when huge. Last year I chopped up the greens and froze those in one bag and then peeled and cubed the big ball part and froze those in another. I used them to make my favorite kale soup during the winter, substituting the greens for the kale and the cubes for potatoes to make it less carb filled and lower calorie. It was great and is so much easier to process one huge kohlrabi than to peel and chop a bunch of smaller ones.
Here is Ziggy for scale with one of them after I cut off the greens.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get them started this spring, so I’ll have to wait until fall to grow them again. Although known as a European vegetable, it is interesting to me that a number of the Bangladeshi growers at my community garden have discovered them and grow them regularly.
Sorghum is a warm-season crop. My average total summer rainfall is less than 0.2 inches/5 mm. Many years, we get no rain at all between May and October, so to grow anything during that period, I will have to irrigate.
Does anyone grow seakale? I have one small (30cm) seedling from last year in a pot and am weary of planting it out because flea-bugs usually devastate anything cabbage related here.
I grow seal kale. Its a favorite of mine. Beautiful plant and quite a tasty vegetable too. Man is it tough. Dont coddle it. Flea beatles and the like don’t bother it in the least.
If you’re growing for blanched shoots, as was traditionally done, grow them in rich soil and give them a shot of fertility as early as you can. I use doubled up 6 gallon buckets- theyre taller than regular buckets. Youre not in the states, so take that for what its worth. You really need to exclude as much light as possible to get the long tender petioles sans leaves. Another overlooked vegetable is the “broccolis” before the flowers open. Theyre tender and sweet and can even be eaten raw (dont try that with the petioles). When the flowers open, they exude the most wonderful honey smell in the whole garden for days. Its a great nectary plant too!
Its easy to propagate- almost too easy. Any portion of lateral root will grow a whole plant. It also self sows, though the seeds, which resemble chard seeds somewhat, are a bit tough to germinate.
This seems more like a traditional crop for food security to me, unless the seeds readily replant themselves easily and you can store them where they are planted over winter, like Turnips.
Acorns contain tannins (tannic acid) that tastes bitter and are unhealthy. Are there acorns that don’t contain tannin?
it would be if not for its red headed stepchild “also ran” status. few stateside seem to realize its so tasty, easy to grow, nutritious and productive.
White Acorns contain less tannins. But even red acorns can be leached in water to remove them. Various tribes did so in cold water creeks especially.
Chunk them in and get them out in 3 weeks or so. Ideally you would add bags for regular use . I just use a covered 5 gallon bucket and change the water every 3 days.
