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Old March 23, 2012   #46
owiebrain
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How cool! Artichokes are something I've always wanted to try growing but just never have.
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Old March 23, 2012   #47
Tracydr
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This is my first time trying artichokes. I don't have a lot of big, sunny space for them, although I just got some more space with the loss of some huge pine trees, so, if this one likes AZ, I may make a dedicated perinniel bed next year, and will include artichokes, as well as some peppers and eggplants.the peppers and eggplants need protection from frost. Looking forward to the chiltepans, which are native to the local desert and apparently live year-round unless frozen hard. They give a little, hot pepper, good for dried pepper flakes. Very pretty plant, too and birds love it.
My three year old eggplants which I'd considered yanking a couple of months ago, believing they must be nearing end of life are today loaded with baby fruit and blossoms. The long Asian one, I don't know what variety, it was a Home Depot special, must have at least 100 blossoms, a good majority have set! The other is a Black Beauty and it has more fruit set than ive ever seen on it before, probably close to 25. I guess they liked the recent fertilizer boost i gave them! Those two plants have been incredibly productive, giving us an unbelievable amount of meals.
I'm almost afraid to put my new eggplant seedlings in the ground. I want to try the new varieties but geesh, how many eggplants can two people eat? I have ping Tung long and Luisiana long green seedlings started.
Thank goodness I bought a dehydrator last summer, I've heard dehydrated eggplant is fairly good. I've not found other methods of preserving eggplant all that successful.
Chard and kale seem to go year-round for me if given enough water and a shady spot. I'm planting a mixture of pink, bright lights, sea foam green and orange chard in my ornamental, tropical garden around the pool with dappled shade. Figured it could blend with the cannas and callas, adding a pretty foliage. Chard seems to tolerate my alkaline soil quite well, getting enormous leaves. I had one plant live for 18 months without ever bolting, it finally died in a week of over 115 degrees last summer at the end of the hottest summer ever.
I'm also trying malabar and new Zealand spinach this year, which may grow year-round here, I'm not sure. Along with lab lab ( red leaved hyacinth bean) which I'm going to try climbing up a palm tree. It's supposedly perriniel in tropical areas. Mainly planting it because of the pretty flowers for hummers, since scarlet runner beans won't work in the summer here ( and won't set seed ever) but might try eating them, too.
Can't believe how fast this artichoke is growing. What a cool plant!
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Old March 23, 2012   #48
Tracydr
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Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne View Post
Yes, you can plant store bought ones. I would just pop them in the ground, they will grow, but don`t harvest them till all the foliage has died down at the end of the season, then harvest them as you need them, they store better in the ground, of course I have never grown them in a very hot climate .

Don`t forget they can cause very much gas!!

the basil sounds interesting. I have my herbs in a seperate place to my Perennial veggies. I have to admit as I have got older I am growing less herbs as I find I have my favourites that I couldn`t do without but I used to grow many more.

I have never pickles JAs but I think I will have a go this year, it sounds interesting. I wonder too how they taste as French fries.

XX Jeannine
I have herbs scattered everywhere, especially basil. Chocolate mint, lemon grass, spearmint, many basil varieties, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, rosemary, lavender. I need to plant more sage and Mexican marigold ( tastes like tarragon). They are in so many herbs tucked in flower and veggie beds around my yard. Some of this is because I need partial shade to help the perrinials survive the summer around here, part of it is just lack of space in the annual veggie gardens.
I love the looks of basil, especially the more colorful varieties when they're blooming. I've even considered planting an entire bed of basil varieties, although of course seed saving wouldn't be possible. Basil is also a great insect attractor, bees and good guys just love it! My little plant that survived the winter is covered in flowers right now, right in the middle of my little flower bed by the front door and it looks stunning.
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Old March 23, 2012   #49
Tracydr
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We love chives & garlic chives -- use them in soups and as toppings for lots of things. Mostly, though, I plant them as a distraction. My kids all love onions & garlic and will eat every last one of them if I don't have a bunch of green onions & chives for them to munch on while we're outdoors.

They always struggled to live at our last place (I couldn't even keep mint alive there) but they seem to do much better here. They're not in anyplace that will cause problems if they escape their beds and my kids are keeping them well-mowed anyway. My kids have very stinky breath!
I need to transplant my garlic chives. They're about three years old but in a partially shaded spot. They don't get many flowers.
Leeks, boy do they have pretty flowers, hummingbirds and bees went nuts over them last summer and they self-sowed!
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Old March 25, 2012   #50
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Tracydr, your garlic chives must not get enough sun. Mine all have several white flower clusters in the fall.

Funny you mentioned leeks. My two stragglers have big flower heads that are just about to open. My son likes to pick them after they've dried a bit and toss them around like a toy ball. They just have such a cool papery feel to them. They even make this neat "swooshy" sound as you toss them.
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Old April 2, 2012   #51
Jeannine Anne
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Just a quick note, if anbyone is thinking of ordering from Yokus perfumed garden which is one of the places I ordered JA's from..please hold off..I have had a really awful delivery which I havew complained about and am waiting to hear from them.

XX Jeannine
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Old April 2, 2012   #52
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Originally Posted by Jeannine Anne View Post
Just a quick note, if anbyone is thinking of ordering from Yokus perfumed garden which is one of the places I ordered JA's from..please hold off..I have had a really awful delivery which I havew complained about and am waiting to hear from them.

