I love this time of year, sitting inside drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate, and searching through seed catalogs and online for new vegetable varieties to plant this spring!

I'm going to try growing the asparagus bean (also Chinese long bean, yardlong bean, and snake bean) this year.

It is supposed to thrive in our hot, humid climate. I like traditional green beans and hope this will be an even better adapted plant similar to a green bean, that will grow really easily and produce a lot of beans this year!

Do you have a new vegetable you are trying to grow this year? If you are just getting started growing vegetables, it could be something simple like a cucumber, and you could explain why you are looking forward to it!

Are you trying a new variety or landrace of a vegetable you've grown before but are looking to add some new genetics to your vegetables to either make them stronger or to maximize a beneficial trait?

This year I am trying 3 new peppers.

-Shishito
-Ajvarski
-Corbaci

I got the inspiration for these from a woman on the National Gardening Association website after she posted her peppers (and recipes) this past year.

Jim Guinn wrote:This year I am trying 3 new peppers.

-Shishito
-Ajvarski
-Corbaci

I got the inspiration for these from a woman on the National Gardening Association website after she posted her peppers (and recipes) this past year.

Awesome!

I'm growing cayenne peppers for seasoning and maybe to make some pepper vinegar and pepper jelly.

Was there a specific dish those peppers are used in?

I will be growing these varieties from Joseph Lofthouse, all new to me:

Harmony Grain Maiz
Lofthouse Landrace Tepary Bean
Wildling Interspecies Clan Tomato
Papaver Breadseed
Lofthouse Landrace Carrot
Small-fruited moschatas

Tyler Ludens wrote:I will be growing these varieties from Joseph Lofthouse, all new to me:

Harmony Grain Maiz
Lofthouse Landrace Tepary Bean
Wildling Interspecies Clan Tomato
Papaver Breadseed
Lofthouse Landrace Carrot
Small-fruited moschatas

Awesome list, looks exciting!

I am going to try growing Salsify and Leeks for the first time. Hope to get a couple packets of each to start a grex.

I ordered another short season rice for my rice project. Supposedly an upland strain from Sherk Seeds.

I am going to try growing Solanum arcanum and Solanum chilense wild tomato species. I may also plant some Solanum cheesemanii and Solanum galapagense also wild tomato species to add to those varieties and species I currently grow. Also got a packet of a late blight resistant tomato F1 to cross into tomato grexes and to dehybridize. Going to grow Fairy Hollow and some other new selections from Joseph. Andrew sent me a bunch of tomatoes. Will grow out as many as possible. May save one reputably difficult tomato species for next year.

Going to try growing a cool looking moschata squash land race from native seed search called Rancho marques to cross with my Lofthouse moshata. Another new moshata squash a hybrid with a pretty green and yellow rather agrosperma like color pattern from territorial seed. Will add it to the grex.  

Two or three new parsnips including Kraal to turn my semi feral parsnips into a grex.

Perhaps another turnip or two to turn my turnips into a grex

Got some gaspe flint corn.

Some more pea varieties for the pea grex

White seeded poppy seeds

Welsh onion which is a progenitor of walking onions. Will plant next to Lofthouse onion to see if can recreate walking onions.

Black Spanish radish for my radish grex

Pima club wheat

Several packets I just haven't gotten planted yet:

Neandercorn and orange flint corn from Joseph. Will probably just start a flint corn grex by doing packet to row planting.

Tartar buckwheat 2 packets I need to keep separate

Several beans including a grex from Carol Deppe and Josephs.

Lofthouse landrace zucchini which I plan to cross with Mandan pepo squash for a new grex.

Probably will find a few others and buy a few more. Have my eye on another leek for my future leek grex called Blu de Solaise that my local seed coop only sells on their seed racks.

Wow, awesome list William!

I'm going to try buckwheat for the first time this year. I've heard it grows fast and is a good dynamic accumulator, is a good cover crop, and has tasty seeds too!

I will be planting about five potatoes  from Oikos. Their parents were grown from seed. They are unnamed and each is probably a different variety. They were selected for winter hardiness to be perennial.

I just ordered Skirret and Tartar Bread Plant, Crambe tartaria from Cultivarables.

I want to try some peppers again. I have not grown them since I moved to my current location a couple years ago. Once my new garden is built (should be done by the end of February) I think peppers should do well. Lots of morning sun (very early sun) through mid-afternoon but shade in the late afternoon through the evening. So full sun but a break from the most intense heat starting around 4:30 or 5pm in the summer.

Going to try bell peppers and jalapeño peppers. My wife and I cook with both a fair bit so it would be great to have our own

I've got a new type of corn to try- glass gem. I've done painted mountain before so this shouldn't be massively different.

