Ivy Gourd:
Every year some member or other will ask why we don’t grow Tindora or Ivy Gourd in the farm. The simple answer to that question has always been the inability to buy seeds. When I set out to research growing this plant which is lovingly referred to as a “crunchtable” by my daughter, I learned that it is best propagated from root cuttings.
As far as I knew, back home in India, Ivy gourd is a plant much relished by goats and cows that graze along the fencing where these creepers grow wild. Little did I know that a different variety of this plant is a tasty vegetable.
A few weeks ago, Srilatha our workshare member gave me the root cuttings for this plant that she has gotten from her friend, and we planted it near a trellis, and it caught roots. Couple of days ago we even harvested a few vegetables.
Keeping our fingers crossed for propagating the plant next year. I am looking for some sturdy stems to propagate.
Dragon Tongue Beans:
I have had a change of heart with lots of vegetables that I had written off as blah tasting and something that I occasionally bought - well this was before I started growing them in the farm. There is absolutely no blah tasting vegetable when it is harvested at the right time and eaten fresh. Green Beans and Zucchini fell into this category. I absolutely relish them now.
When I was looking for green bean seeds, I bought dragon tongue seeds because of the name not realizing that they are not going to look like green beans but this vibrant purplish white, green and sometimes orange in color.
The first time I grew them a couple of years ago I was surprised to see how pretty they looked. This is a bush bean and is closely related to the shelling bean family and when fully mature they can shelled and the beans used like a la kidney bean.
When harvested tender they are very similar to green beans and can be used in all of the recipes that call for green beans. This is predominantly why I grow these beans, to be eaten when tender. You will be surprised at how good they taste.
Have a good rest of the week and see you all next week.