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

yeah, it seems too “fishy”

it is supposed to be quite healthy, though…

is it earlier than nettles? I could feed a dozen people on nettles right about now. I’ve read that they don’t sting when young, but I can tell you that isn’t true. I’ve been stung by plants under 3 inches tall…lol

Scott

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Nettles suck. I hated them. Just brushed by the leaves and within 10 seconds caused skin irritation with hives. I plowed them down with my weeds eater.

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Ah, but they are so good to eat! Nettle tea is also amazing.

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@Chills dont have a nettle patch unfortunately so dont know for sure…likely the same time maybe a week or 2 earlier…probably also varies with climate…G K Henry is about the same time as false solomans seal and fiddle heads if that helps

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If its same time as fiddle heads then GKH is a week or three behind nettles, at least here.

Scott

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Different climate so hard to say…fiddleheads are at around the same time as false solomon seal and nettles here but we are generally pretty temperate so dunno how yhe timing would be in your climate

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my grandmother harvested dandelion greens every spring before they flowered. she lived to 93. boiled with a little salt pork and butter they are tasty. i still have her little hook shaped knife my grandfather made special for her to use to harvest them.

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fiddleheads are about a week away here. i have a patch of less stinging nettles from oikios and they are harvestable the 1st. week of june. never tried them myself yet but the chics love them. i also grow millet and kale for them. birds eat better than i do.

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the greens are a good addition to a salad. i have some dandelion root tea and the box has a warning “don’t consume if pregnant”. here’s more info from a quick search:

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I don’t remember if anyone mentioned poke weed, and alligator weed. A noxious invasive that tastes pretty good! D

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We had dandelion greens for dinner tonight, quite tasty.

I’m not sure whether it’s come up in the thread or not - didn’t see it on a search - but I had read that hostas were edible and decided to give it a go this spring. Cut some shoots while they were still pretty tightly rolled, then sautéed them with olive oil and a little salt and found them to be very good, kind of a mild scallion-y flavor with a little bit of fiddlehead mixed in.

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I am very careful when suggesting anything that works for me: fruits, veggies, or acupressure, to my nieces for the same reason. Don’t want to regret if bad thing happens. Some people may be very sensitive to certain chemicals.
The way your grandmother used the dandelion sounds very nice. I may try it later. Thanks for posting.
This website explains how boiling takes away the bitterness. The note that “Fried dandelion flowers taste similar to morel mushrooms.” is very interesting since I never have morel before, and there has been so many posts about it recently. Maybe someone can let me know if they really taste similar.
https://www.moneycrashers.com/dandelion-greens-recipes-salad/

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The only similarity is the fried breading!

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I’ve read that japanese knotweed shoots are very good. I’ve never tried them. they are invasive all over the place here. i wouldn’t recommend growing them as they WILL take over and be impossible to eradicate. but if you know of a clean patch to harvest from, give it a try.

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I tried to give Knotweed a shot this year. I harvested to late and the stalks started to turn woody. I chopped it up and pressure cooked it. After it was easy to squeeze out for juice. Juice wise think tart kale juice.

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I’ve tried them and been disappointed. I’m convinced it’s either when I’m picking them or how I’m cooking them, though, so I’ll try again. They just seem to go from not up yet to

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Kudzu leaves are tasty, when battered and fried…as are the flowers.

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Thanks a lot for your reply. I was pretty doubtful about that claim. :laughing:

Purslane is a keeper. Very tasty when stir fry which I tried last year.

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