In this video I will go over the 8 crops I will NEVER EVER grow again in my organic garden. Plus 3 that I swore off in the past but might give them another chance.
GET MY BOOK! Companion Planting for Beginners: https://amzn.to/3m0Q7pT
PRODUCTS I LOVE & USE: https://www.nextlevelgardening.tv/products-i-love
_________________________________________________________
Hey Guys, I’m Brian from Next Level Gardening
Welcome to our online community! A place to be educated, inspired and hopefully entertained at the same time! A place where you can learn to grow your own food and become a better organic gardener. At the same time, a place to grow the beauty around you and stretch that imagination (that sometimes lies dormant, deep inside) through gardening.
I’m so glad you’re here!
GET MY BOOK! https://amzn.to/3m0Q7pT
WHERE TO FIND ME (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission that helps support our channel, but the price remains the same, or better for you!)
– Our Website: https://www.nextlevelgardening.tv
– Our Second Channel, NEXT LEVEL HOMESTEAD: https://www.youtube.com/nextlevelhomestead
– The School of Traditional Skills: https://bit.ly/3zoFWy1
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/nextlevelgardening
– Our Facebook Garden Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nextlevelgardeners
PRODUCTS I LOVE – https://www.nextlevelgardening.tv/products-i-love
31 Comments
Bloomsdale Spinach is a fail on my end. 99¢ store bag of peas have been amazing! Planted in December as a cover crop, and not with attention to harvest anything, but we are getting a huge harvest! Go figure. 🤪
I've had success with cucamelons in 5b Chicago and the family enjoys them quite a bit. In the past I've direct sown them, but this year I'm starting them indoors.
I live near Hamburg MI, the Kohlrabi capital of somewhere…US maybe…a lot of hoopla about nothing…redundant is very good analogy
25 year gardener here… good choices! I grew malabar spinach but imo the texture is not enjoyable- it’s is like snot.😖 Kohlrabi is a very good one for my garden. Yardlong beans grow like crazy here (8a). Broccoli & cauliflower just won’t grow here but I keep trying. Goji berries were a big disappointment in taste. Still growing them but will mix them with more flavorful berries to hide the dirt-like taste. 😂 Now, if it’s not keto friendly, I’m not growing it. TY
Hi. I found your channel about 2 weeks ago and have been watching and learning. Thanks for your tip on freezing carrot seeds for a day to help with germination. Definitely going to be doing that. Now, regarding this video, I strongly disagree with your take on bitter gourd (what you call bitter melon). Preparing it in a "Western" style way will definitely enhance the vegetable's bitterness. Simply cut it up, add some salt, let it sit to extract some moisture, then rinse before cooking in a South Indian style currry or other highly spiced way. There are some ways of cooking it that are downright tasty. So don't give up on it, because the benefits healthwise are tremendous.
I'm with you on the purple sprouting broccoli. I planted seeds last August, planted the plants in the ground about as tiny as could be viable around October. And here it is April and they are just getting big and leafy. I might get some florets, but the green broccoli I bought as plants ( in frustration) has already produced the first wave of florets and we are on the second wave. We are in Sacramento, it's been really cold until this week, but that shouldn't bother broccoli. And I have a little garden. More snow peas next year. Shelling peas I had to replant 4 times. Snails and birds love pea shoots, but they left the snow peas alone, for some weird reason.
Purslane. I didn't realize it was a weed and we already have it but someone on YouTube said it was a great fall crop. Oh and amaranth. Same video, actually. It grew great but I never could figure out harvesting it.
Grow those crops which are acclimated and proven to grow and properly produce in its season in your area. Otherwise, such grow house, hot house, raised beds, rain forest, jungle humid climates etc must be considered for such rare, variety, and specialty vegs and fruits.
Hey Brian. I’ve seen the drip system you use in multiple videos, saw them again today when I was watching the onion/carrot bed video, is there one type you recommend? So many online seem to come with these spray heads and that’s not what I’m looking for.
I like growing beans for drying just to be self sufficient. I will not grow Malabar spinach again either since I don’t like it. Will not grow Brussels sprouts either again.
not growing purple peppers again.. they were bitter.. same thing with the "worlds smallest tomatoes" .. so bitter the birds left them alone.
Hoss tools has a heatless hab .. roulette is it's name I think
Totally agree re cucamelons, but already commented about them on your other vid.
