Bronze Fennel

This is a fairly easy plant to grow although our first year was a complete disaster due to our lack of watering when the plants were seedlings. However, once established they quickly became a prominent addition to the garden often turning the heads of all who entered. The plants are gorgeous, bronzy-brownish-burgundy with an intense fennel fragrance. We used it primarily as an ornamental filler for flower arrangements. The plants bulbous portion didn’t seem to grow nearly as fast as typical fennel, which was great for us, and maintained itself rather neatly in one area. It was extremely drought tolerant and not demanding of space. Plants lasted for a couple of years, with frequent cuttings, without any signs of going to seed. The leaves are lovely, feathery and light and are supported by strong bronze stems. We have found it to be a prolific re-seeder in our tropical environment. The plant is edible. Note, in 2008, we’ve ended up with Bronze Fennel throughout our entire yard. Taking nothing away from its intense beauty…it can be a bit of a nuisance because it’s so incredibly prolific. Since we only use it for salads, we are unable to eat it as quickly as it reproduces. Luckily, I’ve enlisted another neighbor to assist us since fennel is one of her favorites.

If you'd like to grow some in your garden, you're welcome to try it.

Mrs. Burns' Lemon Basil

I grew this plant several years ago as a trial and was simply stunned by the incredible taste of lemon. The leaves are small and more pointy than the lettuce-type varieties like Genovese and Ruffles but are extremely flavorful and highly fragrant. Slightly brush against the plant and you’re struck by the strong lemon aroma with an after effect of basil. And, it’s delicious! Pesto made from Mrs. Burn’s Lemon is great on pizza. This has a very distinctive lemony taste and fragrance. Frequently harvest the leaves. Plant will become woody if not cut on a regular basis. Plants only grew a few inches tall. Generally, we just grow one to two plants in the garden but this time we're going to make a border of at least eight plants and plant Envy zinnia in the center.

We have seed available for home gardeners who would like to try it.

Red Amaranth

Have you grown this variety of amaranth? It has gorgeous burgundy leaves make an excellent salad addition. Commonly used in Asian cuisine. Very ornamental, beautiful plant. Our plants readily self-seed. We have seed available for home gardeners wishing to try it. It would be great to get an opinion for someone living in a different climatic zone.

Yellow Carrot More than Edible

So I grew yellow carrots during the summer for the first time. They started off great. Many warned I wouldn't be able to grow carrots, let alone yellow ones. Well, with all that negativity, after a couple of months, they did just seem to wither away - at least I thought they'd withered away.

The spot where they were originally grown, I planted other items in that spot, not realizing there was one lone carrot enjoying every minute of it and becoming a double legged, monster. This carrot was in the ground for many, many, many months. Of course it was finally realized that 'something' was growing there but had no idea until I began preparing the bed for something else and voila! A baby was born.

Of course, those same negativos told me not to bother trying to eat the thing as it would be pithy and tasteless. Who cares what someone else thinks? I scratched the surface of the carrot and was stunned by what appeared to be juice coming from it...so I figured what the heck - can't hurt to try it.

That was the best carrot soup I've ever eaten. Not only did it make a very good meal, for several days, I might add, the carrot actually ended up being juicy and tender and really quite delicious.

Nay sayers, bah! I dare anyone to buy a cup of soup as good as the one I had from that yellow carrot that had grown to the size of a baby's leg.




01.25.09 :: Update
I've updated another post to help you locate a supplier for yellow carrots.  You can find the information here.

Peas

Everyone is eager to see how many peas get eaten this year versus those that end up in seed production. We start out picking peas on a regular basis and then end up not being able to keep up with the rapid production. Before we know it, the garden is filled with plump pea pods filled with seeds.

Zucchini in the Winter

Each year we grow zucchini and each year we try to figure out the best way to use the mountains of fruit we get each day. Friends run from us during zucchini season because we are always offering it. This year we tried something a little different by growing it in winter. And I'm convinced this is definitely the way to grow it! Instead of buckets of fruit each day, at the end of the week, there's a nice selection available to make a nice meal. The fruit don't get as large and are delicious. Much to my amazement, this is has been extremely successful. We've had freezing temperatures and it's still growing. The plant had a bit of a set back during those frosty days but it's still viable and producing delicious fruit. Success!