What odd vegetables/fruits should I plant this year??

[BReeder!]

I am trying litchi this year. Relative of tomatoes, but supposed to taste similar to cherries to the point you could make a pie with them. They are supposed to get tall and have thorns, so I’m hoping I can keep them in the run in pots (caged initially til they get big enough). They are from Baker Creek/rareseeds.

Litchi, more often spelled lychee around here, grows on a trees too my knowledge that gets up 25'. I'm not sure they produce in the first few years or not either. The fruit is delicious. Be sure to consume it when it it's ripe though. Unripe lychee is claimed to be toxic.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Litchi, more often spelled lychee around here, grows on a trees too my knowledge that gets up 25'. I'm not sure they produce in the first few years or not either. The fruit is delicious. Be sure to consume it when it it's ripe though. Unripe lychee is claimed to be toxic.

I believe the Litchi she is talking about is a litchi tomato I saw of Baker Creeks site the other day.
Lychee is tropical fruit that grows as tree in zones 10-11. It can take more than 20 years to produce from seed.

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

grapes. Not weird, but unusual

 

[Sally PB]

@ladybrasa, I want to hear how these do for you. I love Baker Creek, and almost ordered litchi last year, but didn't. I am very intrigued by the description.

 

[BReeder!]

I believe the Litchi she is talking about is a litchi tomato I saw of Baker Creeks site the other day.
Lychee is tropical fruit that grows as tree in zones 10-11. It can take more than 20 years to produce from seed.

Ah, interesting. Lychee and litchi are spellings of the same thing. However, I never heard of litchi tomato. I will need to check it out. Thanks for clarity.

 

[BReeder!]

Anybody grow roses for rose hips? I hear they are tasty. Not sure if they need to be cooked or if they are palatable raw. Never tried them, but they sound interesting.

 

[3bird]

I’m trying Ground Cherries this year.

Husk (or ground) cherries is what I was going to say. We started growing them a few years ago, and they are awesome!

We use them the most for salsa. Here's a link for how we make our husk cherry salsa.

They make a great fish salsa!

And the harvest is super bountiful!

We've also made some liqueurs, and of course we just love snacking on them. Once you grow them one year, you'll have no trouble growing them the next (i.e., you'll never have to buy seeds or seedlings again)!!!!

 

[BReeder!]

Once you grow them one year, you'll have no trouble growing them the next (i.e., you'll never have to buy seeds or seedlings again)!!!!

Are the a perennial or do they just reseed themselves well? Or do you harvest seeds each year?
I'm in zone 5b and beginning to add a lot of fruit perennials this year. These are interesting, but I thought they were more of a tropical plant.

 

[3bird]

Are the a perennial or do they just reseed themselves well? Or do you harvest seeds each year?
I'm in zone 5b and beginning to add a lot of fruit perennials this year. These are interesting, but I thought they were more of a tropical plant.

We live on the coast of Maine (generally 5b-ish), and these reseed themselves to the point of annoyance . We do, however, experiment with new varieties and rotate beds. This year we will be growing some Goldie Organic Husk Cherries from seed.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

If you try Jerusalem artichoke (aka sunchoke), I highly recommend a large pot. They grow from tubers like potatoes, and are native to the U.S. If you miss even one tuber during harvest, you will have a large plot of them pop up the next spring. Which is great, unless you wanted to grow something else in that spot!

I want to try galangal this year (aka thai ginger). Bought a promising piece at the market thats already sprouted from a few different eyes, but not sure if it could potentially take over in my zone or not...gotta check before I plant.

Also, turmeric. You can find the roots at many of the "fancy" grocery stores or farmers markets.