DG, how do you like the FL Cranberry? I'd never heard of it until the other day. What does it taste like?

Does okra count? I also have some black eyed peas & a volunteer winter squash that I've been growing for years now.

FWIW, I've grown roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa) in the past. 1 plant got enormous & provided me w/ many, many calyxes that I used in fruit dishes, mostly. Lovely flowery flavor & quite tangy. It's the same that is used for hibiscus tea & Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea. I found the cooked texture on par w/ rhubarb, but somewhat less tart & IMO, better tasting.

Oh, Jamaican sorrel. I'd never heard of it being called FL cranberry. Don't care for the taste myself, but I've mostly had it as a tea. It's terribly bitter, IMHO, although I believe it's very good for you.

oldmangroot, it doesn't taste like cranberry, unless you count that it's very sour. I use mine to make Jamaican ginger wine. Not really a wine, but you can add rum to it to make it alcoholic. I don't usually add it, just make the drink.

How do you make your ginger wine, DG? The recipes I know are fermented, so alcoholic.

Huh! Interesting! Thanks!

writersblock, this is the recipe I use. I just don't put any alcohol in it. I dilute it with ginger ale right before I drink it. Gives it a little kick.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole, dried sorrel (a.k.a. dried hibiscus)
2 inches ginger, sliced in thin coins for mild flavor, or chopped/grated for stronger flavor.
The peel of 1 orange
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cups water
Sugar to taste (about 1 cup seemed good to me)

For diluting:

Water, rum, and/or ice, as desired

Interesting, thanks, DG!

I clean forgot about the chaya cuttings someone sent me! Every single one has rooted, so now I have one stuck in the ground and the rest in two one-gallon pots. I'll plant them as two clumps somewhere. They grow so fast and make such good shade.

Ooh, I love chaya. Nothing is better for attracting butterflies, too.

I know! and bees. My ex-landlady had a huge chaya she grew from a cutting I originally gave her and it was always covered with bees. I really need to attract more pollinators. I have several cuttings, so I'll have some for food, and some for pollinators.

Nice! I've been trying to find Chaya for months. Down here nurseries sell them, but it's 10 - 15 for a cutting about six inches long. No way I'm paying that for a stick!

I have Florida cranberry growing along with ivy gourd, longevity spinach, greek peppers, chaya, yacon, winged yam, and cucuzzi gourd. I have three Seminole pumpkins, but they are really struggling with the humidity. Thank goodness i started learning about growing perennial vegetables or else I wouldn't have anything growing that is edible.

Here's one of my ivy gourd fruits. They taste just like cucumbers and do not seem to be having troubles with powdery mildew or insect damage. This is my first year growing it so only time will tell, but so far so good. I get five or six little fruit off of it a day. I just wash them and eat them with a little salt. Yummy.

Sharon, that ivy gourd sounds great! I'll have to put that on my "try this" list. I really want to try Yacon. I'll buy some this fall.

I know ... I'm thrilled with the ivy gourd. Yes Dirty put it on your list! I can't grow cucumbers to save my life, but this thing is thriving! I bought a sterile variety from ebay because I had read that the wild ones can go crazy and I've got enough plants going crazy. lol I also wanted a mature plant that would produce right away as I had read that growing from seed can take a couple of years before they produce fruit.

I have also found curry recipes to use it in if the fruit gets too large and seedy ... can't wait to try that ... and once they turn red, and get soft, you can make a jam or chutney with them. It's going to be a cool experiment. :)

Oh my! They sound very versatile! I will definitely look it up on eBay when I look up my yacon. I like different sorts of things. I have had no luck with cucumbers down here, which makes me sad, because they really are my favorite vegetable. I'm going to try one more time this fall, but I'm sure they will fail, just like my squash did in the spring. I'm only going to try things in the spring and if they dont do, try again in the fall, then if they fail, I'm done and will look for an alternative. I'm too old to spend years trying different varieties of cucumbers just to get one that will grow.

Sharon, you ivy looks great. Its also called Tindora (search the Asian Vegetables forum). I believe, at the end of the season, you can save some cuttings/roots in freezer for the next season.

Dirty, this summer I am growing edible taro (eddoe), Malanga, ginger, turmeric, okra, luffa (no fruits yet), pigeon peas (unbelievable pods we got), yard long beans, hot red peppers (may be some indian variety, thin skinned and long) and snake gourd. Did not have luck with Cucumbers.

I checked prices -- $25 or more with postage. Maybe they'll get cheaper in the spring. Hope so, or I'll have to pass. I don't think I want to spend that much for one veggie plant, no matter how good it tastes.

New Zealand or malabar spinach, I have two different kinds but I don't know which is which? I have a lot of amaranth, but no idea what to do with it. Are the leaves edible, or do I have to wait for grains?

Beautiful spinach!

I've been wanting to try amaranth because I had read you could eat leaves, flower buds, and seeds ... and I like multi-use plants. Here's a link I had saved from before when I was reading about it - http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/amaranth-plant.html. If you try the leaves please report back ... I'd love to know what they taste like.

Yes, callaloo is just a type of amaranth, and it's very good, one of my favorite greens.

Amaranth leaves are yummy cooked up with a ham hock.

Taro, Malanga, Jamaican yellow yam, ginger, mango turmeric, yellow turmeric, Japanese sweet potatoes