So Far, Basil - Chinese, Thai, Spicy Bush, Sweet Globe + Genovese Bay Laurel Chamomile Cilantro - Delfino Dill Methi ( Fenugreek ) Rosemary Savory, Summer Tarragon Wormwood Celery - Cutting + Golden Self Blanching Parsley Leaf - Flat Leaved + Moss Curled Parsley Root - Fakir Beets - Detroit, Golden + Winter Keeper Chard - Bright Lights + Rhubarb Spinach - Emu, Space + Tyee Endive - Totem Favas ( Broad Bean ) - Windsor Lettuce - Crispino, New Red Fire, Red Velvet + Winter Density Peas - Snow Sweet Chives - NOID Garlic - Asian Tempest, Shandong, Inchelium Red, Music Pink ( and Garlic greens from local grocery ) Leeks - American Flag Onions - Candy, Deep Purple + Ishikura Improved Horseradish Jerusalem Artichokes Salsify Broccoli - Early Dividend, Major + Packman Cabbage - Alcosa + Red Acre Cabbage Asian - Canton Short, Lettucy Type, Minuet + Tropical Pride ( which has already been attacked :-( ! ) Collards - Flash Kholrabi - White Winner Parsnip - Harris Model Radish - Easter Egg Rutabaga - Laurentian Bitter Melon - NOID + Comet Eggplant - Dusky, Ichiban + Pingtung Long Peppers - Dorset Naga, Chocolate Habanero Cayenne Long, Golden Cayenne, Purple Cayenne and Serrano Del Sol, Cal Wonder, Gypsy, Holy Mole, Kaleidoscope + Volcano Tomatoes - Sungold, Sun Sugar, R.C. Mort. Lifter, Opalka Dona and San Marzano Lampadina Four O'Clocks ( Mirabilis ) Nasturtium - Empress of India + Peach Melba

guavalane Thank You. I want all the info I can get. Does your friend buy seeds and if so what varieties and where does he buy the seeds. etc. why higher ? How big are these. You are in a great warm long grow region. I am zone 5 and must plan carefully. So I am interested in what comes quickly and what takes a long time. I can probably do with plants to about 105 days as some pumpkins are 105. not sure on the maximum but it probably depends on the temperature. Right now it is cold here. high of the day below or near 50. just to give an idea. But of course all information is eagerly sought. how is the eating quality difference between winter melon and fuzzy gourd. I had a oriental melon gourd that I liked. It was pretty good. it grew sort of like a square long melon. the melon had 4 creases running the length that caused it to have a sort of square cross section. the crease was indented along the length. the melon was nice in soup. It might have been a winter melon but no white on the melon skin and it was ready very early. The skin was tough so it was easy to cook. I could put it into a microwave and after it was cooked the skin would come off in one piece instead of falling apart. I just grab the skin and pull it off. well more or less. worked great. the "melon" was nice and firm. light color. sort of clear when cooked. moisture came out of it. the moisture with the seeds was a little more sweet. but this was for cooking not for raw eating. Does anyone have any idea what it might have been. what kind of oriental melon or gourd. I saved some seed but then the seeds might be crossed with all the other stuff grown there. Mostly I want to know what it is so I can buy some good seed that is properly correct and not some half wild cross.

i'm from the UK and am also new to growing chinese veg. i am currently growing for the first time MIZUNA, PAK CHOI, KAI LAN & PERILLA. The latter is a japanese herb, sometimes called japanese basil and is used in salads and pickles (i hope that is right). All these seeds germinated very easily and i've not had any probs growing these (they were sown indoors first and then put out in my greenhouse and now they're in my raised bed). the former are cropping very nicely and as MIZUNA leaves are cut n' come again, i've harvested 2 big bunches already from each plant.. i can only answer one of your questions and that is winter melon. this is a trailing plant that my mother used to grow in very big pots and they had v long stems that trailed all over her garden. she watered and fed them very regularly and she was pleasingly rewarded with the most ginormous fruits. i think they're called winter melon, as they were fairly hairy to touch, but inside was like spaghetti in the middle and zillions of seeds. there is an excellent book by an English writer, Joy Larkhom who wrote 'Oriental vegetables'. there's a US version of it available i believe. good luck!

Different varieties have differing degrees of bitterness. Of those that I have grown, the larger, thicker varieties (with smooth warts) were the least bitter, and are the type that I prefer. These were mostly Chinese varieties, such as "Taiwan Large". The Japanese variety "Abashi" is also smooth warted & mild. Those with pointed warts & thinner flesh were more bitter; a friend uses them for pickling. "Taiwan" and "Ant" were two of them, both small-fruited. You can reduce the bitterness by cutting into pieces after cleaning, and salting the pieces (this leeches out some of the bitterness) and/or by par-boiling the pieces before using them. Keeping the vines well watered also reduces the bitterness somewhat. Bitter melon should be used immature, before the fruit begins to ripen. Once ripe, the red jelly-like flesh that surrounds the seeds is sweet & edible; if dried, it can be added to rice to color it during cooking. The seeds themselves should not be eaten. Some of our Filipino friends eat the vine tips & young leaves as a vegetable, but they are far too bitter for my taste. The wife likes bitter melon, and as mentioned above, it helps to lower blood sugar. I've tried to grow enough to parboil & freeze for winter use, but she generally gives most of it away to friends (it surprises me that so many are interested!) She generally uses bitter melon in soups; our favorite is an egg soup with bitter melon, tomato, and chicken. Some of our Filipino friends add it to "pinakbet", a thick stew with eggplant, winter squash, lima beans, chayote squash, and pretty much whatever fresh vegetable is on hand. Even with the best variety & treatment to reduce bitterness, however, the taste is not for everyone.