Surprising Plants Our Subscribers HATE Growing!

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We asked, you answered. These are more of your overrated crop selection. Will @jacquesinthegarden and I agree?
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TIMESTAMP
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Kale
01:24 - Beets
02:48 - Ground Cherries
03:37 - Sunchokes
04:54 - Hot Peppers
06:25 - Cucamelon
07:42 - Rhubarb
08:52 - Pineapple
10:33 - Broccoli
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[@rockinrhino7859]

I love how Kevin is bundled up and Jacques is in shorts and a t-shirt. 😂

[@dirkjanrulez23]

hahaha i noticed that too. i think because he is european, i wear shorts and tshirts from around 13-15c for californians those temps are prob too cold.

[@Erin-tk5jw]

It’s those Bulgarian genes!

[@Rabellaka.]

@@dirkjanrulez23Canada too. 15C is a beautiful late spring day.

[@Raz0rking]

@@dirkjanrulez23 Years ago I was on Tenerife on vacation in February. There it was like 18 to 20°C. At my place it was freezing. So I was walking around in Tees and shorts while the locals were all bundled up

[@IjeomaThePlantMama]

The Garden Hermit is NEVER COLD!

[@diananazaroff5266]

Vanilla beans come from a vining orchid. They don't bloom until the vines are about 20' long. I've had mine for about 5 years and it's just now getting long enough that it MIGHT bloom. When it does bloom, you have to be the pollinator (there is only one bug that does it and it's only located in the original country) and there's a special way to do it. The blooms only last ONE day so you have to pay attention and be quick, lol. If the bloom pollinates, it takes 9 months for the bean to mature. Now I understand why the beans are so expensive.

[@basicbcba3569]

😮😮😮

[@veliaantila1099]

You do not have the weather or the environment of which these orchids grow, so you are wasting your time.

[@diananazaroff5266]

@@veliaantila1099 I grow them indoors. They're doing beautifully. If I can get citrus trees to bloom, then provide the pollination with a paint brush and get fruit - which I have done - then surely once this vine blooms (and it will since it's an orchid and orchids bloom in indoor environments), I should be able to pollinate it and hopefully get vanilla beans. Yet, isn't the experimentation half the fun? The challenge? And what time am I wasting? It doesn't need to be constantly watched over. Open up to the possibilites that are out there, my dear.

[@KaiSub]

I've always wanted to try to grow vanilla beans, but my house gets way too cold in the winter.

[@diananazaroff5266]

@@KaiSub Mine were on a shelf in a sunroom where the vines were growing up a window frame and the sunroom has gotten as cool as mid 50s and they showed no stress.

[@dottydee4107]

Wowee, gents I was so surprised to hear you mention my plight with kale. Your advice is taken. Just to let you know, I do grow tomatoes, many colours of cherry as well as huge Alisa Craigs that were fantastic, as well as a 'black' cherry tomato that ended up more purple than black. I also grow Paris atlas carrots, a variety of beetroot, I love the burpee golden; and lastly, salad blue potatoes as well as red and purple Duke of York potatoes. Entering the boat in the Summer is challenging 🤔, but the produce is a blessing and a joy😄 Kevin, thank you for your channel, I started growing microgreens after watching you!

[@Estertje93]

Do you have an Instagram where we can follow the boat garden?

[@dottydee4107]

@@Estertje93 Hi Ester, thanks so much for your message😁. No Instagram account as YT is about as far I go in social media. If you are growing this Spring/Summer, hope all you grow turns out fabulously 😆

[@cymonka3492]

I plan to live in a boat in the future too

[@freedombeautifulwright2960]

Wow amazing.

[@williamslater-vf5ym]

I don't grow it because I don't like it

[@simplysimple7628]

That pineapple one is true. I’ve been growing em for decades here in Hawaii. Takes time to fruit but when you do get one, it’s beyond any store bought one. Ridiculous sweet. But yes they do take up a ton of space. I grow them in their own individual containers. 10 gallon squat pots. They do really well. At least they are portable and not permanent. Try it!!🤙🏼👍🏼🙏🏼👊🏼

[@hizzlemobizzle]

I love my pineapples here in Fla. I gave them a bed close to the house and I get pineapples every year from them. Far better than store bought.

[@BasedBidoof]

I also grow them in pots in FL, nice to be able to move them if you need to.

[@llamadeus11]

I learned to grow pineapple from my Grandfather in Florida. He had a huge patch next to the shed, had to cage ripening fruit so the rabbits don't steal them! I have now grown them in pots in both NY and WA! They take a while, yes... But I agree that the fruit is far better than store bought. I think since they're picked before ripening.

[@1991macie]

I live in Ohio, pineapple is a nope... not right weather.

[@t.j.payeur5331]

I don't think that I've ever eaten rhubarb that wasn't from a plant that was at least 100 years old. It seems like it's impossible to kill, my buddy buried an ancient rhubarb patch under 2 feet of bony gravel to build a driveway and it pushed right up through it in 2 years..it's still there 40 years later...

