Less familiar vegetables are attracting lots of interest but don't overlook the proven performers, says Gillian Vine.
Organisers of last month's Dunedin Horticultural Society show were pleased with public interest in the show, which they felt was partly because of the line-up of vegetables.
Exhibitors came up with potatoes and rhubarb aplenty, as well as pickles and jams made from gardeners' surplus produce, and a display of one variety of carrot (Senior) demonstrated how various results were achieved in different areas.
All the carrots were good but those from the Taieri were most impressive.
An attractive presentation by the Dunedin Vegetable Growers Group also aimed to show people what could be grown in much of Otago.
Many of the vegetables the group exhibited were rather unfamiliar, such as white, yellow and purple carrots as well as the common orange; three types of kale; round, long and curly courgettes; a tray of microgreens; and numerous beans, including seed of the little-known tick bean which can be eaten fresh but is more often dried for winter use.
A seed head of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) caught the eye.
This South American grain is related to spinach and has been cultivated in the Andes region for at least 4000 years.
Being gluten-free, it is becoming increasingly popular and like the related pasture weed fat hen (C. album), grows easily.
New to me was caigua (pronounced kai-wa), which looked like a large gherkin or small cucumber.
In fact, caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) belongs to the same family, Cucurbitaceae, and like the cucumber, is a tender annual vine.
This South American plant has been cultivated for so long in an area from Colombia to Bolivia that scientists say it no longer exists in the wild.
The fruit can be eaten raw in salads like cucumber, pickled like gherkins or the seed cavity stuffed the way our grannies did with marrows.
Tender shoots and leaves can also be eaten.
Plants are grown from seed sown in spring and planted out after frosts are over.
They need lots of space, as a vine can grow 5m tall, although some gardeners report success with letting them sprawl over the ground, it is not an option for those with limited space.
At the other end of the scale are the microgreens, eaten when the first true leaves appear on the tiny plants.
The beauty of these tiny vegetables is that most can be grown at any time of the year, although basil and amaranth are more suited to cultivating in summer.
The range available from specialist seed companies continues to increase with sharper or milder vegetables to suit all tastes.
Microgreens are sown in shallow containers and some (peas, radishes) can be cut a week after sowing, although some such as beetroot, rocket and celery will take two weeks or more.
The little plants are cut with scissors and - except for a few, including wheat grass and pea shoots - are then discarded, as they do not regenerate.
As autumn advances and the pressure is on to find vegetables for the cold months, microgreens are a quick, healthy choice.
Also suitable for sowing now are kohl rabi, daikon, black Spanish radish, spinach and kale, especially Red Russian.
Crops may not be as good as those sown in spring but it is worth the effort.
At the same time, forward-looking gardeners will be preparing ground for broad beans, which should be sown by Anzac Day.
They will come to a standstill over winter, then spring forward when the ground warms, a reminder that autumn gardening effort pays off with earlier crops.