Here on the south coast of the UK the summers are a bit unreliable and our growing season is quite short, so I've never had success with growing watermelons. However, I've had some success with growing small hybrid honeydew/musk type melons, as they ripen quicker. Last year I had my first (and possibly last) bumper melon crop, due to the hottest summer for decades. The varieties were Minnesota Midget and Lavi Gal. These melons let you know when they're ripe, by giving off a delicious melon scent. It's very satisfying growing something so exotic in England, and they tasted super sweet.
For me the aphid magnets were artichokes. Never more.
Same here with spinach. I haven't grown it in 5 years just no luck with it. The other vegetable I no longer grow is broccoli rabbi. It just doesn't produce enough in the limited space I have 😭and I love broccoli rabbi. It was validating to me knowing that someone such as yourself has given up on spinach and that it isn't just me. LOL LOL. Good vid thanks from Jersey.
Yes, I won’t grow cucamelons again. Unless I just want to show someone. But they are like tiny cucumbers but sour so why. I prefer a large nonsour cucumber 😊
I have been able to grow Habanada very easily from seed here in Wisconsin. Like you, I longed for the flavor of Habanero, but they were too hot for me to get enough of that flavor in my cooking. I found Habanada very easy to grow, and very prolific, but the flavor for me was very weird. Instead of a fruity bright pepper flavor, they tasted synthetic to me, like plastic or rubber gloves. Some flavor compounds were definitely lost in breeding out the heat, that are very important. I'd love to hear how they taste for you. I gave up growing them. Trying the Nadapeno this year, we'll see how that compares flavor-wise to Jalapeno which I also love. Just want to add more of the "Jalapeno" flavor to my dishes, without so much heat.
PS: Just realised I posted my previous comment re cucamelons on another USA gardening channel, sorry for confusion. Tried to edit my post but system did not allow it.
I've grown Cucamelon's in 6b twice- and only once successfully. The vines are lovely, delicate vines and it was very productive. However, I did not enjoy the flavor. I too would not grow it again, or even recommend it.
I've grown red kidney (shelling) beans with good productive results. The one I won't grow is zucchini. They over produce and in my mind there is not a lot of ways to cook them. It gets to the point that your neighbors avoid you cause they think you'll try to pawn off another zucchini.
Cucamelons aren’t very tasty fresh but they are great pickled. They stay very crispy and are very tasty especially when you add spicy peppers to the brine to get a nice heat.
I tried a habanada from I think Burpee but it died soon after arrival. Not sure what happened to it. I’m interested enough to try from seed sometime
I will never grow corn due to lack of space. No more orange bell peppers as they never do well. They are often sickly. Sad because I love them. Easier to buy them.
One question…how can I deter the racoons from ravaging my garden?!!! If I build fences around the plants they give up but I can't get at the plants to tend them. Any suggestions? I live in Fletcher Hills.
I have the exact same experience with spinach. It's a lost cause for me. I admire those who can grow them effortlessly. I have grown good watermelons and cantaloupes. I suggest you place them against a south-facing BRICK wall, if you have one. Same with peppers. A brick wall facing south generates a lot of heat!
I will never grow Brussel sprouts again or bok Choi. The Bok Choi grew great but went uneaten. And the BS were diseased aka aphid infested and took so long!!!
I think you'll like trying the yard long bean again…they grow great here in Florida, even with the humidity – they need a warm summer, so good luck andhope you enjoy them!
I grow goji berries in the high desert of Southern Utah. They do spread, but I wouldn't go so far as to call them "invasive." They are about the same as currants. Birds eat the berries and poop out the seeds, which spreads them around. But it's not that hard to get rid of any I don't want. I have found that I don't like them all that well, but my chickens love them.
You need to grow New Zealand spinach…it likes heat…and the more you clip the more it grows. It's very tasty too…I grow it every year. Give it a try! 😊
Cucamelons are just small cucumbers that are round… they just have the appearance of a 'melon'. We grow them pretty easily in small tall pots against a wall or something for it to climb.
Two years ago I tried just about every variety of no heat peppers. I was able to grow the Habanada, but they didn’t produce very much. The best no heat Habanero pepper for me was Roulette. One plant produced probably 300 peppers. I’m in zone 6b Southern Indiana.
Bitter melon is a tough one. When I was living in Okinawa, I had a rooftop garden which of course I was growing bitter melon. I made some and it was absolutely awful but the next time my girlfriend cooked it and it was delicious. If I remember correctly most of the inside was scrapped and discarded and just a little of the skin and flesh was cut into tiny pieces then sautéed with with some meat, ground pork I think, and some spices. I wish I still had a picture of what I grew, one was about a meter long and as thick as a football.
The only spinach I love is Longevity Spinach. It tastes amazing stir fried. It can be propagated by cutting. That is my only spinach.