[@rickzane6433]

My rhubarb patch will be in my will and my great grandkids will still enjoy it :)

[@souffle420]

istg some people in the past must had seen a big ol' rhubarb and thought _“man, I bet this plant will lives for centuries and become a plant spirit”_ then create the myth about Mandrake 😂

[@spamsausage]

LMFAO that’s amazing. Never tried rhubarb before but growing it sounds fun

[@ForestFire369]

@@spamsausage Only until you want to move it 🙃

[@MissGimpsAlot]

I thought for sure I killed our rhubarb a year or so ago, when we were prepping for winter. Nope. Now we have two rhubarbs. 🤷‍♀️

[@Nikki-st8qz]

I’m in Wisconsin. I have a 4x4 rhubarb patch. 100% with it. Love to chop it up and freeze it. I make rhubarb, cake, torte, and pies all year.

[@scheralgreider5406]

Rhubarb sauce! My mom used to make it, of course, you have to make it really sweet.

[@mogyui2902]

Send me some 😆 I moved south from Michigan, and it's too hot here for rhubarb. I miss pies and muffins

[@learnjcbskidsterchickensga7594]

Rhubarb and strawberry smoothies were my FAVORITE this year…recipes online with coconut milk for a pie like smoothie. AIP COMPLIANT auto immune protocol elimination diet. Rhubarb freeze dries well for southern folks to enjoy.

[@mariannegermain9170]

My favorite use of ground cherries was with cheese and spinach as a stuffing for perogies. The sweetness of it combined with the tart of the spinach and salt of the cheese was soooo good! Another fun way to use them is to slice them in half and dehydrate them: they make great candy.

[@susanjohnson5824]

and Ground Cherry Pie

[@scheralgreider5406]

make jelly

[@bethb8276]

That sounds so good that now I want to try those, thanks for sharing that!

[@st2778]

Funny story about broccoli. I grew collards from seed that I purchased from a local seed provider. They were labeled as collards but seems they weren't. So I did a cut and come again method for harvest for a few weeks only to have them 'magically' grow into broccoli. I was none the wiser, the greens were delicious! 💚

[@bethb8276]

That was funny, but kind of cool too! Glad it worked out for you!

[@berlyn1187]

I inherited two massive rhubarb plants when I moved into this house. Last summer I harvested 75 lbs!

[@flowerpower6619]

Hey guys! Love the show :) A small tip for Rhubarb is to put their feet in the shade and make the leaves stretch for the sun. This way you get much longer stalks and you get to your pie sooner! Big hugs from SA! keep growing :D

[@dinaducheny3450]

I'm not a huge fan of sautéed greens, but I used my broccoli leaves and made broccoli and cheese soup and it was amazing.

[@digsindirt4490]

That’s great to know. I never would’ve thought of that. Thanks!

[@Emeraldwitch30]

summer. I would never have tried it except for a hydroponics grower in Ohio does it. She sows broccoli seed like for micro greens but grows them out til the leaves are almost a bit bigger than your hands. Maybe 6 to 8 inches. Then she cuts them like micro greens and uses them in stirfry or in salads. I had a few broccoli that went to seed on me last year so I kept the seeds and grew them like extra big microgreens. Cut and put in stirfry they were awesome. I plan on letting a few plants run to seed to have extra seeds for winter growing in the house under lights. (I have led shop lights and led grow lights and they are the best. Plus hubby did some math according to the specs on the box and with the timers my electric is only running about $3.50 to $4.50 extra a month. Totally worth it for my greens/houseplants/green onions and lettuce I grow under them.

[@KakeemDude4]

I know a lot of people think they are bland but as someone who tends to prefer icebergs and romains, I found the broccoli leaves to be VERY pleasant. It took me 3 years to successfully grow broccoli heads, so being able to eat the leaves made the crop worth the failure otherwise lol

[@davidduvall1947]

Living in Maine I can't imagine not growing rhubarb! There's so many options for cooking with it beyond just strawberry rhubarb pie: drinks like wine or shrubs; using cherries instead of strawberries for less sweet pies, cobblers, and jams; in marinades it's perfect for pork or turkey; and the leaves make good compost or lay them flat to suppress weeds. As an additional benefit when your bed gets too full, cull it down and give the plants as gifts (though, hopefully the recipient won't notice your eye twitching).

[@waterjade4198]

I do a lot of the same things, but I also use it to make the Filipino dish, pork adobo. I replace the vinegar with rhubarb and it makes an amazing sauce!

[@louiseteeter1971]

YAAASSSS! All of this! Rhubarb is maybe the most versatile crop I grow.

[@michellesotelo-mercer7797]

Yes, I love rhubarb lemonade as well, it's so versatile 😍

[@WitchyGeek]

Here in Denmark it's very popular in jam, both in different combinations like strawberry or elderflower but also on its own. It's great as compote for "old-fashioned chicken" which is a whole chicken stuffed with parsley and pretty much lightly caramelised and then cooked low and slow until it's fall off the bone tender, served with potatoes, a brown sauce made from the juices, homemade pickled cucumber, and depending on the season either rhubarb compote or foraged mushrooms. With the rhubarb it's a perfect summer classic here. Rhubarb cake is also fantastic if you need a variation from the pie, and keeping with desserts the ultimate Danish classic summer dessert that we also use to torment foreigners with by challenging them to pronounce it, rødgrød med fløde. It's a variation of a compote served with cream according to the tongue twisting name although I personally prefer it with whole milk (which only adds to the linguistic torture as that's called sødmælk). Rhubarb syrup mixed with water, either still or sparkling, for a refreshing cordial is also quite amazing.

