Thanks for attending my Rare and Uncommon Edibles for the Home Garden Session:
2017 Eau Claire Master Gardener’s Winter Gardening Seminar
2018 Baron County Master Gardener’s Spring Garden Expo
Below you will find the names of all the edibles I discussed, as well as links to books and local resources, plus instructions on how to grow (and save!) the Mussoorie Giant Cucumber seeds!
VARITIES TALKED ABOUT
Vegetables & Grains
Lady Slipper Gourd/Acocha – Cyclanthera pedata
Blooming Prairie Bean – Phaseolus vulgaris
Red Orach – Atriplex hortensis
Bronze Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare
Scarlet Kale – Brassica oleracea
Purple Teepee Bean – Phaseolus vulgaris
Pomodorini del Peinnelo del Vesuvio – Solanum lycopersicon
Warted Incan Creampuff Squash – Cucurbita maxima
Pusa Asita Carrot – Daucus carota
Jack’s Copperclad Jerusalem Artichoke – Helianthus tuberosus
Irish Lumper Potato – Solanum tuberosum
Dark Galaxy Tomato – Solanum lycopersicum
Indian Pearl Millet – Pennisetum glaucum
Blue Jade Dwarf Sweet Corn – Zea mays
Mussoorie Giant Cucumber – Cucumis sativus
—> Mussoorie Giant Cucumber growing instruction: start indoors several up to several weeks before last frost, or can direct sow 2 weeks after danger of last spring frost (soil must be 65F for germination). Plant 1-inch deep and allow 10-12 inches between plants. Allow this variety to become large, and harvest to eat just after it turns from green to yellow with brown russeting. You may also pick and eat this when it is green. In order to save seeds, you must pollinate for purity (here are some great instructions for that) and then leave the cucumber in the garden and allow it to become very over-ripe before harvesting the seeds. Make sure and mark which ones you hand-pollinating by tying a loose ribbon around where the cuke connects to the vine!
Herbs
Toothache Plant – Spilanthes acmella
Variegated Mint – Mentha piperita
Fruits
Aronia – Aronia melanocarpa
Royal Medlar – Mespilus germanica
Alpine Strawberry – Fragaria vesca
Kiwi Berries – Actinidia arguta
Bonus Blueberry – Vaccinium corymbosum
Apple: Pink Pearl – Malus spp.
Apple: Callville Blanc d’Hiver – Malus spp.
Apple: Chestnut Crab Apple – Malus spp.
—> check locally for trees at Albrecht’s Nursery, Chippewa Falls
—> Apple of Uncommon Character by Rowan Jacobsen (brilliant descriptions of antique and heirloom apples)
Humbug Pear – Pyrus communis
Nuts
Swiss Stone Pine – Pinus cembra
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