The endive variation you picked is actually quite common in The Netherlands (amusing to see it as a 'rare seed' :-)). It can even be planted in fall and still produce a reasonable crop (I live in a 9A zone). Our traditional way of consuming it as a winter food (called 'mash pot'): - cut up and wash the endive - make mashed potatoes - Spoon the raw endive through the hot mashed potatoes (the endive dwindles, so be sure to have enough) - Fry some small diced bacon and spoon them through the mash, including the meat juice - Serve with warm smoked sausage Fry some garlic last minute with the bacon for extra flavour. You can serve it with piccalilly, chutney or dried onions on the table. A vegetarian variant is to replace the bacon with small diced Gouda (or Edam) cheese. Spoon it through the mash just before serving, so it's a little, but not completely melted. And I'm going to try lufa! Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Loofah is actually edible and delicious! Peel and slice and add to soups at the end. A very mild cucumberish flavor and amazing. It will grow and spread like crazy so give it space. The homemade dried loofahs make cool gifts too. Good luck!!
Yep we accidentally let it overgrow a small tree. Whoops. A gridded row of metal posts and lines took care of it. The loofah get HUGE!! Should have added when slicing/cutting them to eat it's like a super.fibrous zucchini but tastes more like a cuke. You will have a blast with them!
Yes, if you look close at the catalog description at 2:28 in the video it says, "Tasty cooked like okra when young". Also, Luffa fruit grows about 2 ' (feet) not 2" (inches). Just sayin'.
I've grown puffs. Just a few plants will yield many of them. I only grew it one year. I had plenty and the plants take up too much space. Easy to grow.
I grew those purple peas in my garden this year, they were so purple it was like ink... mouths and lips stained blue, you could bite the end off one and write with it! They weren't the best tasting snow pea but certainly still tasted good.
@@redshen54 Boil it, the most common use is soups/noodle bases. For bread though I use a grinder to make it into a power to mix with the flour. In Asia I found they also make tea with it (though the Chinese throw away the grain after steeping it and keep the water). It has a very earthy taste so I tried it in a salad with lemon juice, soaking it for a while seemed to help me there.
@@redshen54 I do not grow mine, they come from shop packets :P If it helps, out of the pack I can eat them raw. I have some in a jar now that have sat there for about 9 months and I just tried one and they do not seem to be any harder.
@@redshen54 It is starting to seem that way. I would suggest trying your hard ones as the tea since you do not actually need to eat the grain, or the grind into flour approach. I use an old traditional hand grinder ( the kind you see for mincemeat /sausages on tv) that has an attachment for flour making.
Luffa are fun. If left to dry out on the vine a “trap door” at the bottom will open and drop seeds. They will self seed. Animals have carried off luffa from the garden and they self seeded in a wood chip pile at the edge of the yard.
I grew marshmallow as an ornamental many years ago when I lived in Oklahoma. It was fun and beautiful. I'm planning on growing the Chinese Shawo Fruit radish this year too. I'm in Minnesota so it should fit my climate pretty well. It may be a radish my picky eaters might enjoy.
Oh man do I wish we lived near each other because we could have split our seed order. We have ordered a lot of the same seeds. I've had to carry my theme from last year over to this year as I didn't do it well enough--that theme is "Use What You Have." It's a problem with seeds because, like you, I find it so hard to resist experimentation. My seeds are overwhelmingly from Baker Creek this year, too, but I also like to pick up some new varieties from my regional seller, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I'm in Virginia. Here's what's going to be new for me this upcoming summer that you didn't mention: Purple Teepee Bush Bean, Moonshadow Hyacinth, Chinese Red Noodle, Urizun Japanese Winged Bean, Kalibos Cabbage, Mountain Peak Celtuce, Morris Heading Collards, Cherokee Gourdseed Corn, Rosita Eggplant, Scarlet Kale, Castel Franco Chicory, Madhu Ras melon, Bidwell Casaba, Bradford Watermelon (!), Nancy Watermelon, Green Wave Mustard, Green Beauty Snowpeas, Arroz con Polo pepper, Szentes Pepper, Topepopgiallo Pepper, Gambo Pepper, Chinese Red Meat Radish, Sichuan Red Beauty Radish, Spaghetti Squash, Tokinashi Turnip, Gilfeather Turnip, Takane Ruby Buckwheat, Zloty Lan Chamomile, Varigated Cockscomb, Velouette Cosmos, Salmon Sunset 4 O'Clocks, Sugar Stars Phlox, Flanders Poppy, Florest Pepperbox Poppy, Blue Monday Sage, Mexican Torch Tithonia, Sunspot Dwarf Cola Sunflower and Short Stuff Sunflower, Pink Senorita Zinnia, Redman Super Cactus Zinnia, plus many of those you mentioned. See the extent of my illness? To vindicate myself-ha-I have to say I have two big honking gardens. I'm like you--I definitely splurge on seeds. And this isn't counting all of the regular and not-new seeds I already have. Good Lord! I grow stuff with abandon and then if I like it I grow it more carefully in terms of distance and so forth the next year. Best to you for a fabulous garden in 2019. I'd love to hear from anyone who has grown any of the new things I've listed.
Jobe's tears is something I just have to try! That Python Bean is definitely going in my garden, on a cattle panel!! I am growing or have grown most of your list! I LOVE Baker Creek!
The dishcloth loofa is used in Mexico as a bathing loofa. It’s used widely to soap our bodies. It gets softer over time till we have to cut another piece again.
I’ve grow on the amaranth/Chinese multicolored spinach. The whole family loved it, even my dogs, who are picky about their greens. Very drought tolerant, but be careful about letting it go to seed, as you will be weeding it out of your beds for years, even after you’ve decided you don’t want to grow it anymore. It self seeds very readily!
When I was young we grew a huge garden on our 3/4 acre lot. Now I live in a townhouse and can't keep up being disabled. Your video cheered me to no end. I love to pass on knowledge to my kids and refer them to interesting videos. I still seed save a little bit because it is so fun! Thank you for the delightful video.