[@ninil1562]

I kinda agree about the broccoli, thats why I started growing Chinese broccoli. You can fit tons of plants in a tiny space and get lots of crowns, leaves, and stems.

[@susanpayne5592]

This was my third year of trying to grow broccoli...again unsuccessfully. Will try the Chinese broccoli next year

[@Neyobe]

Yes I love Chinese broccoli!

[@loristrout4741]

Growing Yod Fah and Rapini this time. I hope I actually get something to eat this year. Last year was my first year growing Brassica of any kind. All bought from local stores got a few leaves of Cabbage but all the broccoli got a tiny head the size of my thumb and then bolted within a day or 2.

[@DroidLaura]

Yes, or try one of the sprouting broccolis or broccolinis. Purple sprouting broccoli does very well for us over our whole cool PNW growing season; you treat it like a "cut and come again" plant and it's super-productive for months. Nothing better after a day of gardening than a broiled broccolini and fresh mozzarella sandwich with butter and lemon zest!

[@OMGitsaClaire]

I grew in me cucamelon plant one year and ended up with so many! They are prolific. Took some to a group meeting and the one person who couldn’t stop eating them was the young teenager. I can see how kids would really like them. I think if you have little garden snack foragers who pick your garden clean, they’d be great. But you’d probably need 2-3 hungry kids who like them to keep up with their pace because they’re prolific to the point of almost becoming a weed.

[@JeanneBook]

They're a weed here in my area, we didn't know it was edible until I saw KZbin video about, now I eat here and there since I like cucumber, still annoying weed tho.

[@CatsPajamas23]

...or squirrels. Decimated mine, and the tomatoes.

[@bethb8276]

I love them, tastes just like cucumber to me, wish they grew like a weed where I am.

[@MoonduckPsy]

I use radishes as diversion crops to keep cabbage flies and other nasties off my crops. The bugs seem to develop a taste for whatever grows early, and losing a few 20-day radishes is a good trade for untouched bigger veggies! Elk ate my rhubarb down to the roots- oxalis acid-housing leaves and all!- 3 years running. Now in a broody gray marine climate where sun-starved tomatoes and peppers die of depression, but cold weather crops do well in my Eeyore raised beds! Fond of groundcherries, beets reach dental floss proportions here, and broccoli got leg cramps and didn’t get beyond 2-bite size. Looking forward to spring- my brassica crops grew through winter!

[@JT-ic6rx]

My brother grew cucamelon's last year. They are such an odd fruit. The best way our family could describe them was that it was a cucumber that couldn't decide if it also wanted to be a lime or not. We didn't end up experiencing any soft of bitterness with them.

[@Cyssane]

Yes, I was genuinely surprised that they gave cucamelons a thumbs-down. We grow them every year, we always get lots of them and they're delicious! I've never tried to peel them, I just give them a quick rinse and toss them in a salad. Sometimes I eat them straight off the vine. Ours are delicious and crunchy and I'm always a bit sad when the growing season is over (we're zone 5b). I've never noticed any bitterness either. Maybe it depends on the climate or the soil?

[@AnyKeyLady]

@jacquesinthegarden If you are growing Rhubarb, you should try making rhubarb crumble ice cream! Also, another big hit with the family is my rhubarb, orange and ginger Jam. Once cut it doesn't last long in the fridge before it starts to go floppy, so if i am not making rhubarb, apple and raisin crumble, i cut them in one inch pieces and freeze it. It also needs cutting every 3 years during winter, when it is dormant as you need to cut off and separate the baby nubs to create new plants. i grow spinach next to it as when the rhubarb grows it give the spinach a bit of shade during the hotter months.

[@learnjcbskidsterchickensga7594]

It is great freeze dried, too.

[@joseantonioserrano6103]

Pineapples grow very well where I live (Puerto Rico), but I had 2 grow beds dedicated to them for a couple of years and I decided not to do it again like this. Now I'm growing them on rectangular 1 by 2 feet pots (2 for every pot) and they grow even better cause I can move them around the backyard depending the time of the year. I have 4 fruits growing right now and around six more that are still without fruit. I did struck out with Broccoli. I will try again in the future following some tips from some agricultural experts of the UPR who have a channel dedicated to home gardens.

[@jelatinosa]

Hi! Or should I say, wepaa! What's the UPR channel? I'm from PR too! I have a hard time finding resources about growing certain things in our grow zone.

[@rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr1]

Broccoli side shoots are def worth it especially if you eat it immediately after harvesting.

[@jjudijo]

I grow brassicas for the leaves. If I get a head..yay.

[@RobMyself]

Yes, I look forward to cutting off those outer leaves as it goes so I can have a snack. Love it.

[@rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr1]

@@RobMyself Not the outer leaves. The secondary shoots that form after you harvest the main crown! They're the reason to grow your own broccolli. Absolutely delicious!

