Growing your own - is it worth it?

[Anna]

Well I grow my runners up poles which are arranged in a square which is braced pole to pole at the top for strength - that way the top is open to sun, rain, and bees! Also it makes for easier picking as wigwams bunch them up too much.

I should say I do grow them every year but quite near to the house which provides some wind protection, last year White Lady, years before Enorma or S. Emperor, and always had a very good crop. I think I'll try a few on the newly cleared very windy area, securely staked, and pinch them out quite early - they won't be the main ones so if they get blown away across the Bristol Channel ..... c'est la vie
I've tried dwarf French but found them very disappointing in flavour and not a good crop for the trouble. Runners are my most favourite summer veg, I could eat them every day!

[gradus]

Anyone else tried the old fashioned way of crossing the poles low down rather than at or near the top so that the beans hang free and are easier to pick? I find it works well.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Anyone else tried the old fashioned way of crossing the poles low down rather than at or near the top so that the beans hang free and are easier to pick? I find it works well.

Good idea.

[doversoul1]

I have started eating my own lettuce. Admittedly, it’s grown in the greenhouse and only a floppy green variety. All the same, it tastes so much nicer that those little gems out of a cellophane packet.

Now that the weather looks to be a little warmer, I’ll bring out the bean plants from the greenhouse to harden off and plant out in a few days’ time. More digging to do.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have started eating my own lettuce. Admittedly, it’s grown in the greenhouse and only a floppy green variety. All the same, it tastes so much nicer that those little gems out of a cellophane packet.

Yes! That's the answer to the question posed in the Thread title, isn't it? When it works, the rewards are immeasurable.

It occurs to me - does anyone know if there's been any research investigating if there is any correlation between nutritional content and "flavour"? (ie does the more intense flavour of fruit and veg straight from the garden reflect any greater presence of vitamin/mineral/fibre content?)

[umslopogaas]

I ought to be able to answer that question (380) with more authority than I actually possess, because, being retired, I no longer have access to the technical info, but a few thoughts. "Flavour" is the result of a complex mixture of plant chemicals. These include those that are actually nutritious, such as sugars and proteins, which have a taste, but maybe not a strong one. They also include those that are not primarily nutritious, but are produced by the plant as by products of its chemical processes (secondary metabolites), possibly specifically to make it taste nasty so we wont eat it. A lot of plant breeding effort has gone in to reducing levels of nasty tasting metabolites, resulting in the varieties we currently use. Too much and things taste nasty, too little and they taste bland. So, generally speaking, no, the nutritional content of food plants depends primarily on their sugar and protein content. The flavour depends primarily on secondary metabolite content. These two are not linked. Secondarily, sugars and proteins do have a flavour, and secondary metabolites may have a very small nutritional value.

Minerals and fibre are not really part of the story, since all plants, wild or cultivated, need similar levels of those.

If you ate the wild ancestors of our cultivated plants, you would probably find they had a much more intense flavour, probably very unpleasant, and wouldnt do much to satisfy your hunger.

[gurnemanz]

I can imagine that at some stage I might stop growing vegetables, but can't imagine living without a herb garden.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Many thanks, umslopogaas.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

At the risk of setting Ferney off again with my asparagus, this is what I had to allow to happen to ensure good crops in further years:-

[umslopogaas]

EA, its looking good, and a lot more vigorous than mine. I have just had to buy several replacements for plants that didnt survive the winter. But I shall persevere, once its matured you've got asparagus more or less for ever.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Just when the nightmares had finally stopped!

To be serious, Alpie - what did you do with the spears in the photograph? Do you let them grow and die and cut them back - I presume that you didn't eat the spears in the first year?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

They're still growing now and will be allowed to go to seed and cut down in the autumn. Hopefully, there'll be a feast in 2016.

[vinteuil]

But I shall persevere, once its matured you've got asparagus more or less for ever.

... yes - but not enough

[MrGongGong]

... yes - but not enough

There's never enough
BUT its something to look forward to

[umslopogaas]

Next year, next year, that has been the cri de coeur ever since I bought this place, next year there will be asparagus. Meanwhile, I will just go on satisfying my cravings with regular visits to Morrisons.