That Chinese Multi-color Spinach looks just like the many colors of Coleus when you use fertilizer on them to make their color stronger. I can see people getting the Coleus mixed up with this Spinach and eating it which would suck.
I also like the colorful ones as well as the exotics. I haven't done a major garden since 2014 but this year will be big. I got my seeds from Baker Creek as well. Back then I grew mostly tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. I had 9 varieties of tomatoes including Green zebra, Pineapple, Pink Brandywine, Indigo Ruby's, Red Cherry, Yellow Pear, Pink Calabash, Lemon Boy, Mr.Stripey and my all time favorite the White Beauty. If you have never grown or tried white tomatoes they are some of the mildest and creamiest I have ever had. They will dominate my garden this year. As far as cucumbers I had Lemon cucumber, Marketmores, Hmong, Straight 8's and the pickling. All excellent. Lettuces were mainly Romaine, Lolla rossa, Iceberg, Black seeded Simpson. Being adventurous I harvested from everything an decided to make some grilled chicken salads. It was one of the most unbelievable salads I have ever had. Every bite was almost a different flavorful experience. This year I am actually going to do mostly the same but am adding the Orangeglo and White watermelons as well. Hope everyone has a great grow season!
I grew loofa for the first time this year and I was told it is edible and very healthy but you got to get them very young which I thought was pretty cool myself
Interesting & great choices! Thanks for sharing. Purple malabar spinach loves hot weather. It’s been a staple in our garden (90-95F temp. most of the year) when I was growing up. We steam leaves, add fresh tomatoes 🍅 and lemon, salt ( or soy sauce) & pepper to taste. Wishing you great harvest in 2019!
Kevin that's a pretty eclectic list of seeds. I have grown the red malabar spinach (one of my favorites) and little gem lettuce. The red malabar spinach will take a little while to germinate and to start growing. So much so you may think that something is wrong but once it starts growing it vines like it's hair is on fire. Try mounting them a little and make sure you mark them to know where they're at. Something I've noticed is you cant tell how experienced gardener is by the varieties of plants they grow. New gardeners tend to grow the standard red tomato, plain cucumber, etc. If that is the case then your wide variety of uncommon seeds mean you're a super duper gardener.😎😎😎😎
I'm also a beginner and I've noticed most the heirlooms I'm growing so far grow much slower and i have more plants that just don't do as good as some other's. Not like some of the cheaper seeds I started off growing like red globe radishes, suger snap peas and noble spinach. I know i need to keep building my soil is the main thing I'm working on improving.
I love growing luffas...I grow them on a cattle panel arch trellis...people stop and take pictures...we eat them when small...yummo...6 to 8 inches...big beautiful yellow flowers...good luck...Cara in Indiana
Great selections - I've been looking at some of the pink and oriental varieties as well ... Want to try bitter melon, burgundy okra, pink mizuna ... Like you, I could break the bank on interesting plants!!
Damn you're going to have some proper psychedelic rainbow salads and stir frys. Going to look good. Dont think we have any zone 10 in the uk so be careful with them Strawberries. Am temptedwith luffa myself, not sure if they'll grow zone 8 though. All the best for the new year/season.
I think you will love the malabar spinach. I grows really fast. It gets red berries on it that many people juice. We didn't eat much of it because of time issues but others enjoyed it. If you save the seeds you might want to wear gloves they stain the hands as bad as blackberries do. Some really good youtube videos out there. A local master gardener grew it here several years ago and that is where I got mine.
Im watching this for the first time and am surprised we are growing many of your choice. Btw endive is awesome in a potato mash. We here in the netherlands love it.
I want so many things from that catalog. One that stands out for me is Nadapeno pepper. All of the jalapeno flavor without the heat. I am not able to tolerate high scoville peppers. Please don't buy it all up, Epic followers. I need to wait for payday to buy them. 👩🏾🌾😄😄
same here, I no longer can eat hot peppers even though I love them, I am going to try the heatless jalapeno too, but I highly recommend the Habanda---absolutely delicious just like a fruity habanero but with no heat.
Some of us low-key judge people for buying $2,000 handbags. I low-key judge myself for spending on hobbies. I'm barely managing to keep myself in check. LOL. I'm just going to start a wishlist like this and wait till 2021 to indulge any more.
Hi Kevin Bridget Chang, you are right. This recipe for any one to try:- and if you do, please let me know what you think? Lufa when green, has corrugated skin. Grate that. fry in tadaka, oil few cumin seeds and green chilli salt until bit dry, add either roasted peanuts or roasted pounded Sesame seeds. This chutney lasts quite well. use a condiment or on sandwich-yum yum. Rest of the 'necked' (? naughty of me saying but) lufa will be sort of white after losing 'green clothes' to make lovely sabji.
Hi! ..I live in zone 9B-10A and I ordered about 100-125 seed varieties from rareseeds.com for my garden, it's mostly veggies with alpine berries and melon mixed in but I'm also planting bee and butterfly friendly flowers so I don't have to hand pollinate. I look forward to seeing your garden grow too. I'm also excited to see how your dragonfruit grows we get a little frost here so I'm working on building a tiny greenhouse. ^_^
Luffa is both edible (if eaten young) AND it doesn't grow two inches... its more like two-three FEET. When I lived in Texas, I had them growing up and over my fence. They did great! If you want to use them as sponges, leave them on the vine until they turn brown and dry out. You can shake them and hear the seeds rattle... thats when you pick and peel them ;)
I grow baker creek seeds and LOVE them. I have a truly MASSIVE collection of seeds. I probably have 80% of their offering and of the new stuff they just posted this year, I've ordered 23 new things. We have a small farm and while I would LOVE to grow everything all at once: I usually only plant one or two of each type for the big things and small clusters of other things. We constantly battle a MASSIVE plague of rabbits (feral domestics.. mostly rex rabbits) who have zero fear of us and treat my gardens and fields like thier own buffet.. which makes it difficult. We also have: elk, deer, rats, mice, birds, voles, moles, and a vegetable loving 4 year old... and dog that loves root vegs. AND we live in the pacific north west so weather and climate can be challenging: So we have to get creative with gardening. But I love every moment of it! Baker Creek ... I love them!