[@RobMyself]

@@rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr1 Ahhh yes! Sorry, I misread that. I agree!

[@AliG-mq2tj]

Cucamelon is wonderful for me! Where I live cucumber beetles have been horrible for the past few years, and they've destroyed any cucumber I've tried to grow, except cucamelon. So I can get that nice cucumber flavor when all of my plants have wilted over from the disease those buggers bring.

[@mrwhitten7704]

We're going into our 7th year with all our raised beds here in Virginia zone 7A. We decided last year to focus mostly on the staples that we eat and preserve. The last 4 years have been very successful and we've been able to share the bounty with friends/neighbors. Beets do okay. Turnips do great. Collard does well. Pole beans and okra do fantastic. Squash does very well and I keep succession planting on them because they're a favorite. We don't eat much on the green leafy side as it doesn't set well with my wife's stomach, only small amounts of butter crunch. Keep Planting Folks!

[@ilanaregan7507]

I’m in your same area and we doubled the size of our raised beds to try more varieties. Hot peppers do exceptionally well here too, we have many many jalapeño plants among other hot peppers. Okra eggplant and other heat lovers do well in the summer here too. Mild winters and hot summers are great for gardeners here! Carrots are my not worth growing pick. Too much range of success, mostly tiny in my experience, and not worth the effort compared to the price of a bag of organic carrots at the store.

[@mrwhitten7704]

@@ilanaregan7507 Okra is one of our FAVORITES to grow and eat! My wife and I are both from GA, so fried okra all the way! We're growing in Spotsylvania County

[@stokelymarco8042]

Pinapples. I'm in south florida so pinnaples are simple and tropical looking in the landscape. They are Bromilliads and require minimal resouces. Also they love to be overcrowded.. i plant mine 6-8 inches apart. So DON'T waste space putting them in your vegetable garden beds, but rather just tuck them into your landscaping. They even do well in dappled light / afternoon shade ( especially in the south florida summer heat). Every grocery store top finds a home in my yard.

[@rickytorres9089]

I didn't know they can be so TIGHTLY grown. I bet you can make it well worth it with quality grow bags due to aeration of the roots or at least a heavy coir mix for almost the same effects.

[@stokelymarco8042]

@@rickytorres9089 the thing about bromilliads is the root system is more there as an anchor to hold the plant in the ground... most of its "eating" is through the top crown. This is the main reason why u can bunch them together.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@stokelymarco8042 Ah that make sense now, thank you so much for explaining all of this to me. That further make sense that any of their pups that comes up, you don't need to be concerned of digging them up either.

[@stokelymarco8042]

@@rickytorres9089 no take those pups off and plant them...then they turn into parent plants.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@stokelymarco8042 Understood, thanks for supporting me so much here! :)

[@itatane]

Interesting to hear all of the ways a plant might not be worth it for a particular situation. Beets and turnips around here have a hard time because of the micro-climate, supremely dense clay/rocky soil, and wandering herds of vagrant deer. So many factors play a part in whether a crop can be a worth it for any given area/person. How about a plants that you didn't expect to do well, but actually did? I have a bunch of peach trees that I started last year, started from local orchard peach pits. (No stratification needed, just crack open the pit with a vise or a pair of pliers... carefully. Extract the almond like seed and soak between wet paper towels until the brown seed coat can be peeled off. Watch out for the growing tip! Then put them between some layers of damp, but not soggy, paper towels in an old plastic Chinese take out container, and let them sprout.) Now I need to figure out where to plant them and how to keep them trained low.

[@leahdshults]

I dry the broccoli leaves and powder them, and mix into my homegrown greens powder for shakes. I even use carrot tops, raddish and turnip greens, Brussel sprout leaves, the big leaves you usually leave behind on cabbage etc. Waste nothing!!l 😃 😊

[@igleamingrace]

Love that idea!!

[@lauramater4098]

I’m in Michigan-My parents bought their house in 1991 and there was 3 rhubarb plants. Those same plants are STILL there and we couldn’t kill them if we tried. They have been run over by construction equipment, had the roots messed with, and neglected for years but still produce every year!

[@joshk5686]

Chiltepin Peppers are my favorite hot peppers. Hot enough to add a serious kick but they don't last long enough to leave you with a burning mouth for the entire day. They're also really tiny like the size of peppercorns so that makes them very useful for seasoning food.

[@kayezelinski1275]

You guys always make me laugh. Thanks for sharing your friendship.

[@generalsmedleybutler340]

Don't just grow what is popular. Find out what you like and what will do well in your location.

[@Raz0rking]

You need to make vids like these way more often. Really fun.

[@rickmmakes]

I swore off brassicas after I tried growing brussel sprouts and fought cabbage moths for months to ultimately get nothing out of it. Last year I tried some faster growing broccoli and cabbage and had decent success. I think interplanting with my garlic helped hide them.

[@SuperDjwasabi]

I'm one of those super hot pepper fanatics and that's nearly all that I grow, and there's a lot of reasons to grow them in my opinion! Not only do I really enjoy some of them raw like peach and chocolate ghost peppers, but I like to use them in sauces and dehydrated in my own seasonings. String them up on some thread and let them air dry and the flavor is totally undamaged by the dehydrator!

