When Veggie Gnome from The Mad Gnomes Strike Again won the This little piggy went to market competition she was kind enough to surprise me by sending back several packets of seeds.
Even more surprising was the seeds themselves.
Check out this list and a big thanks to Veggie Gnome.
1. Blue Podded Capucyner Peas.
I can't find much info about the Blue podded peas spelt Capucyner, but spelt Capucijner I found the following information.
(I guessing they are the same). Skippy's blog has a story on Blue podded peas as well.
'Blue Pod Capucijner' is an heirloom variety. It has particularly beautiful flowers, pink and red, fading to blue as they wilt. The pods are deep maroon which change to blue through the season. They are delicious when young, but turn leathery as they mature. Peas are hardy, weak-stemmed, climbing annuals. Custom has it that you can make a wish if you find a pea pod that has nine or more peas in it. Edible pea pods are grown the same way as sugar peas, just harvested much earlier, prior to filling out.
2. Carrot. 'purple dragon'Botanical Name: Daucas carota.
Very nutritious vegetable originating from central Asia. This variety has a beautiful and unique purple-skin with amazing contrasting yellow-orange interior.
3. Red Orache
Atriplex hortensis is a member of the genus Atriplex and is commonly known as Red orache.
Interesting blog story on Red Orache here.
4. Lettuce 'r
ed leprechaun'Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
'Little Leprechaun' is a variegated Romaine lettuce with leaf colors from red to forest green. It is generally ready for harvest 75 days after sowing.
This gorgeous mahogany red and green romaine is small in stature and big on taste. Miniature heads are prime harvest size when only 7-8" tall, ideal for container culture and for serving individual main dish Caesar salad.
5. Lettuce 'drunken woman' (I see plenty of these on a Saturday night thanks) Botanical Name: Lactuca sativa
Italian Heirloom. Attractive bright green leaves with ruffled almost frizzy edges in deep bronze. Leaf lettuce type with dense center that is very showy and slow to bolt.
6. Chinese Broad leaf celery.
Can't find any info on Chinese Broad leaf celery. Anyone care to help me out?
Cool list of plants huh, my only problem is that I've never grown any of them before.
Luckily I'm always up for a challenge and to be put on an interesting learning curve.
So far I have planted the peas, the two types of lettuce and the purple dragon carrots, the rest will have to wait until spring.
I'll keep you updated on the progress as they make their way to full grown veggies.
This is where I have planted the lettuce. That's four of each.
3 comments:
I recently acquired a seed packet that might be very similiar to your chinese celery. I bought it from a chinese grocery store so the english on the back isnt that great but it reads,
"Chinese Celery"
'Stalks are mainly to be used. They are tender, crisp, stringless and juicy. Seeds germinate in 2 weeks. Harvest 40-60 days. Growing temp. 20-25 degrees celcius.'
It looks like it is a spring and summer plant and my god does the packet smell like celery.
On a seperate note, you might be interested in our (my brother and I) blog although we haven't really done anything spectacular. The link is http://community.livejournal.com/evilplantwatch/.
Hope i helped
Fantastic write-up!
Chinese Broad Leaf Celery. Sow it now if you have the space. It likes the cooler months and is slow to bolt.
It grows up to about 1m high. Eat the young leaves in salads. The bigger, thicker stalks are very tender and crunchy. Bit like kohlrabi. It doesn't taste like celery at all. When it is a bit 'older', the leaves taste vaguely like mild rocket. Great in salads or stews, raw, steamed, etc.
Leaves and stalks are good raw or cooked. I love it in the garden. :)
We grow the purple carrots, they keep well in the soil if you don't need them straight away.
We found ours to be very strong in taste, but so crisp and sweet.
Goodluck with your new vegies.
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