I have grown Luhfa, in Mexico that is what we use to scub ourself. You leave the fruits until there completely dried, usually the winter kills them. Be careful of not leaving on the ground or your have so many plants growing everywhere! It you have a pergola, this plant will give you a nice shade. It attracts bumble bees, it has beautiful yellow flowers, go for it my friend. I tried to eat one but did not like the taste. If you try it make sure it’s a young one. Save your luhfas completely died. They have tons of seeds!
Luffa is edible. We called them "Patola" in the Philippines. You cook them like courgette when they are still young. Very common recipe is we make soup with them with mishua noodles and sardines.
I grew the Luffa Gourd a few years back. It grew long vines and produced well. The instructions I had said to dry thoroughlt, until the seeds rattled when shaken. If I grew it today I would shave the outside of the fruit's skin from the fruit before it was full dry because it was very difficult. it took 2 weeks to get the peel off a smaller one, the rest I used for compost. Also, the fruit is edible when picked at about 6 inches or less. I used it in stirfry.
I just got a large order in from Baker Creek, full of strange veggies, but the only one that matches your choice is the Strawberry lettuce. I'm also going for a lot of herbs from Strictly Medicinal Seeds, they also had some great capsicum seeds I couldn't get elsewhere.
Just got my Baker’s order for ‘22. Do you have an update on how the Job’s Tears worked out for you? What did you do with the plants? Flower arrangements, food, or jewelry? I’m excited to grow this interesting plant! Thank you.
Malabar spinach is delicious. I have to keep a fence around mine because my dog loves it, too. Mine self-seeded last year. It’s easy to start indoors though. It laughs at our hot, humid Delaware summers. I have some of the same selections on my Baker Creek wishlist. Happy growing in 2019!
Great selection there! I hope to grow more variety in 2019 aswell. Just finished my last greens harvest for 2018, perfect time to start planning/dreaming about next growing season. Cheers everyone and best of luck in new growing seasom from sunny Dalmatia. ;)
Well you have just cost me $30 dollars!!!! lol.... I will try some of your suggestions in Cyprus. My Cypriot neighbour is going to love the Python beans.
This is hilarious! Love your voice. I’m in LA, 3 miles from ocean, and just subscribed and see what you’re growing and will copy here. We prob have same climate being only 2 hours away-fingers crossed. Good luck!!!
Job's tears are very delicious. It has a nutty flavor. Asians make it into a multigrain drink as well as drink it as tea. Sometimes we add it to rice. It's similar to whole barley.
Re: Job's Tears. The ones pictured (Baker Creek) are just for decoration, not for food. The one to grow for food is Ma-Yuen Job's Tears and looks like this onegreenworld.com/product/ma-yuen-coix-lacryma-jobi-var-ma-yuen/
Here in Metro Phx with a higher heat index than you so especially important that I research multiple sources to get varied opinions on heat tolerance here. Several of these I have tried...and several I would have to pass on. Would be interesting to see if these all survived in your clime... Thx for the video !
I've been covering a few on IG! I have the luffa growing right now on my arbor, did a job's tears video on IG as well as some of the others...will try to get some YT videos up too~!
I have ordered most of those also, got the purple bok choy, the snake bean (so cool) and the pink celery. I tried the purple mizuna and orange oriole swiss chard last year and loved them. I am all about color and unique....if it's new and colorful I'm a sucker and I'll usually get it. I do most of my planting in my tower gardens (have 4 of them) and 2 garden towers. Gardening is so relaxing. I've tried the red Malabar spinach (my neighbor introduced me to it) but I just can't like the taste, it has a very mucousy feel...I wish I loved it because it grows awesome here in Florida.
I think it's hysterical that we are 5 zones apart and pretty much ordered the exact same seeds! I'm up in Chicago, zone 5b ans ordered all but job's tear's i also ordered the white bitter melon. Thank you for sharing from one 'seedaholic' to another!
I want to try the loofah! You should do some recipes that use things from your garden. I’m all for growing new things I just want to make sure I know how to eat/cook it beforehand. Everything looks awesome though!
Loofa is so awesome!!!! They look like little penises when they start 😂😂and that's what I would call them. They take a very long time to "ripen". But SO many uses for them you can use them as wash cloth, use them for a homemade exfoliating soap and you can eat some varieties in early stages (they taste like zucchini. I also grow malabar spinach and it's awesome. It thrives in my Austin climate and is beautiful to use in an ornamental gardens it's like a very thick spinach. I use them in place of tortillas or sauteed by themselves. Enjoy!
I just loaded up on baker creek seeds today. I cheated a bit went to the flea market an got them half price. I'll need to start ordering eventually but I'm going to clean this guy out next weekend. Was kicking myself for not buying them all then😂
The one's i got so far here's the list Corn - Glassgem, Painted mountain, and giant Indian and 2 sweet yellow varieties. Tomatoes - Paul Robeson, Bonnybest, yellow and chocolate pear, Amish paste, Jujube cherry and roma. Spinachgalilee, Red lettuce, strawberry lettuce, cabbage nero, redmeat radish, bulls blood beets, rainbow chard, crookneck squash, purple pod bean, cosmic carrots, collards, leeks, onions, mustards, Chicago cucumber, Moringa, lemon coriander, lemon catnip, sativa, white horehound, wild thyme,giant parsley and red freddy basil.
Epic Gardening super! You should attach a give away to the recipe someone submits that you like the best! I have one that I haven’t had since the 1970’s. I got the recipe recently and will make it this summer.
The Chinese amaranth. I grew some last year. Got some seeds from our local Asian market. It's a bit slow to start and a bit of a water hog. But looks beautiful in a salad and tastes wonderfull
Oh and the marshmallow are like iris they like wet feet. And the root is a great medicinal. Also I dont have the recipe on hand but you can make traditional marshmallows out of the roots too.