[@TheJohn1423]

With ground cherries, I let them ripen a while indoors after picking (about a week or so). If they are at a certain ripening stage, they taste way better IMO. But it can be hard to find that sweet spot

[@chrisgoldbach4450]

Pineapples and pumpkins are the plants I should have done my research about with space being taken up. especially when you bring the pineapples inside for the winter. There is hardly any space to walk around and water in my plant room. And those babies will poke ya. His Challenge on trying to survive by growing his own food for a month is what really opened up my eyes on what's important and what isn't.

[@elderberryjamz3654]

Pineapples basically grow themselves in the part of Florida I’m from, we actually used to be the pineapple capital of the world 😂 It’s a nice set it and forget it plant for the side of your yard but be prepared to battle raccoons and squirrels for the fruit 😤 On that note, if you don’t like regular/pineapple ground cherries you might like Peruvian/Aunt Molly’s ground cherries. They taste more citrusy and not savory at all.

[@rickzane6433]

Ha! Raccons, squirrels and chipmunks are also hungry in Canada. Their favourite food: anything unripe ;)

[@bethb8276]

Try using groundcherry for salsa. That's the best use for them really, all the flavors, and nutrition, delicious.

[@lightwavz]

That's good news on the Aunt Molly's. That's the seed I picked up this year! Hooray!

[@rickzane6433]

Rosemary from seed fought hard with me for years. Proper vernalization was the key. Shiso is doing the same right now, I am not a quitter. Thou shall yield Shiso.

[@acolley2891]

I couldn't grow shiso in pots but I accidentally spilled some seeds in the yard in late summer I had more shiso than I wanted. I froze the rest. Apparently it has to be quite warm for the seeds to germinate.

[@vulture61]

Rhubarb is almost a weed up here in Canada. It's almost impossible to actually REMOVE it from a garden here. If you don't get all of it when you dig it up, everything left behind will sprout as a new plant

[@milesfromnowhere1985]

That's what I love about most brassicas: you can use the leaves like kale most of the time, and often even use the flower buds like a broccoli rabe if you time it right.

[@camiscottagegarden]

Loved this! Would be interested to see the opposite video for underrated crop that everyone loves growing ❤

[@user-mc5vy2vk5n]

Aww, that's such nice idea! What crop would be your recommendation?

[@camiscottagegarden]

Basil! It’s literally the easiest herb to grow and you can keep them for the leaves first then let them flower. It’s beneficial for the garden while also having uses in the kitchen. Plus it smells so so so nice when you walk by them. I’m planting two whole trays this year just to have random basil plants in between crops where there’s room 🥰

[@learnjcbskidsterchickensga7594]

Luffa gourd Eat when little Dish sponges in the fall

[@cclothier2172]

I've been doing good with broccoli this year. I do companion planning, no problem with any pest. I'm in Orange county CA.

[@AlexandriaAndrews3]

I HATED the Aunt Molly's ground cherries, they had the weirdest taste, but last year I tried the Pineapple Ground Cherries and they were SO good, they were so sweet and delish. Try the Pineapple Variety! My kids loved them too!

[@dudeusmaximus6793]

Happily found out they make righteous jam.

[@myurbangarden7695]

I cannot wait for mine.

[@kypie8]

I like the Aunt Molly’s! Well, to each their own eh

[@kypie8]

I’ll have to try the pineapple variety! 🍍

[@DesolatorMagic]

In Wisconsin, my victoria rhubarb plant almost took out my overhead coaxial line. It is MASSIVE. Like the size of a car.

[@samngo9787]

I grow pineapples in SoCal. Love them. Easy to grow. Drought tolerant. Fruit is so much tastier than store bought. What more can you ask for? I grow them with my landscape vs. in the vegetable beds.

[@rickytorres9089]

Plus just TRY getting organics, they are STUPID expensive even considering the "demands" of the plants.

[@hizzlemobizzle]

Same here. I get fresh pineapples every year and don't have to do much but cover the bed with alfalfa hay once a year. I don't have a problem with overgrowth because I pull out the plant once it is done flowering and the new one fills the space.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@hizzlemobizzle Very neat indeed. Your doing the alfalfa as frost cover for overwintering?

[@hizzlemobizzle]

@@rickytorres9089 Use it as mulch. As it breaks down it makes excellent fertilizer and makes plants grow huge. There is something specific in alfalfa that acts as a growth stimulant. I use organic bales from tractor supply. I use it on everything.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@hizzlemobizzle That's very much interesting, thank you so much for sharing that with me. :)

[@meg_pflueger]

I don't actually like raw tomatoes but I'll make stuf out of them, I have friends who love them, and I'm weirdly fascinated by growing them. :) I have a rhubarb plant that came with my house and it does it's own thing. I've split it a couple times every year and given people plants and it's still comes in huge every year! Sometimes plants are just meant to be where they are

[@tammystoddard2830]

I’ve tried beets in different types of soil and fertilizer and can’t get beets to form. The first year all I got were greens. I give up. There are many other things to grow in that space.

