T. Eric Nightingale returns this week to report on his recent search for uncommon fruits and vegetables.
The time has finally come to start planning for summer crops. Looking over my seed packets, I feel an unexpected bout of restlessness. I still love my old favorites and always feel a flush of glee when harvesting a richly orange carrot or dirty red beet. This year, however, I feel a distinct urge to grow something different, something new. To be honest, something weird.
If you do an online search for uncommon fruits and vegetables, you will be rewarded with a wealth of options, accompanied by intriguing photos. However, many of these plants are not suited to Napa Valley's climate, require significant space to grow, or are simply unattainable. Many things do grow well in the valley, though, and I have chosen a few unique plants that I intend to try this year.
At the top of my list is dragonfruit. Also called pitahaya, this fruit grows from a thin, angular, climbing cactus. It is quite a sight to see these plants wrapped around a large tree, spanning and hanging from its limbs. For lovers of succulents, it is simply beautiful.
Dragonfruit can be found in sweet and sour varieties. Ovular and covered in spikes, the fruit can be pink, red, yellow or white. The plants themselves are perfect for Napa Valley, as they prefer hot, dry climates. Some are self-pollinating, but others require the presence of a second plant, so be sure to ask at your nursery when you purchase one.
Interestingly, dragonfruit blooms at night, relying on bats and moths for pollination. I recommend trying to sneak out and catch the bloom, if you can, as they are quite attractive. Any time of day pitahaya is a striking, delicious addition to any garden.
I was surprised to learn that there is a species of honeysuckle that produces edible berries. Lonicera caerulea, the honeyberry, produces bluish berries that are often somewhat square in shape. Eaten raw, they have a tart yet sweet flavor and are also good in jams and pies. Although the fruit resembles misshapen blueberries, the honeyberry is actually hardier and easier to care for. Having two varieties of this shrub is a necessity, however, or they will not bear fruit.
Honeyberry produces best in regions with cold winters, and we are just on the edge of its ideal zone. The plant is rumored to be adaptable and I find it intriguing, so I believe it is worth a try.
The vegetable I'm most excited to try this year is the cucamelon, also called "mouse melon" due to its diminutive size. It appears to be a miniaturized watermelon but is actually a type of cucumber. Cucamelons have a tart or sour flavor and are said to be a tasty addition to many recipes. Like other cucumbers, they grow as a vine and will sprawl across your garden if you let them. Interestingly, they grow tuberous roots that can be dug up and stored for replanting the following year.
Another cucumber that has been on my radar for some time is luffa. Plants in the Luffa genus are multipurpose, a trait I always appreciate in my vegetables. The young squash can be harvested and eaten as you would a cucumber. As they mature, these vegetables dry out, often dropping much of their skin and seeds. Left behind, hanging on the vine, is a dense skeleton of fibrous material. Further cleaned of excess material, luffa can be used as a sponge in the kitchen or bath. If you already have all of the luffa you can eat or clean with, the flowers are said to be quite tasty as well.
If you are looking to add some oddball pizzazz to your vegetable garden or have a prankish sense of humor, there is a perfect vegetable for you. Scorpirius muracatus, the prickly caterpillar bean, is possibly the strangest looking legume I've ever seen. These beans are spiral-shaped, thorny and lined with bright purple stripes. They are technically edible but are better used to surprise an unsuspecting dinner guest.
I appreciate fruits and vegetables such as these because they remind me that growing food does not have to be a utilitarian exercise. There is room in the garden for laughter, wonder and sometimes even a little experimentation.
WORKSHOP. UC Master Gardeners of Napa County will hold a workshop on “Add Zest with Citrus!” on Saturday, March 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at University of California Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Beautiful, fragrant, and delicious, citrus fits readily into every edible and ornamental landscape. Fresh citrus is a great grab-and-go healthy snack or it can kick up flavor in marinades for barbecues, add a zesty punch to salad dressings and brighten homemade smoothies and cocktails. Come to this workshop to explore the wide variety of citrus, including the unusual, for almost every month of the year. If you are looking to learn how to successfully grow citrus in Napa County, this workshop fits the bill. Online registration (credit card only).
Mail-in/Walk-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
- Posted by: Yvonne Rasmussen
- Author: Denise Seghesio Levine
Every year, I try to grow something I have not grown before. Loofahs were my experiment this year.
Some people mistakenly think that these scratchy, buff-colored scrubbers are a cousin to sea sponges. Often found in natural food stores and spas, loofahs are actually a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, along with squashes, cucumbers, melons and gourds. “Sponge gourd” is a common name for loofah (also spelled luffa).
Six species of loofah have traditionally been used for food and sponges. Although all species have edible blossoms and fruit that is edible when immature, before it becomes fibrous, only two species are generally cultivated. Luffa acutangula, sometimes called Chinese okra and occasionally seen on Asian menus, is long and ridged.
For the table, it is harvested young, like a summer squash. Maybe next year I will try that one.
But this year, I grew Luffa aegyptiaca, the sponge loofah, because the seed packet intrigued me. It showed a beautiful green vine with small, shiny, dangling melon-like fruits. An image of the harvested loofahs made them look like they would easily fit in your hand, just the right size for scrubbing dishes. Visions of homegrown loofahs tied with bright bows for holiday gifts filled my imagination.
The size of the seeds should have given me a clue. They were shiny and dark, like extra-large watermelon seeds. For one of the loofahs growing in my garden to fit in my hand, I will have to cut it into five pieces.
Loofahs need a long growing season, so I started the seed in April. I soaked the seeds for a day, then planted them in small pots rather than directly in the ground as I knew these heat-loving plants would need a jumpstart. I watered them every few days to keep the seedling mix moist but not soaking wet.
When the first true leaves appeared, it was time to transplant. I took care to be gentle. Although the plants are still small, their roots can be up to six inches long and do not like being disturbed.
In early May, I chose a spot in the garden that got full sun and worked compost into the soil there. I erected a tall wire cage and planted the seedlings about a foot apart all around the cage. I mulched with compost and installed drip emitters. I protected the seedlings from slugs and birds until they were established, but after that, the plants were relatively pest-free.
Loofahs grow quickly into rambling vines with rapidly developing leaves and tendrils. Large, bright yellow blossoms soon appear. Our garden pastime this year was watching the shiny black bumblebees and carpenter bees diving into the golden pollen in the center of the abundant loofah flowers. With so much pollinating activity, we were surprised that it took so long to finally see a baby loofah.
That first loofah quickly grew to resemble a long cucumber. The surprise was that, unlike a firm cucumber, this fruit was squishy and soft.
Like their cucurbit relatives, loofahs are annuals. They perform much better supported by high trellises or cages than sprawled on the ground. Trellising keeps them cleaner and away from some pests, and the loofahs grow straighter than they do without a trellis.
Over the next few months, my loofah vines continued to fill in and flower abundantly, attracting more and different bees, wasps and flies. But it took a long time before more fruit appeared. Just a few weeks ago, we started noticing more “babies.”
Now that the weather is turning, we have several mature loofahs, a good selection of probably harvestable sponges, and a bunch of babies that are clearly not going to mature before the season ends. Maybe we will cook a few of those.
Loofahs are harvested when the peel is easy to remove from the spongy skeletal fibers beneath. Pick them when they start to feel light and turn from green to tan or yellow. The skin should feel loose and thin and peel off easily. Shake out the seeds. Leave sponges whole, or cut them smaller. If you harvest them before the autumn rains arrive, they will be a lighter and more regular color. Rain can darken and discolor them.
I plan to grow loofahs again next year, but for now, I am looking forward to peeling the skin from this year’s fruits and revealing the sponge within.
