Thursday, August 19, 2021

Unusual Things I Grow

Earlier this month, I gave a quick tour of some of the food I grow in my Southern Tier of New York yard.  We don't have enough sunny room for a large garden so we rent a community garden pot.   So, we would all consider plants like dill, basil, parsley as usual type plantings.

But I think many gardeners also like to grow some unusual things just because they can.  Today, some of my herbs, three of which are in containers.

I grow more common herbs, too.  Here are (clockwise) garden sage, one of my thymes, bolting small leaf basil.  

These are in the ground but the rest of today's herbs are in containers, for various reasons.

First, Vietnamese coriander.   I bought this plant last year at a garden clearance sale before they closed for the season. I had never seen it before. It grew nice last summer but it is not hardy in my zone 5b garden.  I took cuttings before the frost, which rooted in water, and then planted in soil  The plants grew over the winter under lights.  I planted it out in the spring in a larger container.  I am not sure I will overwinter it again.

We tried this maybe once or twice.  As it turns out, we don't use this or the next two herbs in our cooking.  We just grow these because why not.

Second, Papalo  I saw this in a nursery near Ithaca, New York and decided it would be one of my experiments. It's a Mexican herb and has a sharp, unusual flavor used in Mexican/Central American cooking.  Spouse tried cooking with it one time and hasn't since.  We are just letting it grow.  And I do mean "grow".  Let's just say it is taller than I am and going strong.  But once temperatures drop into the 40's it's not going to be happy.  It will also be gone with the frost.

Third, cardamon in a pot.  Yes, cardamon as in the seed that goes in some dessert baking.  This was a gift from my guest photographer and I've had it, perhaps, four years. It replaced another cardamon plant I had gotten at a nursery somewhere several years before.

Until last year, it was in my office in a clay pot and very happy.  When COVID came along and I was sent home, I brought the plant with me.  It was not happy at all in the house until we put it outside when the weather settled.  Was it ever happy!

Then, I almost killed it over the winter (I think it got too much light and not enough water) but spring came just in time.   It's in almost the same location as last summer, in the same pot but is not as happy as last year.  You see the yellow leaves.  Maybe it needs a larger pot - this plant can reach 10 feet tall.  By the way, this plant has never bloomed.

Alas, we approach fall, and I am going to try to overwinter my cardamon.  Maybe it would bloom next year?

Have you ever experimented with growing plants that are a little bit unusual?  Have you ever cooked with Vietnamese coriander or papalo?

8 comments:

  1. ...I have never grown herbs.

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  2. I have a brown thumb so I don't grow plants, lol :) My son works for a fine Italian restaurant with the owner/chef having come from Italy. He grows a lot of spices that he uses at the restaurant and shares with his employees who in turn my son shares some with us :) I haven't cooked with either the Vietnamese coriander or papalo; hadn't heard of papalo. I'll have to ask my son if he has (he enjoys watching cooking shows and experimenting with cooking).

    Its fun to read what you grow as I know we'll probably never have a garden again :)

    betty

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  3. Well, you've certainly branched out beyond the usual kitchen herbs. Alas, we started growing milkweed in our front yard and it looks awful this time of year. And it spreads! I wish it wouldn't. Not only that, the butterflies have stayed away this year.

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  4. These are amazing, Alana!
    Husby has been importing baby herb plants into his greenhouse. I recognize the basil. The rest...? I stick with the flowers out front!

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  5. Oh, you are dedicated! I refuse to grow anything that needs to winter in the house. Or dug up and stored. Some of my herbs are varieties more "unusual" than the average. Like the Foxley thyme, or zaatar (a type of oregano). Catnip is common, and I have that in addition to Lemony catnip.
    I haven't cooked with any of the plants you mentioned. I'm not very adventurous that way! I DID taste a ripe litchi tomato yesterday though! It does indeed taste a bit like cherry. I guess litchi tomatoes are unusual-ish.
    Your sage looks very happy.

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  6. Definitely interesting and different.

    And I think you're right about what's growing on my patio.

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  7. That's quite a collection of plants.

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  8. I love how you are growing these unusual herbs. I grow the common basil, thyme and rosemary, but it would be so much fun to branch out. You are dedicated!

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