[@rickzane6433]

You got beat by beets. Took me a few attempts, but it worked.

[@justjenn9011]

Yep, same here, beets and turnips, i just cant grow. However. I dont really care cause i dont eat em anyways, i was only growing them as a "friend" plant to my other crops. To help keep away pests or lure other pests.

[@gergc4871]

They grow best in Pennsylvania according to the office.

[@kypie8]

I have the same issue! I get really nice beet greens but the roots never form correctly 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@gardeningjunkie2267]

Not for a boat, but for landlubbers, grow kale in the fall. The cool weather keeps the bugs away and kale doesn't mind the cold. In fact many vegetables are sweeter grown in the fall. Same for lettuce in my experience. In the summer my lettuce is infested with white fly, but if I just grow in spring and fall, it's clean as can be. For me, I hate growing zucchini. I love cooking with it and I can even get a great crop for awhile but the borers make me feel like an absolute failure. I'm not wrapping stems in foil or bandages, and I'm not interested in eating bt drenched vegetables. Then along comes the powdery mildew to top it all off. My baking soda spray works great on that, but then I have to worry about the bees that I might be harming. At this point, the only way I would grow zucchini is with full tulle netting, in raised beds and hand pollination. It just seems like too much work when I can just go buy some at the grocery store. It's not like tomatoes and strawberries that taste so much better homegrown.

[@D71219ONE]

The most overrated plant to grow is grass. 😁

[@ricebeansrockroll882]

As a swede i was confused on rhubarbs being hard to grow, it's almost a pest (but a loved one) in gardens here. Like if you have it, you can't get rid of it, and people will be giving them away by the pound. Then you mentioned them being cold loving. Glad we have one thing we grow well 😅

[@bobbun9630]

Cold loving could be a problem in San Diego where Kevin and Jacques are, but rhubarb also hates hot summers. That's a problem where I live (south central US). It easily gets cold enough for rhubarb here, but a couple of months of high temperatures from 30-40C and lows commonly above 25C and it's toast. If it makes you happy, you should know that you can also likely grow potatoes far better than I can. It's hard to get a potato crop in during the four weeks it takes temperatures to swing from 30F to 30C.

[@ricebeansrockroll882]

@@bobbun9630 potatoes are kinda hard where I'm at to. You could get a good crop, but also not. A bit 50/50

[@Narniaru]

I live in southern Spain and have a teeny garden. I finally got a brocolli plant to survive but it never made a florette BUT the leaves and the insect loving flowers were very welcome

[@christophermartin302]

I will always grow pineapple, I planted a three by 5 foot garden section and now five years on and we get about 1 pineapple a month throughout the year, they just keep pupping and spreading but still easy to keep in their designated space

[@myurbangarden7695]

Makes sense 🍍

[@BurrBones]

Super hot peppers are great in pickles. Will spice them up a decent level. Also drying and turning them into chili powder can tame them a bit.

[@laylamctavish8122]

We have a couple rhubarbs on our allotment, and used to have one in our tiny 2m wide front garden, and they get huge, and you can harvest so much just from one plant. Rhubarb jam is really nice too

[@talmadgemew5400]

Pineapple I have in its own dedicated bed. I am in Florida so as long as I can keep the occasional frost and freeze at bay, it is relatively care free. Home grown pineapple is like a home grown tomato, nothing in the store can quite get the same flavor profile. But, it is a long term investment crop and for me worth the investment.

[@___Music_Is_Life___]

If you're in a climate where they're pretty low maintenance pineapple can be a pretty cool decorative plant, but they are definitely slow to produce and even if/when you do get a fruit it just takes one trespassing a hole for it to all be gone cause you're getting one fruit at a time, it's not like how trees take awhile to fruit but after enough time end up loaded with fruit.

[@oldbear6813]

I enjoy hearing about the struggles it always reminds me that I'm not alone when it comes to those one or ten that seem to give us problems 🤣 Cauliflower and Brussels are those for me.

[@industrialtumbleweed3849]

I grow pineapple in SoCal 9b in fabric pots. I can (and do) drag them around to new locations if I need too. They are very neglect tolerant. I currently have about 15 in different grow stages that all came from one top.

[@anAngeal]

This year I’m doing peppers and tomatoes like usual, lemon squash, radishes, and huge sweet onions. Probably beans in the bed I used for sweet corn last summer. But there’s a lot of other things that will be in the garden. I share it with my dad and he grows beets and potatoes.

[@myurbangarden7695]

I am done with the " heading" Brassicas. No broccoli 🥦 cauliflower or cabbage. They bolt if you plant them here on unseasonably warm weeks, but if you wait later you they hit our once a year FREEZE.

[@Cruize91]

You guys are super entertaining, and I love the humor. I'm a pretty new viewer, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how to describe Kevin's humor. Is it deadpan? In one video, Kevin explained the expression "chitting out", and said something like: "Interesting phrase. I don't use it often.". For some reason the way he said it made me laugh out loud, and I've been wondering for days if it's on purpose deadpan humor or not.

