What unusual vegetables should I grow that I've never heard of?

It does look like

The purple one looks like a sedum also, there are a bunch of purple varieties of sedum telephium.

Brent, yes that purple is a sedum too. Thanks for letting me know its name. It just popped up some years ago. l let it multiple in the yard. I like its purple color and its flowers

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they grow like weeds on abandoned property here. even if they aren’t eaten the bees love them.

Has anyone mentioned this vegetable yet?

Has anyone eaten or grown it?

I just saw mention of it as an aside on New Mexico jujube link someone shared.

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Yes , I have tried it.
its… Not bad. Pleasent. Kind of bland, a little slimy. Crunchy.
It grows wild here, and likely where you are too.!
There is one growing on my mail box post as a weed ,for example.
It has little “potatoes " Peanut seed size , above ground ,on the vine in the fall. And a bigger root below ground.
The wild ones never get as big as this one, I bought at a oriental market in Indiana on my way back from NAFEX
I believe this to be a “improved " strain. Some of which are available on line. Not sure it will grow, as it is the bottom part, the top , with growing buds have been cut off.
I want too make a good effort to grow some, " cultivated”.
As they grow fairly well on there own " wild”
Considered a invasive species.

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I’m growing it but never try it… :slightly_smiling_face:

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I am growing it, but the root is skinny, I like the purple flesh one better

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It’s something we had but not very common. Somehow, if not cooked well, my throat got itchy after eating it. That’s reaction was not uncommon, either. Needless to say, it is not a popular food.

@mamuang I’ve seen them even bigger than this. This one is a bit on the ripe side, but some of my friends prefer them this way.

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Here’s a flower from a new-to-me vegetable this year. Curious if anyone can guess what it is.

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I think it’s Trichosanthes cucumerina… :slightly_smiling_face:

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I’m impressed! Good guess. Have you grown it before and, if so, did you like it?

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Thank’s! No infortunately i didn’t get viable seeds but i want to do it next year. :smiley:

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Snake gourd, native India

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It just started flowering for me last week. So it seems like it needs a long season to get going. I got my seeds from Baker Creek and had pretty good germination. The seeds had an odd look though. Like they were old and broken. But maybe that’s just the way they are.

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Really? Mine got like that but didn’t sprout… i got on ebay.
Thank you very much! :blush:

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Cucumis anguria (Maxixe) and Cyclanthera pedata (Maxixe do Reino, Pepino do Vento)

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I’m in Zone 7 Maryland, and I’m growing some Roselle right now in a half whiskey barrel. I started it indoors in January, and set them out in early May, which was too soon - they immediately started producing flowers on tiny ~1ft stems! I Aggressively pinching off the buds until the days got longer fixed that issue, and now I have 3 beautiful lush bushes that are doing great in these awful waves of heat and humidity. I think if it doesn’t get too cold before the days get short, it will set fruit.

Have you tried tomatillos yet? I tried growing some this year, and they seem to continously produce flowers that are very attractive to native bees. I had no clue they were good for attracting pollinators!

Ginger, galangal, tumeric: In order of easiest to grow to hardest. Ginger grows like a weed, but an attractive one, and I love it. Galangal needs a lot of space and time to reach its full potential, and Tumeric just hates my climate i think.

Naranjilla and cocona: Nightshade/tomato family fruit. I have 1 naranjilla plant right now on a whim, and its blooming/producing fruit. Might ripen, might not. Baker Creek has the seeds but you can get plants from nurseries.

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I don’t think this vegetable has been mentioned before, Càng Cua. The name means crab claws in Vietnamese, but I don’t know what this is called in English or even its scientific name. In Viet Nam, it grows feral in shady, moist areas, and just pops up in flower pots. It’s very crisp like lettuce and has a light black peppery flavor, very good in salads or soups. This plant reseeds and comes back every year here in Pennsylvania, spreading all over in shady, moist locations in my garden. I put no effort into growing this vegetable. It cannot tolerate direct sun and will burn and does not compete well against overly vigorous vegetables.

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