Down on the Allotment

Matron grows vegetables and fruit in a Hampshire garden. I've been growing veggies since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Some traditional varieties and old favourites as well as new ideas. I share my garden with my allotment assistant Daisy the Labrador. On Twitter as @MatronsVeggies

Saturday, January 16, 2016

What Not to Grow

 I like to try different varieties each year, you never know what is going to work and I try to step out of my comfort zone.  In 2014 I saw an advert for this Indigo Rose black tomato and thought it looked amazing.  Well it does LOOK amazing and that's all in my opinion.  Even in South facing, direct sunlight all season long, the underside did not ripen.  Some of the smaller tomatoes did eventually ripen but they tasted of nothing!... actually they tasted of cotton wool. So I won't be growing these again.
 I had seen Yard Long Beans in some of my Asian grocers in London. The idea of a yard long bean sounded great! I managed to germinate these seeds in a heated propagator, and plant some small plants outside in late Summer, but they came to nothing.  I think these need a really hot climate, and even in a hot Summer we don't have the light or the heat to grow these well.  Has anyone grown these? I won't grow these again.
I had always wanted to grow Asparagus Pea - so a few years ago I did.  A pea pod that tastes of asparagus sounded like a really great thing to grow.  Well, these little pods are only about an inch long, they are not prolific, they are stringy.. and you need a whole big patch of them just to get a handful to cook. And guess what? - they don't taste of asparagus.  Nice colourful flowers!

2 Comments:

At 9:57 AM, Blogger Mark Willis said...

I tried the Yard-Long beans once and had very poor results. Most of the plants just died, and I never got any pods. Lots of veg these days are developed solely for looks, not for taste or texture. What do you think of the new "Egg and Chips" plant (Aubergine and Potato in one)?

 
At 2:34 AM, Blogger Bangchik and Kakdah said...

We probably have to accept that tomato should be as it has been for million of years, yellow/red in colour.

 

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