[@ann7318]

Not sure if you read comments on older videos, but just in case: In the last 3 years I have planted at least 5 or 6 new grapevines. I built them a trellis, fertilized, lots of sun, etc. None of them got even knee high (I am only 5'4"), and they are ALL DEAD. They were concords and concord/thompson crosses. So, I dug up some wild blackberries out back and planted them on my grapevine trellis. I also put a tame raspberry bush there. Raspberries and blackberries are easier to grow than grapes--and rhubarb. Tulips are also hard to grow. I think the moles eat them. I should have as many as Holland out there.... The two antique tulips (at least 40 years old) do great.

[@jenperry427]

I'm always surprised by the number of people that don't like cucamelons or they find them difficult to grow. I'm in southwestern ontario and they're almost a weed in my garden. I can't kill them no matter how hard I abuse the seedlings I start inside, they come up on their own from dropped melons the year before, and they're extremely vigorous and prolific, and beautiful. Thankfully I also love to snack on them which is interesting since I don't like cucumbers much at all. I will say that we've made fridge pickles from them and I'm not a fan, they never stay crisp.

[@AmateurUrbanFarm]

See, I LOVE how the plant looks, but the taste is just meh to me. My husband likes the flavor, so you're not alone haha

[@jenperry427]

@@AmateurUrbanFarm I think it's that sour/citrus bite to them that I like, though that's the big turn off for (almost everyone) that's tried them here and didn't like them. My husband loves ground cherries and they're very meh to me. They have this funk at the end of the flavour that lingers for me haha.

[@morris9795]

As someone who doesn't really eat much spicy food and definitely can't eat the super hots, I still love growing them. I have two Reaper plants that I'm over wintering right now and I planted a third Reaper for this season. I'll make hot sauces out of them (which I also enjoy making) for a couple friends who love super hot foods. It's a win-win.

[@darrylt8502]

Yeah. I tried growing pineapple from crowns and half of them rooted. Started planting them they were fine until the recent river rain. Many are rotting. If they all die, oh well. Meanwhile, the one plant I didn't care so much was the avocado plant from seed. It survived the cod, heavy wind and river rain.

[@janellenelson7361]

Watching this now as I start my seeds❤️

[@LadyVoldemort]

I love topics like these and I love it when these two making episodes together! 💗 I live in Indonesia and I agree with the pineapple one, although it's actually one of my most favorite fruit, I will never plant them again. I got lots of scratches on my calves from their tiny thorns, too. Ugh. 😅

[@kypie8]

I also have a hard time growing beets- they never form a full root but the greens always look healthy & are very tasty!

[@solanamystik]

In my opinion, as someone who is married to a spice addict, each type of pepper has characteristics that impact foods differently. The main example I can think of is Indian curries. Using a Trinidad scorpion adds such a depth of flavor to a lamb bhuna that cannot be replicated by using other chilis. Scotch bonnet is fantastic when combined with Chana Masala, mad hatters in tandem with Lamb Keema, and so forth. Chilis also be used in fermentation to make your own hot sauce and if you are getting overwhelmed, they freeze quite well :).

[@dudeusmaximus6793]

I got ruthless a few years back and got rid of everything that I was tired of dealing with.

[@epicgardening]

Love it

[@lyndacrawford521]

Add seaweed aka kelp meal to your soil if you have problems growing beets. I like a product with seaweed and fish emulsion combined.

[@Khannesjo]

For Rhubarb, a massive plant is exactly what I want. I planted it on a dirt corner, to overshadow the weeds that are usually growing there. Pests seem to like Broccoli more than other brassicas, my cale came out great the year it was next to broccoli (which got absolutely ravaged)

[@WitchyGeek]

I love rhubarb. I live in Denmark and pretty much all I ever do in my garden is neglect it because my noisy neighbours stress me out so I don't really like *being* out there, but my rhubarb continues to grow big and strong year after year. The only care my rhubarb plant ever really gets is being harvested a few times a year. I grew it from a root stump one of my neighbours had accidentally pulled out while harvesting a bunch for me because I had been tasked with making the compote for our chicken. When it can be successfully grown by the ADHD'er with severe executive dysfunction I'd say it counts as pretty much one of the easiest crops in the world to grow. Provided you live in the right climate, is what I'm taking from this video.

[@tammybyrd1054]

Beets! I cannot grow beets but giving it one more shot this year! I LOVE beets! No go on sunchokes and kale for me. I don't care for cooked greens, I know, I know...never tried ground cherries but am this year. Broc!!?? LOVE it!!! I would have half my garden in it! lol Pineapple, if only. I watch Danny n Wanda and they have a ton in a small side greenhouse and I will try to go that route one day but know it takes forever....lol Great video guys! Oh and no go on hot peppers besides the big J's!

[@artvaultcalif]

Bought two seed packs in Sprouts today, from botanical interests. Good job!

[@sbffsbrarbrr]

You both as so good at the banter. Loved this video. I would agree with almost everything except the rhubarb. I'm Polish so I have to grow it 😁. I have 3 young plants that I'll be transplanting to more permanent locations this spring and can't wait for the harvest.