I've got a kind of 'storage tomato', 'de colgar' which apparently can be stored until January, so that will be interesting. Also 'Amish paste vine tomato' for trying to make my own tomato sauce (with garlic and chilli in, obviously).

I've bought way more seeds than I have space for!

The new annuals for this year will be chinese cabbage and celtuce, Of last years three trials only watermelon will make it into this years and only if I have enough spare greenhouse space.

I am moving! (signed yesterday) so I'm sure there will be some new perennials. I've seen a hazelnut so far but it's winter there may be other things lurking.

Seed order from the past 2 days. Most are different varieties of things already in my gardening/seed repertoire but some are entirely new to me. Grains in particular. Also going to try some sort of freaky squash. Something huge or unusual. Have no seeds for that yet. Considering these https://www.rareseeds.com/kikinda-competition-strain-edible-gourd/ because they will look cool growing up trees with Seminole pumpkins & luffas. Also expecting some unusual seeds from another permies person. We did a seed swap. Some are via Joseph I think. It's going to be wild & wacky gardens this year!!!

Steve, try the buckwheat. Grows good here on the other side of the mountains. Very easy. Bees & chickens love it. Excellent for the soil. Makes great pancakes too.


Cherokee Long Ear Small Popcorn
Cherokee White Flour, Original Flour Corn
Top Hat "Sugary Enhanced" Sweet Corn
Aunt Mary's Sweet Corn
Egyptian Walking Onion (Tree Onion)
Hill Country Heirloom Red Okra
Purple Dragon Carrots
Sweet Lorane Fava Bean
Grandma Nellie's Yellow Mushroom Bean Pole Snap Bean
Cherokee Cornfield Pole Snap Bean
Calypso (Orca, Yin-Yang) Bush Dry Bean
Guard-N Legume Inoculant
Ice Cream (Green Machine) Muskmelon
Austrian Winter Peas
Red Russian Kale
Hulless Oats
Blue Lake Bush (Blue Lake 274) Bush Snap Bean
Rice, Charleston Gold
Amaranth, Plainsman
Amaranth, Golden
Hopi Dye Sunflower
Chicory, Catalogna
Ornamental Gourds, Large Mixed Ornamental Gourds
Tennessee Red Cob Dent Corn
Signet Marigold, Lemon Gem
French Marigold, Naughty Marietta
Strawberry Watermelon
Nancy Watermelon
Crimson Sweet, Virginia Select Watermelon
Blacktail Mountain Watermelon
Purple Tomatillo
Mountaineer Delight (West Virginia '17B) Tomato
North Georgia Candy Roaster Winter Squash
Daikon, Miyashige White Fall Radish
White Acre Southern Pea (Cowpea)
Sweet potatoes White Hayman + Diane + Hernandez + Bunch Porto Ricans

Ken W Wilson wrote:I will be planting about five potatoes  from Oikos. Their parents were grown from seed. They are unnamed and each is probably a different variety. They were selected for winter hardiness to be perennial.

That's an awesome trait for potatoes!

I just ordered Skirret and Tartar Bread Plant, Crambe tartaria from Cultivarables.

I had to look these up as I hadn't heard of them before. Skirret is a perennial root crop and Tartar bread plant a perennial with edible leaves and roots right?

It was neat reading about the history of Skirret and how it has been forgotten and "rediscovered" throughout history.

Daron Williams wrote:I want to try some peppers again. I have not grown them since I moved to my current location a couple years ago. Once my new garden is built (should be done by the end of February) I think peppers should do well. Lots of morning sun (very early sun) through mid-afternoon but shade in the late afternoon through the evening. So full sun but a break from the most intense heat starting around 4:30 or 5pm in the summer.

Sounds like a great garden spot!

Going to try bell peppers and jalapeño peppers. My wife and I cook with both a fair bit so it would be great to have our own

I think I might get some bell peppers too, we love using them in spaghetti and grilling them. I may just have to plant them far away from the cayanne peppers so I don't get a hot surprise biting into a bell pepper next year if I save the seed!

Charli Wilson wrote:I've got a new type of corn to try- glass gem. I've done painted mountain before so this shouldn't be massively different.

I love the colors, different color corn is so beautiful to me!

I've got a kind of 'storage tomato', 'de colgar' which apparently can be stored until January, so that will be interesting. Also 'Amish paste vine tomato' for trying to make my own tomato sauce (with garlic and chilli in, obviously).

Wow, that's one long storing tomato, that's awesome!

I've bought way more seeds than I have space for!

I think I may have done the same thing, there's just always so many good choices!

