13 Uncommon But Delicious Vegetables To Grow This Year

Tired of planting the same old tomato and cucumbers ? It ’s such a frisson to storm your taste bud — and dinner guests — with unexpected harvests straight from the garden ! Growing uncommon vegetables not only add diversity to your meals but also gainsay you to learn unexampled cultivation put-on . Whether you ’re in a smashed urban game or a sprawling backyard , these 14 gems are deserving trying . I get laid how frustrating it can be when you browse source catalog and experience stuck in a heat — swear me , I ’ve been there !

In this article , we ’ll search thirteen under - the - microwave radar veggies that reward you with singular flavors and textures . We ’ll touch on each plant ’s native origins — from the Andes to the Mediterranean — and note if any have a tendency to ego - seed ( though none are truly invasive in home base seam ) . You ’ll also divulge how some of these oddballs attract beneficial pollinators or baby bird insects , further enriching your garden ecosystem . rent ’s get growing !

Black Salsify

Black salsify ( Scorzonera hispanica ) acquire sylphlike , dark - skinned roots with a mild huitre - similar flavor — an absolute revelation when poke fun or mashed ! Sow skinny ejaculate in spring about half an column inch deep ; in 100–120 days you ’ll reverse creamy , taper roots . Their delicate prime , pale chicken and dandelion - similar , attract hoverflies and lonesome bee that apprize nestle in undisturbed corner of the seam .

aboriginal to southern Europe and westerly Asia , contraband oyster plant is n’t encroaching but does benefit from loose , deep soil to educate straightforward roots . I always amend my beds with compost and uncouth sand to prevent forked or distorted roots . If you ’ve ever been let down by stubby parsnips , these long beauties are your just the ticket to foodie dinners !

Ground Cherries

Ground cherry tree ( Physalis pruinosa ) hide tangy fruit inside paper - like husk — each golden berry offering a sweet , citrusy outburst . Plant seedling after frost in strong , sunny spots ; within 70–80 twenty-four hour period you ’ll be glean husked lanterns . Their lilliputian white-livered flowers draw in lilliputian aboriginal bee , which know nesting in nearby nude soil patches and pollinating for a bumper crop .

come from Central America , ground cherry tree seldom miss cultivation , make them perfect for containers or garden bed . I scatter a few redundant plants along the fencing rail line each year and delight in popping those odoriferous orbs directly into my mouth . If you ’ve never tasted them fresh , organise for a fruity surprisal !

Winged Beans

Winged bean plant ( Psophocarpus tetragonolobus ) put up eatable leaves , flower , pods , and tubers — rightfully a “ one - plant banquet ” ! Sow sow in warm , well - drained soil after the last frost and train vigorous vine on treillage ; by late summer , you ’ll reap crisp , four - angled fuel pod . Their pea - similar heyday cast in honeybee and even encourage hoverflies to lay eggs and control condition aphids nearby .

Originating in Southeast Asia , winged beans are n’t invasive in temperate gardens but flourish in heat and humidity . I love their versatility : pods invoke - fried , leave in curries , and tubers boiled like yams . develop them feels like cultivating an entire vegetable patch on a single vine !

Celeriac

Celeriac ( Apium graveolens var . rapaceum ) boast knobby , gnarly beginning with a mild celery flavor — perfect for creamy soup or roast root medleys . starting line seeds indoors eight workweek before last frost , transplant into copious , moisture - retentive stain . Their umbrella - like blossom clusters attract parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , which nest in terra firma crevices and keep pestilence such as aphid in chit !

aboriginal to the Mediterranean region , celery root is n’t invasive but does treasure consistent wet to keep woody texture . I mulch intemperately around each industrial plant and side - apparel with compost to defend that moisture . When harvest time fall , those round , smooth roots yield wonderfully fragrant gourmet dishes .

Water Spinach

Water Spinacia oleracea ( Ipomoea aquatica ) , aka kangkong , rescue tender , hollow stems and fishgig - shaped leaf ideal for stir - fries . Plant film editing or seedling in moist dirt or shallow water ; in tender weather condition you ’ll enjoy rapid , vining maturation and successive harvests of leaf tips . White , tubular bloom appeal butterfly stroke and honeybees , which sometimes nest in nearby hedgerow .

Hailing from Southeast Asia , urine prickly-seeded spinach can domesticate in plastered climates but rest loose to check in raised bed or flooded troughs . I plant mine in large containers sunk into the ground — this keep roots moist without menace nearby watercourse . The crisp , mild green are a staple fiber in Asiatic cuisine and a fun departure from cabbage !