Bear Creek is who I am ordering from too, I have to be super practical as I grow everything in pots (I live on a bluff with a sliver for a back yard.) Anyway, I might give that pocket melon a go, I live in the PNW so haven't had much luck with melons in the past, my concern is feeding myself for the winter so I grow a lot of tomatoes, and other things that I can freeze, this year I am also going for pole Lima beans because I grew pole beans last year and was impressed by the productivity, I want to try oxheart carrots---I have an ongoing issue growing root crops like carrots, turnips and beets, I can't figure out why because I use big pots. For something new to me I am considering the celtuce.
@@epicgardening Im going dwarf!! Lol. My current tomato is 4 ft tall indoors. Makes no sense!! Lmao. Time for short and tons of fruits and veggies. Fyi.....my indoor winter corn is doing great!
@@epicgardening my husband would strongly disagree! 😉 With that said, I am planning my fall order now and it has a few additional items you shared. Really enjoying your channel and content, thank you.
I had great luck with the Purple Yard long beans last season. Only drawback was the Aphids and Ants that invaded only those plants but it did not seem to effect them. The beans produced like crazy still, but I had to fight the Ants for the Beans. I made the mistake of inter-planting them with Cucumber vines so they would benefit from the nitrogen sharing. What happened was I got strong plants but the Cucumber vines did not produce. It was not until the bean plants died off that I got any Cucumbers, the Ant's drove off then Cucumber pollinators.
For the ant problem... get rid of them naturally. Diatomaceous Earth. For a decade trying to fight those pest and I've got FIRE ANTS. I'm so bold now. I make a ring around a mound of the powder, puncture the mound and DARE THEM TO COME OUT. Plenty of info available online UA-cam. Ants or any other insect with an exoskeleton doesn't have a chance.
The endive variation you picked is actually quite common in The Netherlands (amusing to see it as a 'rare seed' :-)). It can even be planted in fall and still produce a reasonable crop (I live in a 9A zone).
Our traditional way of consuming it as a winter food (called 'mash pot'):
- cut up and wash the endive
- make mashed potatoes
- Spoon the raw endive through the hot mashed potatoes (the endive dwindles, so be sure to have enough)
- Fry some small diced bacon and spoon them through the mash, including the meat juice
- Serve with warm smoked sausage
Fry some garlic last minute with the bacon for extra flavour.
You can serve it with piccalilly, chutney or dried onions on the table.
A vegetarian variant is to replace the bacon with small diced Gouda (or Edam) cheese. Spoon it through the mash just before serving, so it's a little, but not completely melted.
And I'm going to try lufa! Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Some of the 'rare' seeds on Baker Creek aren't rare at all. You're right! I appreciate the recipe...I'll have to make it :)
Loofah is actually edible and delicious! Peel and slice and add to soups at the end. A very mild cucumberish flavor and amazing. It will grow and spread like crazy so give it space. The homemade dried loofahs make cool gifts too. Good luck!!
no way! I gotta grow and eat some, then use the rest for the shower :)
Yep we accidentally let it overgrow a small tree. Whoops. A gridded row of metal posts and lines took care of it. The loofah get HUGE!! Should have added when slicing/cutting them to eat it's like a super.fibrous zucchini but tastes more like a cuke. You will have a blast with them!
Yes, if you look close at the catalog description at 2:28 in the video it says, "Tasty cooked like okra when young". Also, Luffa fruit grows about 2 ' (feet) not 2" (inches). Just sayin'.
You are right when they are young u can eat them. They are yummy in chicken broth n onion and ginger. Try them you will love it
I've grown puffs. Just a few plants will yield many of them. I only grew it one year. I had plenty and the plants take up too much space. Easy to grow.
I grew those purple peas in my garden this year, they were so purple it was like ink... mouths and lips stained blue, you could bite the end off one and write with it! They weren't the best tasting snow pea but certainly still tasted good.
Yeah, my teeth were stained almost like I drink a glass of wine! It was crazy
Job tears is a grain. I use it to make an 'ezekiel' bread recipie and in soups. Arty people I know also use them to paint on for various projects.
Amazing...thanks for the tips!
@@redshen54 Boil it, the most common use is soups/noodle bases. For bread though I use a grinder to make it into a power to mix with the flour. In Asia I found they also make tea with it (though the Chinese throw away the grain after steeping it and keep the water). It has a very earthy taste so I tried it in a salad with lemon juice, soaking it for a while seemed to help me there.
@@redshen54 I do not grow mine, they come from shop packets :P If it helps, out of the pack I can eat them raw. I have some in a jar now that have sat there for about 9 months and I just tried one and they do not seem to be any harder.
@@redshen54 It is starting to seem that way. I would suggest trying your hard ones as the tea since you do not actually need to eat the grain, or the grind into flour approach. I use an old traditional hand grinder ( the kind you see for mincemeat /sausages on tv) that has an attachment for flour making.
wow...that job tears plant grows in our area and it's only uses for decorations... I though that was a toxic plant...
Luffa are fun. If left to dry out on the vine a “trap door” at the bottom will open and drop seeds. They will self seed. Animals have carried off luffa from the garden and they self seeded in a wood chip pile at the edge of the yard.
Oh wow, how interesting, makes me want to try that!
Lol...you picked about 85% of the ones I picked. I can't wait to get growing.
Great minds think alike!
I got a lot of the same ones to.
I grew marshmallow as an ornamental many years ago when I lived in Oklahoma. It was fun and beautiful. I'm planning on growing the Chinese Shawo Fruit radish this year too. I'm in Minnesota so it should fit my climate pretty well. It may be a radish my picky eaters might enjoy.
Glad to hear we're growing some of the same things!
