parsnips - still waiting on them

radishes - like the purple globe type, not as crazy about the white, carrot shaped ones

cauliflower - took up a huge amount of space, and I got one tiny head about the size of my fist

summer savory - really like the flavor, a cross between oregano and marjoram

winter savory - didn't get to taste any. The grasshoppers mowed most of it down. There is one tiny sprout left, but not sure it will survive.

chamomile - I was hoping to make some tea, but I only got about a tablespoon full of flowers. I'll probably try again, but plant a larger quantity of it.

okra - died

beets - leaf miner magnet. Didn't really get to eat any of them.

lime basil - I love this one! The smell is way better than the lemon, more subtle and tropical smelling. Great in fish and chicken dishes. Wondering what a lime basil pesto might taste like ... hmmmmm.

beans - tried several new to me kinds. Grasshoppers have eaten all but 3 or 4 plants.

The most pleasant surprise of all so far this year, wasn't something I grew from seed. I went by a local organic nursery/orchard to try to find a few more peppers to fill up some of the empty space at my community garden plot. All she had were hot peppers, but then she suggested I try a ground cherry plant. I had never even heard of it. It looks like a miniature tomatillo with the paper husks, but has a sweet, tropical flavor. Well, we've eaten three handfulls so far, and the kids and I love them. I went back today and got a couple more plants, and she threw in two more for free, since it's so late in the season. I'm hoping to get enough to make some jam, but at the rate we're eating them, there may not be enough!

Trying lots of new peppers and tomatoes, but most aren't ripe yet, so can't really say which is my favorite yet.

How about you guys? Discovered anything really cool this year?

Bonnie

Dan

I had to look up that Agastache 'Coronado Red', since I wasn't familiar with that one. The pictures I found looked more pink than red to me though. How does it look in person? I have 'Apache Sunset' and 'Apricot Sprite'. The 'Apricot Sprite' is new to me this year. 'Apache Sunset' is more of a peachy color, but the 'Apricot Sprite' is a brighter orange, which I really like. There is a big height difference too. 'Apache Sunset' is 3'+, and 'Apricot Sprite' is about 18". How tall is 'Coronado Red'?

I'm trying 'Tequila Sunrise' this year too, and the plant is loaded with peppers, but they are all still green. Have yours ripened yet? With a name like 'Volcano', I'm guessing that one is too hot for my family!

Bonnie

'Tequila Sunrise' has very nice bright orange peppers - very visible and attractive. 'Coronado Red' isn't a red red, but much more red than pink - not sure ultimately how tall it gets but right now about knee-high (~18"). The 'Volcano' is too hot for the MIL but the BH can take it, for me it is medium-hot, but I like hot (2 vars each of habañeros and jalapeños this year).

We have Agastache x. 'Sonoran Sunset' and that thing might be a bit too big, as I have two that I prune out whole sections to give room, all our others are well-behaved and smaller.

Dan

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/11821/

And an observation on that old favorite Salvia "May Night"

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/84780/

This year, I didn't prune it back after the first flush of flowers, and left it sprawling out. It has bloomed all summer, new shoots coming from the horizontal stems, and now from the center again. They must be 4 foot in diameter. Planted in a hot, watered deeply every few weeks, well-composted spot.

Tomatoes- Has been another tough year. My surprises so far has been Amazon Chocolate and Heinz 1439. AC has produced several all ready and has stood up well. 1439 is loaded with 4-6 oz fruits. Will taste it shortly. For sure will be a nice canner and salsa type. And several say it has a good taste. Jay
Jay

Early season veggies weren't any different than in 'o8 except I certainly want to encourage people to try shallots from seed. Germination and growth was real good with Prisma last year and replanting as sets worked just fine. I think that there were only 4 that bolted to seed. The remainder grew and divided like normal shallots and are just real nice.

By August, I knew that the Fushimi peppers were a winner! I hardly know how to compare these nice little sweet peppers. They may be like Jimmy Nardello's which I've not tried or Peperoncino's which I've only had pickled, like most folks. Whatever the case, Fushimi never gets hot even at red maturity. Young, green, and tender - they are just great!

Here's something that I can comment on but I don't know how you can take advantage of my observations in the tomato patch. Rainy's Maltese is a real find!

These pink slicers were the 1st of beefsteak size in my garden. The plants are fairly small but productive and the tomatoes are good size, don't crack, with a real nice, mild flavor. I'm certain that seed will be commercially available soon . . . .

A google search turns up some discussion about the variety in Australian forums. I'm not sure how they got to the US of A but I'm real happy that they came my way.

They remind me a little of Pruden's Purple because of the color and flavor but the Maltese is soooo much earlier! I've had these for about 3 weeks now and with Pruden's, I bet I'd still be waiting for a ripe tomato.

All in all, I'm beginning to feel real good about early Mediterranean heirloom tomatoes. "Early" would be the key but if anyone is traveling to the Mediterranean the end of June, say, and they can find some vine-ripened maters . . . be sure to dribble the juice and a few seeds on your shirt so you can escape thru customs and bring those varieties back to the US. Maltese and Thessaloniki (which are just ripening) are sure working out well in my garden.

Steve

one of the smaller (& not fully ripe) Maltese:

Sungold cherry tomato - addictive, almost tropical flavor.
Cherokee Purple tomato - worth all the hype, and then some!
Fresno Chile - fabulous, sweet flavor when sauteed.
Cornell Bush Delicata - so productive, and super tasty!

Waiting to find out if the Honey Bear acorn squash lives up to its name...

flower - Rudbeckia Maya
tomato - Snow White

I also get warm fuzzies from my dahlias (how did I live without the dinner plates??), but the Maya makes my yard sparkle;))

Xaroline, I'm amazed that you had any growth outdoors from your climbing spinach there in zone 3 . . . Malabar, right? It does taste something like beet greens. But, boy does this one appreciate warmth! I can grow Malabar spinach just fine in my hoop house but the plastic had better stay on until July.

Generator, walking onions are "mild" ?! I guess that I was mostly using them in the early spring when nothing else is growing. Have you had the top-sets? Along with the chives, walking onions are great to have early but they really need some gentle sauteing to bring down some of the liveliness.

. . . . just my 2¢ ♪♫☼

Steve

Ian