I'd like to grow cardoon (a perennial), and maybe grain amaranth. I'd like to scale up corn for cornmeal

Skandi Rogers wrote:The new annuals for this year will be chinese cabbage and celtuce, Of last years three trials only watermelon will make it into this years and only if I have enough spare greenhouse space.

Celtuse is interesting to me, like lettuce with a really thick stalk that is also edible. Watermelons are the same for me, they only get planted if I have any leftover space!

I am moving! (signed yesterday) so I'm sure there will be some new perennials. I've seen a hazelnut so far but it's winter there may be other things lurking.

Congratulations on your new place, that's exciting!

Mike Barkley wrote:Seed order from the past 2 days. Most are different varieties of things already in my gardening/seed repertoire but some are entirely new to me. Grains in particular.

Great list Mike! I'm trying grains for the first time this year too, should be interesting!

Also going to try some sort of freaky squash. Something huge or unusual. Have no seeds for that yet. Considering these https://www.rareseeds.com/kikinda-competition-strain-edible-gourd/ because they will look cool growing up trees with Seminole pumpkins & luffas. Also expecting some unusual seeds from another permies person. We did a seed swap. Some are via Joseph I think. It's going to be wild & wacky gardens this year!!!

That is one wild and huge squash, so cool!

Steve, try the buckwheat. Grows good here on the other side of the mountains. Very easy. Bees & chickens love it. Excellent for the soil. Makes great pancakes too.

That's great to hear, I'm excited to give it a try, I love how it has so many good uses!

James Landreth wrote:I'd like to grow cardoon (a perennial), and maybe grain amaranth. I'd like to scale up corn for cornmeal

Cardoon is a type of thistle with an edible stem right?

I'd like to grow amaranth too in the future!

That's exactly what it is. It's closely related to artichoke I believe, and if allowed to go to flower it's good for bees. It just seems really cool

James Landreth wrote:That's exactly what it is. It's closely related to artichoke I believe, and if allowed to go to flower it's good for bees. It just seems really cool

Very neat!

We grow the yard long beans every year on a cattle panel trellis.  THey grow well in the hot humid areas but aphids can be a problem.  
I will try Orach this year (Mountain Spinach) just because it sounded neat and it is a 6 foot tall spinach plant.

Dennis Bangham wrote:We grow the yard long beans every year on a cattle panel trellis.  THey grow well in the hot humid areas but aphids can be a problem.  
I will try Orach this year (Mountain Spinach) just because it sounded neat and it is a 6 foot tall spinach plant.

Orach does sound neat!

I've been eating a lot of greens all winter from the attached solar greenhouse that heats my house, but didn't have many greens in summer (except garden weeds, and I've just moved to a new place and starting a new garden in bare desert so there won't be so many of those). So this year I've got seeds of and going to try out orach, Malabar spinach, and New Zealand spinach.

I already started a couple of good king henry plants last year and they are currently reseeding in the greenhouse. I haven't tasted it yet.

Last year or the year before I tried out "French" and red-veined sorrel (I'd never eaten sorrel that I knew of, except a local wild green) but it turned out I really didn't like the taste. I have other ways to get a nice sourness in food. So I've abandoned the plants -- I hope they don't go rampant on the people who now have that garden.

Trying out new plants is part of what makes gardening fun every year. I now realise that things that adults were growing when we were kids, and we think of as "traditional" crops, may well have been novel and fun for those adults at that time.

I planted brussels sprouts.

The other day, I thinned them out (having planted 3 seeds in every pot) and I ate the thinned seedlings:  brussels sprouts sprouts.

I thought that was clever, even as I sat by the cold frame snacking on them.

Steve Thorn wrote:Wow, awesome list William!

I'm going to try buckwheat for the first time this year. I've heard it grows fast and is a good dynamic accumulator, is a good cover crop, and has tasty seeds too!

Somme find Buckwhat a problem if allowed to seed. You may want to seed it where you can cut/clip all the way around it?

Steve, asparagus beans are awesome (I grew red last year, this year the green are going), they tend to be a bit slower to launch than other beans and to deal with bug issues (i have beetles) I plant some bean I don't care too much about (got a lot of burgundy bush seeds) as a decoy. But once they start they really run, so keep on top of them!!

I am rolling with warming weather and planted some hot weather things that never worked out for me before: luffa, horned cucumber (Cucumis anguria), bell peppers. So far so good. Also had great cukes, spag squash, and tomatoes early in the season (it is just past high summer now, but we are getting lots of rain and mold is a problem). Am trying for round 2 of spaghetti squash, we'll see if it works.

I also have a cardoon that is growing well; my artichokes choked so I wasn't expecting much. We shall see!