Oh man do I wish we lived near each other because we could have split our seed order. We have ordered a lot of the same seeds. I've had to carry my theme from last year over to this year as I didn't do it well enough--that theme is "Use What You Have." It's a problem with seeds because, like you, I find it so hard to resist experimentation. My seeds are overwhelmingly from Baker Creek this year, too, but I also like to pick up some new varieties from my regional seller, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I'm in Virginia. Here's what's going to be new for me this upcoming summer that you didn't mention: Purple Teepee Bush Bean, Moonshadow Hyacinth, Chinese Red Noodle, Urizun Japanese Winged Bean, Kalibos Cabbage, Mountain Peak Celtuce, Morris Heading Collards, Cherokee Gourdseed Corn, Rosita Eggplant, Scarlet Kale, Castel Franco Chicory, Madhu Ras melon, Bidwell Casaba, Bradford Watermelon (!), Nancy Watermelon, Green Wave Mustard, Green Beauty Snowpeas, Arroz con Polo pepper, Szentes Pepper, Topepopgiallo Pepper, Gambo Pepper, Chinese Red Meat Radish, Sichuan Red Beauty Radish, Spaghetti Squash, Tokinashi Turnip, Gilfeather Turnip, Takane Ruby Buckwheat, Zloty Lan Chamomile, Varigated Cockscomb, Velouette Cosmos, Salmon Sunset 4 O'Clocks, Sugar Stars Phlox, Flanders Poppy, Florest Pepperbox Poppy, Blue Monday Sage, Mexican Torch Tithonia, Sunspot Dwarf Cola Sunflower and Short Stuff Sunflower, Pink Senorita Zinnia, Redman Super Cactus Zinnia, plus many of those you mentioned. See the extent of my illness? To vindicate myself-ha-I have to say I have two big honking gardens. I'm like you--I definitely splurge on seeds. And this isn't counting all of the regular and not-new seeds I already have. Good Lord! I grow stuff with abandon and then if I like it I grow it more carefully in terms of distance and so forth the next year. Best to you for a fabulous garden in 2019. I'd love to hear from anyone who has grown any of the new things I've listed.
I like southern exposure as well! I just saved your list to my files so I can experiment with some of yours this year as well :)
Jobe's tears is something I just have to try! That Python Bean is definitely going in my garden, on a cattle panel!! I am growing or have grown most of your list! I LOVE Baker Creek!
Me too! Glad to hear we're growing similarly this year!
Omg I just got my job tears seeds. I am growing it for the first time this year. I can't wait.
I just ordered some ;)
How did these varieties turn out?
Would love to see what you plan to grow this year
Will do a 2020 list soon!
The dishcloth loofa is used in Mexico as a bathing loofa. It’s used widely to soap our bodies. It gets softer over time till we have to cut another piece again.
Great video BTW!!! I'm drooling over my Baker seed catalog at the moment and admiring your future garden!
Thank you Bridget! Can't wait to see what you get!
Same here but from another co. Its like gardeners porn...
Yesssssss! Love it
I’ve grow on the amaranth/Chinese multicolored spinach. The whole family loved it, even my dogs, who are picky about their greens. Very drought tolerant, but be careful about letting it go to seed, as you will be weeding it out of your beds for years, even after you’ve decided you don’t want to grow it anymore. It self seeds very readily!
So I'm hoping you will do a video showing us your harvest from these plants.
Definitely
I have grown luffa's for 3 years now
Glad to hear that - they're awesome
@@epicgardening they really are. They also produce so much seed!!
When I was young we grew a huge garden on our 3/4 acre lot. Now I live in a townhouse and can't keep up being disabled. Your video cheered me to no end. I love to pass on knowledge to my kids and refer them to interesting videos. I still seed save a little bit because it is so fun! Thank you for the delightful video.
Glad to hear it cheered you up! Try some vertical standing raised beds if you are having some issues getting out into the garden Linda!
That Chinese Multi-color Spinach looks just like the many colors of Coleus when you use fertilizer on them to make their color stronger. I can see people getting the Coleus mixed up with this Spinach and eating it which would suck.
PSA: Don't eat your coleus!
I also like the colorful ones as well as the exotics. I haven't done a major garden since 2014 but this year will be big. I got my seeds from Baker Creek as well. Back then I grew mostly tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. I had 9 varieties of tomatoes including Green zebra, Pineapple, Pink Brandywine, Indigo Ruby's, Red Cherry, Yellow Pear, Pink Calabash, Lemon Boy, Mr.Stripey and my all time favorite the White Beauty. If you have never grown or tried white tomatoes they are some of the mildest and creamiest I have ever had. They will dominate my garden this year. As far as cucumbers I had Lemon cucumber, Marketmores, Hmong, Straight 8's and the pickling. All excellent. Lettuces were mainly Romaine, Lolla rossa, Iceberg, Black seeded Simpson. Being adventurous I harvested from everything an decided to make some grilled chicken salads. It was one of the most unbelievable salads I have ever had. Every bite was almost a different flavorful experience. This year I am actually going to do mostly the same but am adding the Orangeglo and White watermelons as well. Hope everyone has a great grow season!
I planted the Celtuce and loved it! Also the New Zealand spinach.
I grew celtuce last year and it was awesome
I grew loofa for the first time this year and I was told it is edible and very healthy but you got to get them very young which I thought was pretty cool myself
Yup correct...it's edible!
Interesting & great choices! Thanks for sharing. Purple malabar spinach loves hot weather. It’s been a staple in our garden (90-95F temp. most of the year) when I was growing up. We steam leaves, add fresh tomatoes 🍅 and lemon, salt ( or soy sauce) & pepper to taste. Wishing you great harvest in 2019!
Glad to hear about the malabar, and that recipe sounds delicious! Thank you :)
Kevin that's a pretty eclectic list of seeds. I have grown the red malabar spinach (one of my favorites) and little gem lettuce.
The red malabar spinach will take a little while to germinate and to start growing. So much so you may think that something is wrong but once it starts growing it vines like it's hair is on fire. Try mounting them a little and make sure you mark them to know where they're at.
Something I've noticed is you cant tell how experienced gardener is by the varieties of plants they grow. New gardeners tend to grow the standard red tomato, plain cucumber, etc. If that is the case then your wide variety of uncommon seeds mean you're a super duper gardener.😎😎😎😎
Hahah hey, I wouldn't call myself a pro by any means! Just a humble beginner, even as the years roll by...
I'm also a beginner and I've noticed most the heirlooms I'm growing so far grow much slower and i have more plants that just don't do as good as some other's. Not like some of the cheaper seeds I started off growing like red globe radishes, suger snap peas and noble spinach. I know i need to keep building my soil is the main thing I'm working on improving.
Luffas are super easy to grow and you will have tons.
