Yummy Greens (non bitter)

Hi!

I harvested 2 watermelon radishes today! (snails took a bite, but still ok!)

Also received the pepino-melon cuttings in the male, i refreshed the cut diagonally at the bottom and put in season water for a few weeks as this makes the most vigorous roots asap and then i'll plant out in a fortnight or so.

So I'm super fussy, I enjoy bland, but delicious foods- and bitter, pungent, peppery greens disgust me and make me feel sick! So i've compiled a list of delicious tasting greens so you don't have to do what i did- and plant things that are actually bitter and you don't want to even eat! Wasting valuable retail space in the small garden!


Light Green Leaves - It's pretty universal for a nice buttery light flavour, seldom bitter (unless the plant has bolted).

Darker leaves - more at risk for bitter flavour


YUM ALWAYS (Unless bolted)
Tom Thumb - Super Buttery lettuce- nice compact shape means you can fit 12 to a shoebox and harvest outer few leaves of each twice a week! *the leaf shape makes for difficult cleaning
Tom Thumb x Baby green oak/Tango - I'm not sure the variety crossbreed i have here, but it's equally nice as tom thumb *The leaf shape makes for difficult cleaning
Mache/Corn salad - Grainy/floury texture, but creamy flavour, very delicious and mild *Can fold when cleaning
Mushroom Plant/ Rungia Klossi - Taste exactly like mushrooms! *delicate and can snap when harsh cleaning

YUM WHEN YOUNG (and not bolted)
Rocket - I pick these when young as the kick hasn't kicked in yet, extremely peppery when mature, a lovely nutty flavour when young! Something with a bit of taste! *pretty tough leaf
Kales- Tend to be palatable only when young- otherwise a salute is in order. Mind you, not the best taste at all, a tolerable bitterness and tender. Like spinach. Very good when very young, otherwise they make great chips. I tried rolling dinosaur kale and it was so fibrous i couldn't chew it despite cooking. May steer clear of those ones. Red russian makes a decent chip. Curly makes a better chip. *stem can snap when washing and repels water.
Spinach - can get bitter when not young, a strong not so pleasant flavour, unless very young.
Broccoli - These are ok when young. They do taste like a kale and broccoli hybrid.
Red Veined Sorrel - These were sour and lemony and already quite fibrous in a bad way on their own, but mixed as a garnish, you can't notice. I will always grow this for garnish alone. The appearance makes any dish look 100x healthier and more appealing! It's a truly strikingly beautiful edible.

YUCK ALWAYS
Nasturtium - Pungent, akin to capers. I hate it- because i hate capers! If you like capers however, tuck in you'll love it. Peppery. The seeds have KICK! *repels water
Black Mustard - I am pretty sure it was this plant that had the most bitter leaves i've ever tried, i had to spit it out- unless it was a rocket leaf. They look very similar.

I'd have to say that my "yum always" and rocket are the greens i'll always grow- i do still grow nasturtiums because my mother is obsessed (I personally HATE HATE it, to me it smells like chook poo if you leave it to wilt in your pocket for a day....).

CARE of YUMS:
Mushroom plant- hates wet feet, being dry, and super hot days. It constantly wilted even in a shady spot. I think a pot, with a water reservoir is how to go with this one. Wasn't the happiest with frost but made it.
Tom Thumb- super easy to care for, ensure you mulch around it or else cleaning will be annoying. I am growing butterhead to get a leave shape i can roll and stuff, and will be easier to clean and just as tasty! (lets see how it goes!) They take to tranplanting REALLY well. Shade may slow bolting.
Mache- Delicious, very slow growing, slow to bolt. Frost hardy. Great plant.
Rocket - Bolts super fast, leaves are so small in a pot, in ground the leaves are huge and thick. We grow a hybrid with radish, so this makes for a stronger kick. Is a shame when it gets bitter however.
Kales- They grow well in the ground, but do wilt when dry.
Sorrel - Super slow to grow, just as well it's a garnish. Otherwise hardy even through frosts.

Getting Ready for Spring!

