The gardener may be doing him/herself a disservice and not even realize it. The majority of gardeners tend to favor old favorites and seldom step out of the comfort zone this allows. There are many other food plants which are easy to grow and in recent years becoming easier to find. Once replaced by new and exciting varieties these old vegetables are now in vogue again.
Locate Seeds and Plants
Many of these old varieties were foraged for food during hard times. Others were grown in home gardens and seeds saved for the following season. Regaining popularity, these vegetables can be found in seed and plant catalogs today. The vegetables listed below are well-worth an extra look and a spot in every garden patch.
Five ‘New’ Old Vegetables
- Orach or Mountain Spinach (Atriplex hortensis) Orach serves two purposes. It is an ancient plant used as a hot weather substitute for spinach. The blooms serve as a favorite source of pollen for aphid destroying syrphid flies. The plant can reach 6 feet tall but most gardeners report growth to be 2 – 3 feet. For salad greens, leaves should be harvested when plant is between 1½ to 2 feet. Leaves are also cooked like spinach.
- Jicama (Pachyrhizus tuberosus) Jicama is an annual vine which can reach up to 20 feet. The edible part of jicama is the sweet crunchy root. This plant is best grown in warm climates due to the fact that it can take eight to ten months to develop a good eating quality tuber. However, it can be grown in cooler climates if seed is planted very early indoors and plant set out as soon as ground has thawed and warmed. *Seeds and pods are poisonous.
- Rats Tail Radish (Raphanus sativus) Rats tail radish has an interesting history and has been lost to gardeners since the period just after the Civil War in the United States. Civil War soldiers were thought to have staved off starvation in part due to these radish plants. Flavor of rats tail is like other radishes in that it has a strong ‘bite’. The difference between this radish and others is the edible part of the plant. Only the 8 – 10 inch purple seed pods are edible and not the roots. They are eaten raw, pickled or cooked. This plant thrives in the heat and humidity of the south.
- Mock Oyster (Scorzonera hispanica) Mock oyster, so named because the taste is similar to that of oysters, is a root vegetable. Roots are white with black skin and grow to nearly one foot long. They are firm, richly flavored and eaten baked, boiled, steamed or fried. They also make a nice addition to soups. Flowers and young leaves may be used in salads for unique flavoring. *Roots should be peeled because the skin is bitter.
- Vegetable Spaghetti (Cucurbita pepo) Vegetable spaghetti is a winter squash grown like other winter squash. Fruits of this plant are short and oblong with white to creamy-white skin. It can be baked, boiled and even microwaved. The interesting habit of this squash is that the flesh pulls away from the skin in strings which look very much like spaghetti or angel hair pasta. This is a good plant for a child’s learning garden.
Plant these once and they will become favorites which will have to go into the garden patch every season. Be the first in the garden community to grow all or a combination of these old vegetables. For more old vegetables, see; “Heirloom Beans of Note” and “Heirloom Lettuces of Note.”