Wednesday, September 22, 2010

New crops

Every year I grow a different mix of vegetables, trying to find the right balance of what we actually eat. That means growing less of the failure-prone crops and the crops that we've decided we really don't eat often. For example, one year I grew enough kale to last years, and last year I had a ton of swiss chard which the kids won't eat unless I really hide it well. We don't really like to eat scarlet runner beans, but the kids like to snack on the flowers so I always grow just a few.


World's biggest sausage (Mundare, AB) as seen from it's kid-appropriate side

This year I discovered a new type of pole bean that doesn't look as pretty, but it tastes a lot better and takes less room than the typical green bean does. It's also easier to pick. I'm hoping some seed will be saved for me to try next year.


And then I like to experiment with a few new things.



World's largest Easter egg (Vegreville, AB)


Weatherwise, it was a bad year for me to experiment with squash. I did get two bush delicata squash and a handful of acorn squash, but not worth the space they took. None of the musk melons produced, nor did my zucchini. I may try them again though because this was not your typical year. Way more rain and less sun than usual.


However, it was a good year to try celery. A cold weather crop that requires steady moisture levels.


It was hit by frost a few times while I sat on a beach in Kelowna and drank wine, but it's doing just fine outside.


Lois Hole said that she prefers celery to look like celery and grow naturally rather than forced upright in boxes, so I tried that too. If that's the way the lovely lady grew it, it's good enough for me. It's not perfect. It's very leafy and there's not enough of a stalk to snack on really, but I've got a bit to freeze and a bit to keep in the fridge for soups and such.


My other success this year was with green peppers. I would have thought they needed more heat, but they did much better than expected.





Does anyone have any tips for growing better celery? What new things did you try this year?

1 comment:

Tamara Jansen said...

That sausage is HILARIOUS!