So I planted my first batch of spring seeds a few days ago as the weather seems to be warmer and the fruit trees are starting to blossom!

Dill
thyme
lettuce leaf basil
sage
walbergia
parcel
yellow stuffed tomatoes
tigerella
black salsify
butter crunch
vulgaris cress (natural dead end crop)
mesclun
grande rapid lettuce
heirloom variety tomatoes
black nightshade
nasturtium (edible flower, whole plant actually)
capsicum heirloom varieties
upland cress
rocket
sunflowers (giant russian)


stupice (good for low sun)
green tigerella tomatoes (big yield)
lucerne sequel (green manure)
crimson forest onions
indigo rose tomatoes
winged beans (entirely edible)
salad burnet (tastes a bit like cucumber apparently.)
yellow and red pear tomatoes
summer savoury (peppery)
snow white tomatoes
pepino (melon pear)

I think I should invest in a patio tomato plant also...



My new batch of seeds arrived in the mail- i think i still have a few more to arrive- and my pepino cuttings!

I emptied out some pots. Harvesting the bolted rocket, and bitter black mustard, and giving up on the basil i attempted to overwinter. One basil DID overwinter, in the tiniest pot. I dunno how but it did! So that will have a head start this year, i will collect seeds from it- perhaps its genetically hardy!(then it died...at the very end!)

I have 1 overwintered capsicum which is only now in late August showing signs of distress- but the hot weather is soon among us! (also dried up in a hidden spot)

I will do a lasagna pot method. Newspaper in the bottom, then layers of egg shells and banana peel mainly and other scraps, and newspaper. Then a handful of worms, and mostly done compost for the top layer. This will hopefully set the tomatoes up- which I intend to plant in there.

I repotted some strawberry runners into a vertical bottle garden also.

Took many hours- but not much to show. All in a days work!

Newspaper Biodegradable Pots - Free and easy!

First get some newspaper and fold in half, rolling along a jar and folding the bottom so it forms a pot. Repeat. Many times.

Then put in a tub, fill with soil and place seeds in. Water with compost tea until you have about 1cm of water remaining at the bottom to ensure seeds wont dry out. You may need to water regularly until the roots reach the water.

Once seedlings are big enough, plant pot and all! you can unfold or rip the bottom and top, as leaving newspaper above the surface can wick out water- drying the plant out. If you want you CAN remove and compost the paper but this is great for plants that hate translating from root shock so that's kind of the purpose to leave it there! So easy and quick and free!

Spring is Near

I have decided to be smart this spring and only plant foods that work well in my garden (read- make a decent harvest) and that I or a family member loves to eat. Here are my lists:

NEW/ YET TO BE PLANTED:
Black Salsify
Summer Savoury
Salad Burnet
Asparagus Winged Pea
lucerne (green manure)
Parcel
Toothache Plant
Tiger Nut (chufa)
crimson forest onion
tomatoes- stupice, snow white, yellow pear, green zebra, ...


SUCESSFUL & REPEAT:
Mouse melon (didn't get any mildew or wilting, lots of produce! Delicious)
Borage (already self seeded)
Vermicompost Tower, (doing very well)
Australian yellow stuffing (or another yellow, like snow white-gotta keep the birds and harlequins away)
Lemon
Basil (will focus on producing more)
Lentil- as a cover crop!
Mushoom Herb (Only a few small harvests, but DELICIOUS)
Grape Leaves (Plenty, yum! but half got a black mould, birds ate grapes)
Southern Wormwood (LOVE the scent and tea, barely making it past winter...)
Parsley (more than we will ever need, but it's lovely!)
Nasturtium (2 plants were not enough! Mother loved it, so did leaf miners, bees had a taste, will plant about 4+ next time, hopefully more colours)
Olive Tree (Plenty for canning!)
Purple Broccoli (last year made half our needs, this year nothing yet despite planting double. Keeping 1 for bee flowers)
Sunchoke (delicious roasted, made a nice amount)
Chinese Celery (HEAPS- too much, good in soups. Might dig up some, seriously too much, but attracts lots of carpet beetles and crab spiders and such beneficial insects like hover flies)
Rocket (Bolted fast, need to keep making resows of it.)

