What interesting or unusual edible plants have you grown

[diggernotdreamer]

They look very pretty, I grow the Red Orach which is also like a chenopod, the young leaves are nice in a salad and it is a pretty plant too, it seeds itself around so I just move the seedling where I want them to be, lovely seed heads in the autumn, they call it mountain spinach

[wulf]

I got my seeds online somewhere... possibly Jekka's herbs? Last year we had more than enough self-seeded plants that we didn't bother saving any seed this year. I'm not sure if we'll be so lucky again this year but I did give some seed to a friend in London for his allotment, so that will be my reserve seed bank!

If we do get self-seeded ones, I should have some surplus for those near (or passing through) Oxford and probably will be able to save some at the end of this season to post a little further afield.

Wulf

[doofaloofa]

i have had some good results growing Monkey puzzle and Ginko from seeds bought on eBay

eBay has also provided some good Moso bamboo seeds, but also plenty of duds

I have a few Sugar pine plants grown from eBay seeds, but they are very weak

I try to grow something interesting every season

yay for eBay

[the.fee.fairy]

I grew tea once. It did really well in a jar on some kitchen roll, but when it got transferred to a pot with soil in it (the right type and everything) it shrivelled up and died.

I've grown avocado before as well. They've grown into plants but then disappeared. Not sure what happened to them.

I grew wandering garlic once. I planted 6 cloves in a tub, they were growing beautifully and the whole tube disappeared...so i don't know what happened to the garlic

[doofaloofa]

I grew wandering garlic once. I planted 6 cloves in a tub, they were growing beautifully and the whole tube disappeared...so i don't know what happened to the garlic

The clue is in the name ;]

[the.fee.fairy]

oooh no, they were supermarket garlics...I called them wandering garlic after they wandered off somewhere

I wouldn't mind, but the tub was a good one that they took with them!!

[doofaloofa]

oooh no, they were supermarket garlics...I called them wandering garlic after they wandered off somewhere

I wouldn't mind, but the tub was a good one that they took with them!!

Hah, the jokes on me

i germinated a rake of Jujuba seeds last year, but they are mostly dead in the pots now

I will try the rest of the seeds this season

Got some persimons, yew plum, cornielian cherry and mahonia seeds in the fridge ready to sow this spring

[neilos]

Diggernotdreamer posted about planting wild garlic recently. I have some questions regarding this. Did you plant seeds or bulbs? I have some seeds from a couple of seasonsa ago. I assume now is the correct time to sow if a little late. I have grown some in large pots before - I dug up some bulbs whilst in Devon and planted it once back home. Can anyone suggest good places in Warwickshire to find wild garlic growing.

[doofaloofa]

Diggernotdreamer posted about planting wild garlic recently. I have some questions regarding this. Did you plant seeds or bulbs? I have some seeds from a couple of seasonsa ago. I assume now is the correct time to sow if a little late. I have grown some in large pots before - I dug up some bulbs whilst in Devon and planted it once back home. Can anyone suggest good places in Warwickshire to find wild garlic growing.

Well initially a planted some cloves I found, then saved seed from them when they flowered and sowed them

[Crastney]

If you don't mind going too far, head over to Worcester, The Malvern Hills, there's a road through, can't remember the name, might be the Wyche cutting, but could be British Camp, anyway, it's the one with the large car park on the left of the cut through, and the Malvern Hills Hotel (I thihnk?) on the right. Stop in the car park, and walk further along the road, towards Ledbury, and on the left there an absolute shed load of wild garlic - you can always smell it as you drive through.

[diggernotdreamer]

Now is a good time to plant them in the green, I think my pet pigs just dug up my wild garlic, will have to get some more and replant in a pig no go area. Just bought a daubenton kale plug plant for the princely sum of £8.50, but if you can grow it from cuttings not too bad as long as I don't abandon it somewhere and let it die

[doofaloofa]

i germinated a rake of Jujuba seeds last year, but they are mostly dead in the pots now

I will try the rest of the seeds this season

Got some persimons, yew plum, cornielian cherry and mahonia seeds in the fridge ready to sow this spring

Turns out the jujuba were just dead looking, but I only found out with the last one, grown more this season, so have about 40 strong seedlings

I have 5 persimons, loads od cornelian cherry and mahonia, but no plum yew yet

Sowed some maca, but they are very slow

Also got some perrenial rocket from my bud. It's a bit stronger than the annual rocket, but i have high hopes for it

[doofaloofa]

Here is a seewt flag flower from seeds I got from e bay several years ago

Wikipedia-
Uses

A. Calamus has been an item of trade in many cultures for thousands of years. It has been used medicinally for a wide variety of ailments, and its aroma makes calamus essential oil valued in the perfume industry. In Britain the plant was also cut for use as a sweet smelling floor covering for the packed earth floors of medieval dwellings and churches, and stacks of rushes have been used as the centrepiece of rushbearing ceremonies for many hundreds of years. It has also been used as a thatching material for English cottages.

In antiquity in the Orient and Egypt, the rhizome was thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac. In Europe Acorus calamus was often added to wine, and the root is also one of the possible ingredients of absinthe. Among the northern Native Americans, it is used both medicinally and as a stimulant. It is believed by some that calamus is a hallucinogen. This urban legend is based solely on two pages of a book written by Hoffer and Osmund entitled The Hallucinogens. The information on these two pages came from anecdotal reports from two individuals (a husband and wife) who reported that they had ingested calamus on a few occasions. None of the components in calamus are converted to TMA (trimethoxyamphetamine) in the human organism. To date there is no solid evidence of any hallucinogenic substances in calamus. Acorus calamus shows neuroprotective effect against stroke and chemically induced neurodegeneration in rats. Specifically, it has protective effect against acrylamide induced neurotoxicity.

The essence from the rhizome is used as a flavor for pipe tobacco. When eaten in crystallized form, it is called "German ginger". It's also used in bitters.

Cultural uses

For the Penobscot people this was a very important root. One story goes that a sickness was plaguing the people. A muskrat spirit came to a man in dream, telling him that he (the muskrat) was a root and where to find him. The man awoke, found the root, and made a medicine which cured the people. In Penobscot homes, pieces of the dried root were strung together and hung up for preservation. Steaming it throughout the home was thought to "kill" sickness. While traveling, a piece of root was kept and chewed to ward off illness.

Teton-Dakota warriors chewed the root to a paste, which they rubbed on their faces. It was thought to prevent excitement and fear when facing an enemy.

The Potawatomi people powdered the dried root and placed this up the nose to cure catarrh.

Herbal medicine

Sweet flag has a very long history of medicinal use in Chinese and Indian herbal traditions. The leaves, stems, and roots are used in various Siddha and Ayurvedic medicines. It is widely employed in modern herbal medicine as its sedative, laxative, diuretic, and carminative properties. It is used in Ayurveda to counter the side effects of all hallucinogens. Sweet Flag, known as "Rat Root" is one of the most widely and frequently used herbal medicines amongst the Chipewyan people.

Both roots and leaves of A. calamus have shown antioxidant, antimicrobial and insecticidal activities.

Acorus calamus may prove to be an effective control measure against cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_flag

[doofaloofa]

Here's my Persimons



Two year old Moso bamboo

[wabbit955]

I grow hops this year think I might get enough for a pint
also have a honey suckle with edible berries but 3 year down the line and no berries