XX Jeannine
Jeannine, since the sale posted at the website dates back to 2008 and the copyright date at the bottom of the page is also 2008 I didn't think they were even in business.
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Old April 3, 2012   #53
Jeannine Anne
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Yes they are, I have purchased from them , the order was received a few days ago and it is total rubbish. I e mailed them about how many tubers where there in a pack to get an idea of size and she e mailed me back 6-8. I got more than 20 tiny little roots about the size of cranberries and peas , no eyes, absolute rubbish. There is no point in even trying to use them.,

I have had a reply to my e mail of complaint and she tells me that some folks want little ones, thanks me for my e mail and says she will ask her customers in future. No offer of replacement or refund. No apologies..

I am very familiar with the roots am there is no doubt this is rubbish.

She is definatley in business still .

XX Jeannine
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Old April 3, 2012   #54
Doug9345
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That's a shame. I just don't understand why people just can't be nonest.
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Old May 26, 2012   #55
Jeannine Anne
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Just updating, the Chou Daubenton( French perennial cabbage is up to 1 foot high now, it is loose leaves ,it still; has a long way to go before I dare start taking cuttings but I won;t forget some of you are interested. I aslo got some Dutch Eeuwig Moes, similar thing, might not have the right spelling but it is also perenial.

I am still waiting for new seeds of 9 star perennial broccoli, it is in the mail
XX Jeannine

XX Jeannine
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Old June 20, 2012   #56
Jeannine Anne
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Just wanted to bump this up and see how everyones perennial veggies are growing.

I did manage to find a place to plant my JAs and they are now up aboot 18 " high.

My Deleway cabbage and Chou Daubenton is just being transplanted this week. I have new seeds fro 9 Star perennial broc and they are almost ready. A new green has joined me. Eeuwig Moes , it is another prernnial cannage and thrilled to get it.

I now have a few different potato onions and Egyptian walking onions doing well and a couple have bulbils on the top.

My perennial Babbington leeks which I though were dead have finally sprouted and although there is only a few they are growing.

Skirret planted last year has turned into big strong plants, I am holding off harvesting the tubers as I am hoping to get seed.

Has anyone found anything else new?

XX Jeannine
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Old June 20, 2012   #57
livinonfaith
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My asparagus did very well this year. We had several dinners worth of spears, but mainly I would pick them and munch them straight out of the garden as I was doing other things!

(And I call my son a thief. I should really be ashamed, but honestly, he doesn't like asparagus like I do, so I'm not! It's the Sugar Snap peas that we fight over!)

And while they aren't perennials, I had Cilantro and parsnips reseed themselves this year, so that was fun.

Your cabbages sound wonderful! I would love to see if they could on take a North Carolina Summer at some point, but would have to get rid of the vole infestation before I would even attempt them.

Keep us up on the progress! This is a great thread.
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Old June 20, 2012   #58
Zana
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I've had various salad greens/reds self seed and grow from last year. Some in containers that they weren't in originally! Some of the arugula also self seeded as did the coriander/cilantro and some of the basil as well. Go figure!
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Old June 20, 2012   #59
Jeannine Anne
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I may be able to share a few perennial cabbage seeds next year if I manage to isolate some, the daubenton perhaps not as I am told it rarely sets seed but I will do my best with the others.

I didn't know voles ate cabbage, we have moles but so far I have been OK. Whatever do you do?

I envy you munching your aparagus, Our bed wwas new this year but has taken off and we have ferns now..oh well just 2 years to go LOL.
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Old June 21, 2012   #60
Elizabeth
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It doesn't really count, but I have 2 tomato plants (Azoychka and Sasha's Altai) that lasted through the winter and are producing again

I had some runner beans come up from last year's roots and they are covered with blossoms and beans (the plants actually look better than they did last year). Since they did so well I am putting more around all my bird feeder poles around the yard. I'll just pinch them back when they get up to the feeders so they will get nice and bushy. The hummers will never want to leave my yard!

I just bought some new items from Peace Seeds.
Babbington Top Setting Leeks (I have about 60 bulbils to plant!)
Camas Minor (quamash) and Camas Major - seeds so they will take a few years to produce edible bulbs.
Mashua - It's a perennial, but you harvest the tubers each year, so I'm not sure if it counts - I expect they may be like potatoes though...any little bit left will re-sprout.

I have some Oca going, also a perennial that is harvested each year (Thanks Doug!).

My new chayote is growing next to the newly painted fence, right smack in the middle of the back run - I'm interested to see how far it will run horizontally - last year I had one go to the top of the phone pole in the alley when it was in the fence corner, which made harvesting a bit tricky. This time I am trying it in a 30 gallon SmartPot, so we'll see how it goes. The good thing about this location is I can harvest from both sides of the fence because the alley is on the other side. I hope I get enough this year to try the recipe I have for Chayote Pie (it's supposed to be a dead ringer for apple pie).

I have dozens of daylilies around the yard - I add the blossoms to salads, but haven't tried the roots yet - I think I'll wait until they are ready to divide.

I have asparagus and artichokes in a new terrace in the front yard so they are just babies.

I had planned on rhubarb this year but unfortunately my (too old apparently) seeds for Glaskins Perpetual low-oxalic acid rhubarb had zip germ. I will try again with fresh seeds this fall.
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