Garden Variety: Lazy man's vegetable gardening - Mid-Atlantic gardening: Tips and pictures on flowers, vegetables, public gardens, composting and farmers’ markets

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Maryann James posts on vegetable gardening every Tuesday.

oca harvest As my summer garden languishes, Susan is nudging me to look forward and ahead to fall. "Supplies for fall planting are coming in at Valley View Farms," she said encouragingly yesterday. "I think you should try it!"

(Methinks she has ulterior motives. But I'm a glutton for punishment. It's also quite easy to convince me to do nearly anything -- and I do love garlic -- so I likely will.)

Meanwhile, one of my friends, who was in on the conversation, mentioned a post she'd recently read on perennial vegetables. Instead of planting new things every spring, you just plant once, and reap the harvest year after year.

I investigated further. Kevin Kelly at Cool Tools mentions a book by Eric Toensmeier on the subject (aptly titled "Perennial Vegetables"), and also shares some of the highlights:

+ Malabar spinach, a climbing plant that is as beautiful as it is tasty;
+ Saltbrush, which Kelly says tastes like "pretzels in a shrub";
+ Fiddleheads -- put your ferns to use in the spring by harvesting the shoots;
+ and my personal favorite, Oca (pictured), a type of potato that Kelly swears tastes like a sweet and tart candy when raw, and like a potato with sour cream when baked.

From preliminary research, I'm not so sure about the likelihood of growing saltbrush in Maryland. I can't see why not, but I won't say yes until I get a definitive answer. But Malabar spinach, especially the red-leaf variety, seems like a welcome change for bored gardeners. (The UMD extension recommends planting in July, I assume because the plant thrives in warmer climates.)

Ostrich ferns are also a good option for springtime fiddleheads, though I'm skeptical after reading gardener Jessica Damiano's culinary foray into fiddlehead territory.

As for Oca? If they can grow in England, they can be grown here. Seriously though -- it's doable, in containers and in garden plots, though it seems they do better in open land. If you're interested, the master gardeners from the University of California extension have an interesting blow-by-blow of their Oca experiment. Anyone interested in trying it on the East Coast?

(Photo by yummyporky @ Flickr)