Can't wait!
That loofah when young can be eaten...lovely with egg.
I love growing luffas...I grow them on a cattle panel arch trellis...people stop and take pictures...we eat them when small...yummo...6 to 8 inches...big beautiful yellow flowers...good luck...Cara in Indiana
Love that people take pictures Cara! Thanks for the comment.
Great selections - I've been looking at some of the pink and oriental varieties as well ... Want to try bitter melon, burgundy okra, pink mizuna ... Like you, I could break the bank on interesting plants!!
I had this exact idea to do a video like this. Nice job!
Seed shopping is what lets me survive my Canadian winter sane, lol
:) I hear you!
You Can't Eat The Grass Pennsylvania, and same!
I'm growing industrial hemp!
That's awesome! Heard a lot about that, big things on the horizon
Damn you're going to have some proper psychedelic rainbow salads and stir frys. Going to look good. Dont think we have any zone 10 in the uk so be careful with them Strawberries. Am temptedwith luffa myself, not sure if they'll grow zone 8 though. All the best for the new year/season.
I'll be careful indeed! Looking forward to your grows as well...cheers!
The uk like london is zone 8a as is the netherlands.
Luffa is extremely delicious! I usually stir fry it with eggs or tender soya beans.
I think you will love the malabar spinach. I grows really fast. It gets red berries on it that many people juice. We didn't eat much of it because of time issues but others enjoyed it. If you save the seeds you might want to wear gloves they stain the hands as bad as blackberries do. Some really good youtube videos out there. A local master gardener grew it here several years ago and that is where I got mine.
I've been told by 3-4 people to grow it, so HERE I COME!
I love malabar. I grow it every year
Im watching this for the first time and am surprised we are growing many of your choice. Btw endive is awesome in a potato mash. We here in the netherlands love it.
Looks like great minds think alike!
I want so many things from that catalog. One that stands out for me is Nadapeno pepper. All of the jalapeno flavor without the heat. I am not able to tolerate high scoville peppers. Please don't buy it all up, Epic followers. I need to wait for payday to buy them. 👩🏾🌾😄😄
BRB, buying all the Nadapeno and selling on the black market ;)
@@epicgardening 😂😂😂😂😂😂👩🏾🌾
same here, I no longer can eat hot peppers even though I love them, I am going to try the heatless jalapeno too, but I highly recommend the Habanda---absolutely delicious just like a fruity habanero but with no heat.
@@omfug7148 thanks for the tip on trying habanda peppers. I'll be looking for them.
@@epicgardening lol
Some of us low-key judge people for buying $2,000 handbags. I low-key judge myself for spending on hobbies. I'm barely managing to keep myself in check. LOL. I'm just going to start a wishlist like this and wait till 2021 to indulge any more.
I grow red ursa kale and love it! Delicious and tender 💗
So glad to hear that!
Hi Kevin
Bridget Chang, you are right.
This recipe for any one to try:- and if you do, please let me know what you think?
Lufa when green, has corrugated skin. Grate that. fry in tadaka, oil few cumin seeds and green chilli salt until bit dry, add either roasted peanuts or roasted pounded Sesame seeds. This chutney lasts quite well. use a condiment or on sandwich-yum yum.
Rest of the 'necked' (? naughty of me saying but) lufa will be sort of white after losing 'green clothes' to make lovely sabji.
WELL I sure got sold on that Brad's Atomic Grape Tomato lol
Oh trust me, I've been SOLD on that one for years, I feel you!
@@epicgardening Nice! I read crack resistant and had to grab them. Our Summers have weather all over the place.
Hi! ..I live in zone 9B-10A and I ordered about 100-125 seed varieties from rareseeds.com for my garden, it's mostly veggies with alpine berries and melon mixed in but I'm also planting bee and butterfly friendly flowers so I don't have to hand pollinate. I look forward to seeing your garden grow too. I'm also excited to see how your dragonfruit grows we get a little frost here so I'm working on building a tiny greenhouse. ^_^
Love it, I'm doing the same this year. Cultivating that pollinator side to the garden as well. I'll do a dragonfruit update soon!
Luffa is both edible (if eaten young) AND it doesn't grow two inches... its more like two-three FEET. When I lived in Texas, I had them growing up and over my fence. They did great! If you want to use them as sponges, leave them on the vine until they turn brown and dry out. You can shake them and hear the seeds rattle... thats when you pick and peel them ;)
I grow baker creek seeds and LOVE them. I have a truly MASSIVE collection of seeds. I probably have 80% of their offering and of the new stuff they just posted this year, I've ordered 23 new things. We have a small farm and while I would LOVE to grow everything all at once: I usually only plant one or two of each type for the big things and small clusters of other things. We constantly battle a MASSIVE plague of rabbits (feral domestics.. mostly rex rabbits) who have zero fear of us and treat my gardens and fields like thier own buffet.. which makes it difficult. We also have: elk, deer, rats, mice, birds, voles, moles, and a vegetable loving 4 year old... and dog that loves root vegs. AND we live in the pacific north west so weather and climate can be challenging: So we have to get creative with gardening. But I love every moment of it! Baker Creek ... I love them!
Huge fan of them as well this year...here's hoping you can battle the critters!
I have grown lugffa. I had it growing up a tree. The young puffs are edible. I have tried them in soup.
I have grown Luhfa, in Mexico that is what we use to scub ourself. You leave the fruits until there completely dried, usually the winter kills them. Be careful of not leaving on the ground or your have so many plants growing everywhere! It you have a pergola, this plant will give you a nice shade. It attracts bumble bees, it has beautiful yellow flowers, go for it my friend. I tried to eat one but did not like the taste. If you try it make sure it’s a young one. Save your luhfas completely died. They have tons of seeds!
Tahnks for the tips! I appreciate it quite a bit :)
Luffa is edible. We called them "Patola" in the Philippines. You cook them like courgette when they are still young. Very common recipe is we make soup with them with mishua noodles and sardines.
