Little Known Vegetables Worth Growing— By I. M. Angell 



SOME GOOD THINGS THAT THE ORDINARY GARDEN DOES NOT HAVE, BUT WHICH ARE EASILY 

 GROWN AND ADD VARIETY TO THE HOME TABLE— SUGGESTIONS FOR COOKING AND SERVING 



Photographs by the author 



New 



York 



THERE never was an amateur gardener 

 who could resist the temptation to ex- 

 periment with some of the odd, unusual vege- 

 tables offered in the catalogues. Among 

 many sorts tried in our own garden there are 

 something less than a dozen kinds that we 

 should wish to have again. We have found 

 the following to be worth adding to our list, 

 in company with the more common vegeta- 

 bles: Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, Edible Podded 



Swiss chard, a sort of beet of which the leaves are 

 eaten as asparagus. Gives continuous crops 



Peas, Black Mexican Corn, Large Yellow 

 Tomatoes, Lemon Cucumber and Edible 

 Cow Pea. These are seldom seen in small 

 gardens, at least in our section of the country, 

 but they possess many good points that make 

 them suitable for such use. 



SWISS CHARD 



Chard is so much liked by two members 

 of our family that if it does not appear on the 

 table at frequent intervals there are inquiries 

 as to the cause. This is one of the good 

 things for a small garden, because it combines 

 two kinds of vegetables in one — the young 

 leaves to use as greens and the stalks to cook 

 like asparagus. A well-known cook book 

 asserts that chard "makes one of the most 

 delicate and delicious of dishes." 



There are several points in its favor — it can 

 be planted very early because of its hardiness ; 

 the young leaves will be of suitable size for 

 greens in about two months from sowing; 

 from the time it is eight inches high until full 

 size it is in usable condition for one dish or 

 the other. The plants may be left to stand 

 in the garden all summer, to be used as 

 wanted, but, as they have a tendency to 

 become tough as the season advances, the 

 wisest way is to sow for early use only, and 

 clear off the ground for some latter planting 

 when they have lost their tenderness. We 

 have found chard useful as a fall-planted 

 vegetable. Some sowed at the end of October 

 showed considerable gain on the April ist 

 planting; the latter gave us greens June 9th 

 and fair-sized stalks about ten days later. 

 The plant in the photograph measured two 

 feet. Although pulled after the middle of 

 August it retained its tenderness, and was so 

 brittle that the stalks broke in the handling. 

 Chard demands the same cultivation as do 



beets, except that it is not necessary to dig the 

 ground so deeply. Seeds can be sown in 

 April or May in rows a half yard apart and 

 the plants thinned to a foot apart. A good 

 supply of water and occasional cultivation 

 are recommended by the seedsmen. The 

 outer leaves should be cut from the plant, 

 which will continue to produce throughout 

 the season. 



In cooking, the chard leaves and stalks can 

 be used either separately or together. One 

 rule directs that the young and tender leaves 

 and midribs be made into bundles and boiled 

 and treated like asparagus on toast, then 

 served with Hollandaise sauce or English 

 drawn butter. Even with older stalks we 

 have had success when carefully cooked. 

 We cut them into inch lengths, then put them 

 into boiling water with a little vinegar; after 

 a few minutes we changed to fresh boiling 

 water containing a pinch of baking soda. 

 When cooked till very tender, properly salted 

 and covered with thick cream sauce, this dish 

 makes an acceptable addition to the bill of 

 fare. 



KOHLRABI 



Kohlrabi is another vegetable with good 

 points to recommend it for the small garden. 

 This is one of the best vegetables for any 

 family that likes the turnip-flavored tribe. 



One way of preparing Swiss chard for cooKing. Old 

 leaves are chopped, young ones are cooKed whole 



It is a cabbage-cauliflower-turnip combina- 

 tion. The stem-bulbs mature successively 

 during a period of about a month, an advan- 

 tage over a crop that ripens all at once. One 

 of its valuable qualities is that it can be used 

 in June, when so few vegetables are in bearing. 

 Our April ist sowing was ready the third 

 week in June. It is a remarkably clean and 

 healthy plant, and free from disease so far 

 as our experience goes. It is economical of 

 space; enough to make a good dishful can be 

 gathered from a yard of row, which cannot 

 be said of many of our vegetables. It is 

 remarkably hardy, and is well fitted for extra 

 early sowing or midsummer sowing for fall 

 use, on account of its ability to endure the 

 cold. On the other hand it stands a drought 

 well. None need be wasted, for if not all 

 used for the table it is valuable for feeding 

 horses or cows. Our row was about thirty 

 feet long and every seed must have ger- 

 • 20 



minated, for, beside the plants left to mature, 

 we had seventy-two for transplanting as well 

 as several dozen to give to a neighbor. These 

 latter flourished in spite of being set out in a 

 very dry time, and were ready for use in about 

 a month after transplanting. They should 

 always be pulled young, for they are much 

 more sweet and tender than when they reach 

 full size. Our investment gave good returns: 

 we used only a fraction of a five-cent package 

 of seed, yet the yield was nearly a hundred 

 fair, sound bulbs. Kohlrabi is a good suc- 

 cession vegetable, and for this it can be sowed 

 every two weeks from May ist. to July ist. . 

 The plants should be thinned to stand several 

 inches apart and should be cultivated in the 

 same way as cabbage. They are good, 

 cooked in any of the ways that turnips are 

 used, or sliced and eaten raw like radishes. 

 Our favorite rule is to peel and cut them into 

 half-inch dice, boil thirty minutes in salted 

 boiling water and cover with thick cream 



sauce. 



EDIBLE PODDED PEAS 



Edible podded peas, cut in short pieces and 

 cooked according to the rule given for kohl- 

 rabi, make another good dish. The flavor 

 is like both peas and asparagus. Cultivation 

 is the same as for common peas and the vines 

 are identical in appearance. The pods 

 should be picked when the peas are just 

 beginning to form, never left on the vines till 

 tough and yellow. Their season is short; as 

 they all mature in two or three weeks and are 

 too old to use, it is best not to sow too many 

 at a time. Our April 22d planting was ready 

 for use on June 20th and past its usefulness 

 by the Fourth of July. 



LARGE YELLOW TOMATOES 



Large yellow tomatoes, stewed, sliced or 

 canned, we have never seen on any table but 

 our own, neither have we seen them in the 

 stores. This state of things we do not under- 

 stand, for they are so satisfactory that we do 

 not consider our garden complete without 

 them. They make a very attractive dish 

 sliced with the red ones. For stewing they 

 are as good as the common tomatoes. Doubt- 



Shelled and unshelled edible cow-peas. Growing they 

 look liKe beans. CooKed their flavor is intermediate 