OK I'LL KEEP IT:
Stevia (only if it overwinters, here's hoping!) IT DID!
Olive Plant (leaving it in, it's ok to eat, wont die anyway!)
Apricot (WAY too much! I personally would graft the nectarine to this and heavily prune because too much shade and i'm not even fond of the tart stone fruit it produces but my parents disagree)
Oregano (I'll keep it but i don't remember harvesting it because it seemed wooly)
Pineapple sage (flowers are nice, leaves not so much, will keep because it is thriving)
Compost Heap (didn't break down much but was ok, made for some efficacious dark chunky soil.)

SWAPS:
Roman Chamomile (swapping for some noble chamomile)
Other Kales (Curly, Red russian)- it's just not really worth watering as no one likes the taste, maybe a handful instead of a handful of each kind, I'd rather plant cover crops.

Roots. Turnips (1) (They just don't produce in a pot, i'll try in ground - worked!)

Tom Thumb Lettuce (12 were just enough, delish! and grew well, will try a straight leafed butterhead this time for ease of washing and larger size)

Tigerella (might try get some pale ones because the birds beat us to most of our red ones!- also truss style for more harvest)

FAIL AND 2ND ATTEMPT (COS I WANT TO): 
Strawberry Spinach (heat killed it)
Capsicum (seedlings are now about 1.5 years old by spring, they never died in winter, nor did they take off in spring weirdly enough, stayed 5cm tall for 6+ months, only at 20cm now!)- died at the end of winter, i forgot to water them and they were in a shady spot.
Nigella - still haven't managed to germinate ONE! :(
Dark Opal Basil (1. Colour)
Sweet Max Corn (3 and 3 mini ones - I planted too late)
Sunflowers (only in full sun! and Early! Also gotta keep the harlequins away)
Dill - (I HAVE to because we have a vine and love making dolmades!!!)
Snow Peas (the birds will not let out, they can't grow! :'( so yummy though )
Purple King Bean (didn't fruit much because planted late, but nice and colourful!)
Silver Beet (birds wont stop munching new growth, father likes it in soup)
Tomatoes (many succumbed to blossom end rot. Need one that needs less water, also green-white-orange so birds don't get them)
Mints (only to deter rodents really...and occasional use for fish or beverages)
Strawberry (Now that the mother plant is older it is putting out an outrageous amount of flowers! Hopefully this year is the year! Low pollination rate though)
Boisenberry (Few handfuls, hate it but mother loves it)
Persimmon (2- but it was young)
Nectarine (growing because mother loves it, the fruit is usually inferior)
Fig (1, birds took the rest, also in shade, hopefully this year it reaches above the roof)
Marrow - Just 1 plant. The only cucurbit I will try (other than mouse melon) in a pot with reservoir.
Chives- to flower

WAITING FOR HARVEST:
Mangle Wurtzel 
Hamberg Parsley
Lady Fingers Carrot
White River globe onion
Various root veggies

-----------Not Planting:

NOT WORTH IT: 
Chia (barely survived and made 1tsp seeds)
Pigface
Valerian (I hear it smells like socks)
Amaranth (Not yummy and too much effort/shade inducing)
Perino (WAY too small to warrant watering)
Dinosaur Kale (hate the taste, once they die, no more!)
Cornflower - (they are a nice flower, bees don't care for it, neither do I)
Black Nightshade (they produce but are scary to eat)
Georgia Southern Collard - Basically like eating a broccoli leaf, not really worth the space

NOPE. MADE LITTLE/NO HARVEST DUE TO DISEASE: 
Marrow (1 fruit) - but will plant 1 in a pot with reservoir and treat mildew early
Zucchini (3 fruit)

NOPE, MADE LITTLE/NO HARVEST DUE TO CONDITIONS: 
Rosella (too late, died)
Eggplant (not enough sun or water)
Mimosa (finally grew to a decent size but wet feet and cold weather killed it. Pretty happy to give up on this or use it as a novelty if i can be bothered)
Watermelon (2 out of 3 plants made 1 viable fruit)