I grew the Luffa Gourd a few years back. It grew long vines and produced well. The instructions I had said to dry thoroughlt, until the seeds rattled when shaken. If I grew it today I would shave the outside of the fruit's skin from the fruit before it was full dry because it was very difficult. it took 2 weeks to get the peel off a smaller one, the rest I used for compost.
Also, the fruit is edible when picked at about 6 inches or less. I used it in stirfry.
Epic tip on the peeling! I definitely don't want to take 2 weeks :-)
I just got a large order in from Baker Creek, full of strange veggies, but the only one that matches your choice is the Strawberry lettuce. I'm also going for a lot of herbs from Strictly Medicinal Seeds, they also had some great capsicum seeds I couldn't get elsewhere.
So many options, I love that we can get huge orders and not even have many overlaps! I'll check out Strictly Medicinal
Cool! I wish I got those watermelons. I also got the purple bok choy and the pink celery. They're so pretty! I'm in Canada
Nice video Kevin! Will you be making a video with the results of planting these seeds?! :-)
Wow, finally found out the names of some of the Chinese vegetables I eat!
The more you know ;)
Alright didnt know you went to rareseeds.com. nice I love their selection
Just got my Baker’s order for ‘22. Do you have an update on how the Job’s Tears worked out for you? What did you do with the plants? Flower arrangements, food, or jewelry? I’m excited to grow this interesting plant! Thank you.
Malabar spinach is delicious. I have to keep a fence around mine because my dog loves it, too. Mine self-seeded last year. It’s easy to start indoors though. It laughs at our hot, humid Delaware summers. I have some of the same selections on my Baker Creek wishlist. Happy growing in 2019!
That's EXACTLY what I wanted to hear! Happy growing!
my grandma gave me jobs tears seeds years before they came out! thanks grandma:))))
never was able to grow it though lol
Lufa is actually also edible you just need to harvest it earlier than you would if you were trying to get the dry sponge.
Ahhhh great! Though I'll have so much to eat I'll definitely let these become sponges
I absolutely love LUFFA!! I grew it and will continue!! Amazing 💜💜
So glad to hear! I'm really excited
Great selection there! I hope to grow more variety in 2019 aswell. Just finished my last greens harvest for 2018, perfect time to start planning/dreaming about next growing season. Cheers everyone and best of luck in new growing seasom from sunny Dalmatia. ;)
Cheers and good luck :)
Great video. I love Bakers creek. I'm gonna try some of your picks.
Glad to hear it...good luck this year!
Kevin’s back to tempt my shopping and plant addiction 😇
You know you need to do it
I've got to have that Python Snake Bean! Great video! Thank you so much!
Of course! Good luck this year.
Well you have just cost me $30 dollars!!!! lol.... I will try some of your suggestions in Cyprus. My Cypriot neighbour is going to love the Python beans.
$30 well spent ;)
My malabar spinachs are now over 10 cm tall. And have started small vines. :)
Amazing!
I love the different things you are trying! I can’t wait to see your reviews regarding growth habit and taste 😋
This is hilarious! Love your voice. I’m in LA, 3 miles from ocean, and just subscribed and see what you’re growing and will copy here. We prob have same climate being only 2 hours away-fingers crossed. Good luck!!!
In Hawaii, Job’s tears is a prized lei. I didn’t know it was edible. Lol
I’m growing loofa right now!
Job's tears are very delicious. It has a nutty flavor. Asians make it into a multigrain drink as well as drink it as tea. Sometimes we add it to rice. It's similar to whole barley.
Awesome, thanks for those cooking tips!
Very helpful, thank you. I might try strawberries now. I'm in zone 9a-b and I didn't think they'd do well.
The Mizuna, has my name :D very beautiful veggies you ordered!
Marshmallow is related to okra, whose flowers also are edible.
been binge watching your vids. ask your lola how to eat loofah. It's called patola in filipino
Oh dear, I'm going to buy more seeds.
Do it!
You can eat purple tops raw. I always quartered them and salted them then ate everything but the skin.
Re: Job's Tears. The ones pictured (Baker Creek) are just for decoration, not for food. The one to grow for food is Ma-Yuen Job's Tears and looks like this onegreenworld.com/product/ma-yuen-coix-lacryma-jobi-var-ma-yuen/
Appreciate the tip! I'll grab those too
Id say i blow money on books and yes seeds or seedlings
Money well spent!
@@epicgardening indeed
Rajish Maharaj yey
Here in Metro Phx with a higher heat index than you so especially important that I research multiple sources to get varied opinions on heat tolerance here. Several of these I have tried...and several I would have to pass on. Would be interesting to see if these all survived in your clime... Thx for the video !
Great tip! Everything made it, the pink celery was slow though
Malabar spinach is great perrenial here in Texas. I bought 2 plants, let all the berries fall and the next year I had hundreds!
I'm going to be growing quite a bit myself!
I almost ordered the purple mizuna, but I couldn't think of anything I could do with it. Convince me that I need it! Lol
It's a great salad green!
Yup, I use it in a mixed salad with my other lettuce I grow. Great taste. I have both the green and purple mizuna.
Kevin..,When are you going to review these varieties?
I've been covering a few on IG! I have the luffa growing right now on my arbor, did a job's tears video on IG as well as some of the others...will try to get some YT videos up too~!
Epic Gardening alrighty! I don’t use Instagram much...so I must have missed it!
I have ordered most of those also, got the purple bok choy, the snake bean (so cool) and the pink celery. I tried the purple mizuna and orange oriole swiss chard last year and loved them. I am all about color and unique....if it's new and colorful I'm a sucker and I'll usually get it. I do most of my planting in my tower gardens (have 4 of them) and 2 garden towers. Gardening is so relaxing. I've tried the red Malabar spinach (my neighbor introduced me to it) but I just can't like the taste, it has a very mucousy feel...I wish I loved it because it grows awesome here in Florida.
I'm the same as you Sam - unique, colorful = instant buy
I think it's hysterical that we are 5 zones apart and pretty much ordered the exact same seeds! I'm up in Chicago, zone 5b ans ordered all but job's tear's i also ordered the white bitter melon. Thank you for sharing from one 'seedaholic' to another!
Great minds think alike ;)
Did they all grow well?
