Gardening: Try Vegetables from Foreign Lands

Not long ago it was difficult to find seeds of many of these vegetables but now they are often in a special section on seed racks or listed together in some mail-order seed catalogs. If you are particularly fond of Oriental goods, garden fresh vegetables will provide a special taste and quality often lost during processing. Some of these vegetables are cool season plants, producing best if planted in early spring or again in summer for a fall crop.

Chinese cabbage has become more popular with the introduction of some varieties and types that mature quickly. Pak Choi is grown for its stalks, although the leaves may also be cooked like spinach. It matures about 45 days from seeding. The type which forms heads and are not easily recognized as Chinese cabbage but take much longer to mature. They must be planted quite early or used as a fall crop. Michili is the best known variety of this type. Not all vegetables listed are new and we may know them under different names.

Chinese parsley is the herb we know as coriander. Seeds may be used in cakes, sausage and many other ways, but the chopped leaves also have use in the cooking of many countries. It is an annual that needs yearly sowing in early spring. The bitter melon is a vine crop less suited to American tastes. The vine may be parboiled to be made more edible. Fruits are warty on the surface. It is also called bitter gourd or balsam melon.

Tampala is an amaranth, a close relatives of our native pigweeds. The young leaves may be used as spinach, either raw or cooked. It is easy to grow and young leaves may be picked well into the summer. Oriental eggplant has become fairly popular with the introduction of smaller fruited varieties, often quite elongated. They are small-seeded and tender. While we normally consider the white fruit of Chinese eggplant as an ornamental or novelty garden vegetable it is also good for pickling or frying.

Chinese okra is another plant we know for a different use. This is the luffa or sponge gourd used for its fibrous core when the fruit mature. However, the small immature fruit at the size of okra may be fried or used in other ways similar to squash. If using the ridged type, the ridges should be pared off before cooking. The plant is a vigorous vine and should be given four to five foot spacing. The mild nutty flavor of soybeans may also make an interesting treat for gardeners who have not tried them.

They may be eaten green or as dried beans. They shell easily if pods are boiled for several minutes before shelling. Most varieties will require plenty of space since they grow about two feet tall, and often about equally wide. The vegetables from other lands to consider may depend on individual tastes but some others to try include Fava beans, fuzzy gourd, Garland Chrysanthemum (also called Chopsuey green), cape gooseberry (ground cherry), asparagus pea (winged bean), tomatillo and many more depending on availability and your desire for something different in the garden or on the table.

Oriental Vegetables, by Joy Larkcom.