Fudanso Umaina

[jackb]

I bought a packet of seeds for this plant several years ago and I grow it from time to time. This crop was picked this afternoon and my wife is preparing it for dinner this evening. Whenever I grow it, my wife remarks how good it is, and says I should plant it more frequently. It is a Japanese Swiss chard, which has glossy green leaves and short mid ribs and it incredibly tender when picked young. It is a case of if you don't grow it yourself, you will never get to taste it, as it is just not available anywhere that I know of. I wonder if anyone else has something really unusual to share.. You just have to love gardening.

Jack B

 

[bj taylor]

wow, that's beautiful stuff. i have to content myself w/bright lights - which i still think is lovely

 

[897tgigvib]

Let a couple of those go to seed Jack

 

[digitS']

Unusual, Jack? Nothing as colorful as that!

I grow celeriac and never see it in the stores. Probably because it is so remarkably homely!

Hoodat and I grow shallots. I am not sure why they aren't even more common than garlic! They have a wonderful flavor.

I grow soybeans for edamame. But . . . there are thousands of acres of soybeans in some parts of the country. . .

I'm looking forward to having Portuguese kale again this year.

Gobo holds an interest. It is edible burdock but it requires a very long season and starting indoors. It may not be something I like. I grew Witloof chicory once and used probably less than 10% of the stored roots for coffee because the greens were terribly bitter. . . um, I've grown Malabar spinach but didn't really care for it. Luffa. Why? I don't really like summer squash. Bitter melon! What was I thinking?!

Steve

 

[jackb]

Steve,

That sounds like a pretty impressive selection. The only one on your list that I have grown is celeriac, and I thought it was kind of strong for my taste. A few years ago I went on an oriental vegetable spree and that is where the Fudanso Umaina came from. I still have packets of seeds like; Taiwan sword leaf lettuce, fragrant choi, fun gen and a number of other unusual plants to try. Being a history buff, I also look for really old heirloom varieties. Today I planted tennis ball lettuce, a Boston type grown by Jefferson at Monticello. We get tired of the same old varieties like black seeded Simpson and so on, not that Simpson is not a good variety.
And, I also planted ninny Mary's favorite tomato today, Japanese Black Trifele.

Jack B

 

[ninnymary]

Jack, you're making me happy!

Mary

 

[jackb]

Jack, you're making me happy!

Mary

Anything to keep you happy Mary.

 

[baymule]

I have never heard of that variety. Thanks for showing us what you are growing and opening up my gardening horizons! I will be growing bright lights chard this year, never grown chard before, so kinda excited to grow it. I love learning about different vegetables and the different varieties!

This reminds me about my Daddy many years ago when the long slender eggplant first became available in seed catalogs. He planted it and as always, he produced way more than what we could eat. He loved giving away his produce and he had a lot of fun with this particular eggplant. He told everyone he gave it to that it was black banannas. He told people how to slice and fry it and then the people asked for more of those black banannas!

 

[digitS']

I've grown those black bananas, Bay' .

Jack, I've grown Fun Jen quite a few times . . . and where is Jen and why is she missing this fun??

Other than being fun, it is pretty but has something of a bite . . ! Now, Maruba Santoh is the mildest of the mustard family that I've ever grown. It is so mild it could almost be a lettuce. Or, it could be Mache (corn salad). That stuff is really very good but must need just the right circumstances to germinate and grow.

Oh, I know an unusual one that is kind of pretty: Purple Orache. Common as a weed once you've got it, tho'. Here are Orache volunteers sharing a bed with lettuce starts. Both are about to be displaced by potatoes .

Steve

edited to crop out my gloves - & so as not to be such a sharp contrast with Jack's excellent photography

 

[seedcorn]

I have never heard of that variety. Thanks for showing us what you are growing and opening up my gardening horizons! I will be growing bright lights chard this year, never grown chard before, so kinda excited to grow it. I love learning about different vegetables and the different varieties!

This reminds me about my Daddy many years ago when the long slender eggplant first became available in seed catalogs. He planted it and as always, he produced way more than what we could eat. He loved giving away his produce and he had a lot of fun with this particular eggplant. He told everyone he gave it to that it was black banannas. He told people how to slice and fry it and then the people asked for more of those black banannas!

How did he tell them to slice and fry?