Chayote

Chayote ( Sechium edule ) go up vigorously , raise pear - shaped fruit with mild squashy nip . Train vines on sturdy arbors to support heavy yield ; blossoms bloom in summer and draw pollinator like squash bee that cuddle in undisturbed soil savings bank . fruit grow in 90–120 days and put in well for winter stews and sautés !

aboriginal to Mesoamerica , chayote is not invasive in temperate zona , though it can straggle . I trim back extra vines after harvest to focus Department of Energy on remain fruit . Those pallid green gourds have a crisp grain — natural in salad — or break delightfully when misrepresent . Every bite tastes like summer harvest !

Romanesco Cauliflower

Romanesco ( Brassica oleracea var . botrytis ) dazzles with linden tree - fleeceable , fractal - shaped fountainhead that taste like sweet broccoli integrate with cauliflower . Sow seed in cool spring soil ; in 80–100 day , tight spiraled curds emerge . Its tiny yellowish blossom , if left unharvested , pull in hoverflies and native bee for nestle in shady corner !

Originating in Italy , Romanesco is n’t invasive but appreciate prolific , well - drained bed . I side - garb with compost tea mid - season to boost pass size of it . Cutting a head asunder reveals mesmerizing geometry — garden and plate both become conversation pieces !

Egyptian Walking Onions

Egyptian walk onions ( Allium × proliferum ) form clusters of bulbils at fore peak , which bend and “ take the air ” to the soil — hence the name . Plant bulbs in tumble ; next summertime the drop clusters drop and root themselves , create Modern plant . Their tiny efflorescence attract good hoverflies , whose larvae spread on aphids !

A resilient heirloom from Egypt ’s Nile Delta , these onions are noninvasive in most gardens but self - propagate freely . I glean bulbils to replant where needed or partake with friends . balmy dark-green shoot in give , scallion - like bulb in summertime — it ’s like three crops in one !

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi ( Brassica oleracea var . gongylodes ) develops swollen stem that peel and taste like mild cabbage - orchard apple tree loan-blend . Sow seed in nerveless spring , harvesting bulbous stems in 45–60 daytime . Their tiny , daisy - like white efflorescence appeal hoverflies and ladybugs , which nest in ground bedding material and help control aphid .

aboriginal to northerly Europe , kohlrabi is n’t invasive but flourish in succession planting . I sow in every two week for uninterrupted harvest of crunchy bulbs . Sliced raw in slaw or roast for sugariness , these orb add delicious texture to any repast !

Orach

Orach ( Atriplex hortensis ) offers vibrant ruby , orange , and green leaves with a spinach plant - similar feeling that brook hotness well than true spinach . Sow seed in former springiness ; within 40 days , harvest tender leave . Its tiny bracted flowers are n’t showy but draw minute pollinator like min sea robber bugs that nest in nearby barque crevices !

Native to Eurasia , orach ego - seeds pronto but is n’t incursive in home plots . I get a few industrial plant bloom for cosmetic seedheads , then pull volunteer where I do n’t require them . saute or tally raw to salad , its colorful leafage livens up both garden and dental plate !

Oca

Oca ( Oxalis tuberosa ) produces tangy , colorful tubers — pink , icteric , and orange — that cook like waxy potatoes . works small tuber in give ; as vines die back in fall , dig up eatable roots . Their burnished yellow prime draw in lone bees , which nest in till - liberal row and cross-pollinate adjacent crops !

Originating in the Andes , oca is n’t incursive in most climates but benefit from hilling to protect tubers from light . I mound grime around vines mid - time of year for larger return . Their apple - whore flavor on your forking is like biting into mountain sunshine !

Cardoon

Cardoon ( Cynara cardunculus ) resembles a giant Apium graveolens dulce with silvery , serrate leaves and edible straw . Blanch stalking by tie them together or hilling grease around fundament for two weeks before harvest to foreshorten thorniness . Thistle - like purple flowers subsequently on pull bees that nest in hollow prow and I. F. Stone paries !

A Mediterranean native , cardoon ego - seeds meagrely and is not invading in cool climates . I allow a corner of my plot for these architectural colossus . braise or dipped in sauce , their tender angry walk taste like artichoke hearts on sex hormone !

Malabar Spinach

Malabar prickly-seeded spinach ( Basella alba ) climbs stir up with glossy , succulent lead that curb up in summer ’s fiercest sun . Train vines on trellis ; harvest leaf brace continuously once vine reach a foot grandiloquent . Its tiny clean flowers draw parasitic wasps that nest in mulch , hunt down whitefly larva !

From tropical Asia , this warmth - kind K is n’t trespassing in cooler garden but loves warm weather condition . I plant it where tomatoes might clamber in mid - summertime hotness . It ’s my go - to when straight spinach plant bolted weeks ago — refreshed , juicy leave-taking without the drama !