I want to try the loofah! You should do some recipes that use things from your garden. I’m all for growing new things I just want to make sure I know how to eat/cook it beforehand. Everything looks awesome though!
I'm going to be doing some more plot to plate style videos soon!
kevin, before you grow Chinese snake bean, you have to build a trellis for it climb. It will grow like a grape vine...
I'm on top of it!
@@epicgardening Kevin, There are 2 types of Chinese snake beans, a short one and a long one. I prefer the long one, It taste much better.
Appreciate that!
Can't wait for the summer, to watch these grow
See you in Summer!
Loofa is so awesome!!!! They look like little penises when they start 😂😂and that's what I would call them. They take a very long time to "ripen". But SO many uses for them you can use them as wash cloth, use them for a homemade exfoliating soap and you can eat some varieties in early stages (they taste like zucchini. I also grow malabar spinach and it's awesome. It thrives in my Austin climate and is beautiful to use in an ornamental gardens it's like a very thick spinach. I use them in place of tortillas or sauteed by themselves. Enjoy!
Bahahaha. So glad to hear you've grown and enjoyed some of picks as well. Love it out there in ATX!
Kevin, how did the luffa turn out? Any growing tips?
Just pla Ted mizuna, cant wait to try it
Now that's epic!
;)
Oooooooh, I'm growing a lot of this for the first time in '23! What did you think of the python snake beans?
I just loaded up on baker creek seeds today. I cheated a bit went to the flea market an got them half price. I'll need to start ordering eventually but I'm going to clean this guy out next weekend. Was kicking myself for not buying them all then😂
The one's i got so far here's the list
Corn - Glassgem, Painted mountain, and giant Indian and 2 sweet yellow varieties.
Tomatoes - Paul Robeson, Bonnybest, yellow and chocolate pear, Amish paste, Jujube cherry and roma.
Spinachgalilee, Red lettuce, strawberry lettuce, cabbage nero, redmeat radish, bulls blood beets, rainbow chard, crookneck squash, purple pod bean, cosmic carrots, collards, leeks, onions, mustards, Chicago cucumber, Moringa, lemon coriander, lemon catnip, sativa, white horehound, wild thyme,giant parsley and red freddy basil.
Wow...quite a list! Can't believe you got some of these from the flea market!
Lucky you.....I would probably go overboard if they were half price at the flea market.
THE STIVERS HOMESTEAD grew Loofah this year you can find it in thier video's..oops its time for 2020 catalog.
I'll check it out!
With the pickling you will be doing, will you pickle watermelon rind, beans and other veggies along with cucumbers?
I'm going to try and pickle almost everything, if possible. I have to learn some good recipes!
Epic Gardening super! You should attach a give away to the recipe someone submits that you like the best! I have one that I haven’t had since the 1970’s. I got the recipe recently and will make it this summer.
With that Python Bean you might want to try this...www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/09/pickled-chinese-long-beans.html
Wow, thanks so much Jeannie! 2019 is going to be a year of cooking from the garden so this is going to come in handy
The Chinese amaranth. I grew some last year. Got some seeds from our local Asian market. It's a bit slow to start and a bit of a water hog. But looks beautiful in a salad and tastes wonderfull
Appreciate the tips! Will make sure to keep an eye on it water wise
Oh and the marshmallow are like iris they like wet feet. And the root is a great medicinal.
Also I dont have the recipe on hand but you can make traditional marshmallows out of the roots too.
Loofah is edible. Eat when between 10 to 20cm (4 to 8"). Python bean is great, would suggest eating when smaller.
Thank you for the tips! Glad to get that inside info on the Python bean
wheres the update to this video? I wanted to see how the watermelon and beans turned out
Bear Creek is who I am ordering from too, I have to be super practical as I grow everything in pots (I live on a bluff with a sliver for a back yard.) Anyway, I might give that pocket melon a go, I live in the PNW so haven't had much luck with melons in the past, my concern is feeding myself for the winter so I grow a lot of tomatoes, and other things that I can freeze, this year I am also going for pole Lima beans because I grew pole beans last year and was impressed by the productivity, I want to try oxheart carrots---I have an ongoing issue growing root crops like carrots, turnips and beets, I can't figure out why because I use big pots. For something new to me I am considering the celtuce.
I tried oxhearts and didnt' have a ton of luck vs other varieties unfortunately...but celtuce did very well for me last year!
Awesome!! Im ordering today!! 😀
Yessss
@@epicgardening Im going dwarf!! Lol. My current tomato is 4 ft tall indoors. Makes no sense!! Lmao. Time for short and tons of fruits and veggies.
Fyi.....my indoor winter corn is doing great!
Cool man very interesting now what you need is Riverponics like icing on the cake !!! Peace, love and happy greens ...
Gonna do aquaponics this year :)
@@epicgardening Riverponics is a good fit with Aquaponics ... Just saying !!!
I wish I had seen this before I ordered all mine. Maybe some for my fall planting.
Never too late!
@@epicgardening my husband would strongly disagree! 😉
With that said, I am planning my fall order now and it has a few additional items you shared.
Really enjoying your channel and content, thank you.
really interesting plants and choices!! looking forward to the updates!! καλή χρονιά!!
Thanks!
I had great luck with the Purple Yard long beans last season. Only drawback was the Aphids and Ants that invaded only those plants but it did not seem to effect them. The beans produced like crazy still, but I had to fight the Ants for the Beans. I made the mistake of inter-planting them with Cucumber vines so they would benefit from the nitrogen sharing. What happened was I got strong plants but the Cucumber vines did not produce. It was not until the bean plants died off that I got any Cucumbers, the Ant's drove off then Cucumber pollinators.
Oh wow...what a crazy interplay of the two plants and their pests! Glad you got some after all though
For the ant problem... get rid of them naturally. Diatomaceous Earth. For a decade trying to fight those pest and I've got FIRE ANTS. I'm so bold now. I make a ring around a mound of the powder, puncture the mound and DARE THEM TO COME OUT. Plenty of info available online UA-cam. Ants or any other insect with an exoskeleton doesn't have a chance.