What can you eat that is in your garden?
By VKXY62
@VKXY62 (1605)
Australia
February 5, 2009 7:55pm CST
Hi folks,
I have just completed a census of what is growing in the backyard garden that can be eaten.
Most are fruit and vegies, but some that I didn't know that you could eat are ornamentals.
I think that you would have to be ornary mental to eat them though.
Geraniums and Pelargoniums, apparently the Romans used to use them as a garnish before and when pepper and such things where in short supply.
Here is my list of edibles that are in various stages of growth in the garden, from seedlings sprouted a few days ago, to what I'm eating as I write.
What's in our backyard.
1. Alfalfa (Lucerne)
2. Aloe (Cactus thingy)
3. Apple (Pole type tree)
4. Banana (These are now growing madly after 3 years years)
5. Bean (Broadbean)
6. Bean (Long string)
7. Bean (Lazy houswife)
8. Beetroot (Forono)
9. Brussels Sprouts (Tighthead)
10. Carrot (small round)
11. Capsicum (California wonder) sweet
12. Capsicum (Long yellow) sweet
13. Celery (I love V8 vegie juice because of the celery flavour in it.)
14. Chillie capsicum (Alberto's Locoto or Tree Chile (Capsicum Pubescens)).
15. Chillie (Long red) hot
16. Chillie (Habernero) too hot 9+ (This burns likes acid and takes your breath away for 5 to 10 seconds.)
17. Chillie (Thai) too hot 9+ (Heat as above.)
18. Chives (Small sharp flavour salad onion)
19. Corn (Sun & snow)
20. Cress (Spicy garnish for scrambled eggs or other dishes.)
21. Fennel (Aniseed)
22. Geranium (Notes below, see Pelargonium)
23. Goji berry (get a packet of dried Goji berries and plant the seeds, very suseptable to root rot. Use sunlight or in worse case fungicide)
24. Grape vine, (Eat them as they come.)
25. Ground (strawberry) cherry (Aunt Molly, Physalis pruinosa)
26. Leek (Lyon prizetaker, grouse in soup.)
27. Lemon (Meyer, This ting is a cross between an orange and a Lemon.)
28. Lettuce (Cos, tall narrow, more crop for space available.)
29. Mint (Dig up roots, chop up, put in pots, keep wet, in 2 weeks new plants)
30. Mustard (Eat as sprouts fot zest garnish or grow full term for seeds.)
31. Nasturtium (Multicoloured flowers, peppery flavour for salad, Water cress is a type of Nasturtium.)
32. Onion (Red Rossa)
33. Pak Choi (Bok Choi)
34. Parsely (Curly leaf)
35. Pea (Snow)
36. Pea (Earlycrop Massey, shelling)
37. Peanut (Virginia, won't gernimate well under 21C, use a shopping bag hothouse.)
38. Pelargonium (smaller lear Geranium type plant)
39. Poppy (Various varieties)
40. Pumpkin (Butternut)
41. Pumpkin (Potimarron)
42. Radish (French breakfast)
43. Rhubarb (I can't wait for the pie, ahhh)
44. Rock Melon (Cantaloupe, I just scooped some seeds from one from the grocers.)
45. Rose (Eat the petals, makes Tirkish Delight)
46. Sage (Pineapple smell)
47. Strawberry (Pink flowers, yum too)
48. Swede (Turnip)
49. Tomato (Black Russian)
50. Tomato (Burke's backyard, Costoluto di Marmande)
51. Tomato (F1 hybrid sweet truss)
52. Tomato (Giant tree tomato)
53. Tomato (Mighty red)
54. Tomato (Red Fig, cherry)
55. Tomato (Riesentraube, cherry)
56. Tomato (Roma)
57. Tomato (Wapsipinicon, furry)
58. Tomato (Unknown blow ins)
59. Watermelon (Baby red)
60. Watermelon (Baby orange)
61. Watermelon (Moon & Stars)
62. Yarrow
I was somewhat overwhelmed once I compiled the list, having gone a bit silly this year.
If you have something different that you know of, or know what's growing in your backyard garden, chip in, by all means.
There is also an old man cactus that is 1m and a bit high, they grow for 200 years to 10 metres. I read recently that they are linked to longevity. Ehaaaaah!
It's 30 years old. The magic chemicals are in its fluids, not much very often.
How does your garden fair?
2 people like this
5 responses
@naka75 (795)
• Singapore
26 Feb 09
Wow you've a fantastic garden. Hope your crops are growing well and not adversely affected by the erratic climate. I'm living in public housing estate so I can only grow some spring onions and peppermint under the tropical weather. I'd love to taste watermelon and rock melon. Does your catcus flowers?
@playapal (894)
• United States
7 Feb 09
My goodness your garden must be huge! I'm very jealous, I only have a small front yard and it is close to the beach so alot of things won't grow here. However I do have bananas, coconuts, grape tomatoes, beef steak tomatoes, plum tomatoes, basil, rosemary and dragonfruit. I had cantalopes growing and something came and ate them I was very disappointed. I have habanera peppers starting from seed so wish me luck!
@peavey (16936)
• United States
8 Feb 09
116 degrees? Oh, wow, that's hot. Is it usually that hot where you are? I hadn't heard about the fires, but I'm sorry so many lost their lives. That has to be a horrible way to die. We have some fires around here, but seldom does anyone lose their life in one, and when it happens, it's more often than not, someone fighting the fire.
That would be so weird, to hide in a water tank and find only ashes when you came out. I'm glad they were safe!
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
22 Feb 09
Except for the poisonous things (which make up for less than one percent), nearly everything. We've a large variety of tomatos (beefstake, green zebra, a couple purple/black kinds, and I think we have bloody butcher tomatos coming), crimson sweet watermelon, conneticut field pumpkins, a few different kinds of corn (baby, blue corn, multicolored, and sweet), I think baby bok choi is coming, some of our flowers will be edible (like some of the roses and my dandelions), all our herbs...from the mints to everything else, the berry bushes we're getting, a whole bunch of peppers (a large amount of them spicy), we're hoping to get some peach and apple (dwarfs) this year, potatos, onions, eggplant, soybeans, greenbeans, various kinds of squash, various kinds of greens (from the lettuce in the basement to the stuff we'll have outside)...
GAH, we only have a little over an acre and this isn't everything and it's alot xD
The joy of growing things!
