Are you growing a new vegetable this year?

Statuses of new stuff, so far:

Artichokes have been transplanted to a spot in the forest garden and seem to be growing well. Since, mostly, both seeds I put in each cell germinated I separated them to plant and they bounced back quickly.

Walking stick & Thousand Head kales sprouted indoors, but the snails seemed to love them when put outside to harden. Most survived, but I decided to transplant to bigger pots instead of the garden in hopes of getting some size & vigor on them. They still look cruddy, so will probably try again for the fall garden if these don't make it.

Scarlett runner beans have been planted in a small section & quickly sprouted and got about 4 inches tall. Then they kind of stalled, not looking bad, but not growing (this happens with most of my bean attempts, so I soaked them in rainwater with Burpee  beam inoculant before planting). Since nights are still in the high 50s-mid 60s, I hope they'll pick up when nights are warmer soon.

Dwarf Tamarillo has sprouted, but still tiny & in the nursery flat.

Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry sprouted and was up-potted until I heal enough to plant out.

Paracress ("toothache plant") germinated and I planted in bigger pots since they are small & snails are rampant right now.

**Edit to add the other greens I forgot**
Orach was sown in flats & has done fine. Will be planting them out soon.
Perpetual spinach is similar to the kales, with some mortality and weak survivors.

The recent, emergency surgery & hospital stay kind of caused a setback with my sowing, so I was late with a few things (and still haven't gotten everything sown), but did some vine peach & Mexican sour gherkin seeds last week and they're coming up now.

Overall, I'm not totally writing off anything just yet. For the two weeks I was in the hospital, most of them were outside in the Jiffy seed trays and were exposed to hot sun with no water, then torrential rain, as well as easy accessible to snails & caterpillars. Plus, after I was home, it was almost another week before I could get out there and deal with them all; so they may be stunted & weak because of that. Now, I've put most of them in larger containers and gave them a drink of comfrey/yarrow tea to see if I can boost them a little more before putting them in the ground & at the mercy of the snails/slugs. Whatever doesn't make it I'll try again in fall or next spring.

I'm giving kohlrabi a shot this year.

So far, I have decent germination and I'm just waiting for the growth to take off.

I grew kohlrabi last year, Timothy. It would have been a wild success if it hadn't been so successful at germinating - it all ended up a bit congested before I knew it, and failed to bulb up. I've kept the best to go to seed though, since it is a useful quick cropping brassica, so I'll hopefully try it again next year.

This year I'm hoping to grow lots of salady type leaves in the polytunnel as a ground cover, maybe to eat: pak choi, mizuba, amaranth, as well as lettuce, rocket and other stuff I've grown before. I'm hoping it will all go to seed and make some competition for the weeds in there. Outside I'm going to try Mooli radish for the first time amongst other things. Radish does seem to grow quite well here, so hopefully I will learn how to cook it Japanese style, or fermented.

Noticed this today!


New cow parsley, dug up from the side of the road and transplanted into the garden:



I also have been growing sunchokes (separately from the wild patch by the water) and walking onions, both from a friend via a plant swap. Neither are new to here exactly—the wild ones get swamped out by ground elder and I only had one walking onion that I transplanted last year.

I did not buy a single seed this year which I’m very proud of.

In Puget Sound we winter over field kales, Brussels sprouts, Arugula, coastal potatoes, some lettuces, a strange spinach iI’ve had since I was a kid, and cabbage. First up in February Alexanders, beat tops off the mangles, radishes, turnip tops, compost carrots, brassica rabb, and bak choy never really dies.  Experimenting with field and patch planting near fields for the grazers through late winter just have to watch the bloat, as AUS grass has helped there.

This year I'm growing lovage, walking onions, feijoca (perennial beans that give a big edible root) and globe artichokes for the first time.  I've also planted a tree tomato, but I'm not going to get into the debate about whether tomatoes are vegetables or fruit. I don't consider them to be mutually exclusive...

I've just got my hands on some hamburg parsley root seed too, which I've sown but obviously it hasn't germinated yet. It's not really the right time of year for sowing here as it's a bit too hot but I kept some seed for autumn sowing and spring 2027 sowing too so I'm hedging my bets a bit.

I'm also eating a lot of mulberry leaves. I've had the tree for a few years but this year is the first time we've tried eating them. It's a white mulberry, which seems to grow faster and have softer leaves than the black ones I've had before. And it keeps trying to grow too big for the space I have available for it so snipping it into shape by harvesting greens from it seems a perfect way to keep it under control.

Burra Maluca wrote:....I've also planted a tree tomato.....

Ooh, is that tamarillo Burra? I've been wanting to try those!


source
I wonder whether it would be perennial with you? Please let us know how you get on.

Nancy Reading wrote:Ooh, is that tamarillo Burra? I've been wanting to try those!
I wonder whether it would be perennial with you? Please let us know how you get on.

Yes, tamarillo! They are a bit frost tender so it will be touch-and-go whether or not it survives without a bit of extra protection. I have it in a big pot stood in roughly the place I want to plant it, while its poor roots recover from being hacked about and stuck in a net in a plastic bag for months. It also likes a bit of shade so I want to mess about with the position a bit until I find the perfect summer-spot then hope it's also frost-free enough. My most successful dragon-fruit plant is in the same area so I'm hopeful.

Taking bets what colour the fruit will be because the seller didn't know...

Hi, new here but not a new gardener! My new things this year are a potato from seed, a zucchini & a bunch of squashes from Experimental Farm Network, and a tuber called Chinese artichoke.
Last year's experiments were Groundnuts, ramps, wapato, and cat tails, mostly from Native Foods Nursery. Every thing but the cat tails have expanded

Currently trying sunchokes and Hopniss ,American Groundnut. I have no clue if they are a named variety because they were both locally sourced.Im trying some in pots , some in a raised bed and some in my currently developing chinampa.  Experimental in evert respect. I hope they thrive  on benieg neglect  because I summer in the North  and leave my NC winter homestead to the heat and humidity of summer.

I'm trying quite a few new things this year. (Am in the UK.)

Minutina
Stevia
Sweet potatoes
Red orach
Tree spinach
Scorzonera
Carlin peas (I'm so excited about these!)
Delft perpetual leeks
Sweet lettuce
Earthnut pea

Can't wait to find out what works and tastes nice (and escapes being munched by slugs).

Hi Philippa, Welcome to permies!
I had to look up minutina - it seems to be related to plantain, so you may have a chance against the slugs there: minutina

Scorzonera can be grown as a perennial, and the leaves when young are tender and can be used in a salad, or older ones lightly steamed as a sweet tasting green. Usually the vegetable catalogues only mention the roots, but I suggest letting some over winter and you will have a bonus crop next year.

sorzonera at end of March on Skye

Here is one of my established clumps earier this year.