[@kara9726]

I like growing the rhubarb and sunchokes because I have been adding more and more perennial food providers to my garden that also add visual appeal. I wouldn't bother growing amaranth for the grain. I grew a ton of it and got very little grain for the amount of work that went into harvesting it. The leaves, however, were delicious, so I will likely plant it for its ornamental value and grab some leaves from time to time.

[@chrisvanvooren6857]

You guys always have great info but my favorite part of your videos is the great friendship that comes across.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

For sunchokes, slice them up and boil them with vinegar or lemon juice for 20 minutes. This will break down the inulin into fructose and glucose, which also makes the sunchokes taste sweeter. Since this isn't long enough to thoroughly cook them, you can still fry them up like potatoes afterwards. For superhot peppers, I found the best use is to steep them into a pepper solution to spray on my plants, which deters herbivore pests. The steeped peppers will have lost about half their heat, making them more agreeable to cook into your favorite recipes.

[@CharMac76]

I don’t know, I’ll always grow broccoli. It’s one of my favorite vegetables, but also here in Seattle it’s not cheap. I also grew ground cherries for the first time last year, and I absolutely loved them. I’m planning to grow a couple more plants this year.

[@robertsnearly3823]

Last year was a disaster for growing gardens. Many around here and a few I know of in other states. I want to blame the hot, dry weather we had ALL summer. I have not heard of a good reason that this should be. All I know is that I obtained very little produce and my BIG tomatoes only grew as big as cherry tomatoes. I'm glad I have found this channel. It's already been a bit of help and the season is only just starting. I'm going to do everything I can to have a proper garden this year, dog gone it! 😊

[@bettermetalsnake95]

I've given up on growing Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Broccoli. I can't grow melons before the leaves get powdery mildew killing the whole plant and leaving me with tiny underdeveloped melons. I stopped growing Brocolli because it seemed I was growing it just for aphids to mow down on and I could never eat something that was recently swarming with aphids no matter how much I washed it, I've had similar issues with Kale but it's been far easier to control and minimize their presence and damage. As a note to the Pineapple guy I would suggest giving some of those plants away so they don't go to waste and you can recover back some space.

[@mckai4717]

I would absolutely love too see you make a video about growing vanilla when you spoke about it it peaked my interest

[@1MSally1965]

I love ground cherries but they’re over prolific. They are delish! I LOOOOVE FARTICHOKES! They’re best pickled.

[@dannyboy218]

Well with the spicy peppers you can dry them to later blend them into a power to have seasoning of, that you can put in your dishes. If you keep the powder dry and away from sunlight it can last for 2 years. Also with a lot of ghost peppers or Carolina repears you can also make hot sauce out of them. Cook it very good and bottle it up, will last you 1-2 years if kept in a dry cool dark place, even more if in the fridge. Some ways to have a lot of super spicy peppers put to good use from your garden.

[@jimriley9697]

Jaques, if you make space for 2 pineapple plants and stagger the planting you could harvest 1 a year. You just have to wait 2 for the first one.

[@jimriley9697]

If you like pineapples you should do both. I just don't buy not growing something because it takes 2 years, gardening is long term a lot of times.

[@ohiogardener4019]

I can't imagine not growing Rhubarb, probably because my grandparents grew it and my parents grew it and I'm growing it - all from the original roots. A few years ago I started some new varieties which are heirlooms -- they are Glaskin Perpetual Rhubarb which allows harvesting all summer long, right up until the fall frost.

[@MitchDussault]

One thing to keep in mind with all brassicas (radish, turnip, kale, mustard, kohlrabi, broccoli etc) is that the entire plant is edible. Some radishes and turnips may have unpleasant hairs on the leaves or woody stems if they're too old, but, pretty much everything can be eaten entirely.

[@careforashow]

Very happy with the direction of the show! Questions answered and more perspectives. Good job 👏

[@mycatalanhomestead]

Broccoli is one of my favourites to grow along with cauliflower and romanesco the kids love them and here in central catalonia, Spain broccoli grows very well as a autum/winter crop we normally get nice big heads and then plenty of sideshows. It's great boiled and then covered with olive oil, lemon juice and some chopped toasted almonds. 😋

[@souffle420]

In tropical area, pineapple is something you plant somewhere on your backyard then forget that it even exists. It's not something you plant in a big fancy pot on sunny spot expecting it to bear fruit. I've seen people planting it under big tree and surrounded by wild shrubs, which is definitely not a _‘full sun’_ area and more like _‘full shade’_ lol

[@Halicet]

New Zealand spinach if you enjoy the spicy slightly bitter flavor (good addition for mixed green salad) is a surprising win in my 7a garden. It's a fairly heavy producer, self seeds with vigor, and is damn near impossible to kill. One thing I loved about it was, it was one of the few vegetables that the ground hogs seemed to leave alone (along with peppers and tomatoes)... They love potato and squash greens, making those nearly impossible to grow in my yard.

[@surfit.]

I grew a specialty pineapple from a grocery story, like it cost over $10. Yes, it took about two years. I had it in a pot and the leaves spread about four feet wide. I gave to my grandson because we'd be moving soon. He just picked it and it was sweet.

[@jennydfrog8007]

I love ground cherries, they make a great salsa addition, I toss them in my pineapple salsa. I’ve also canned them whole with lemon drop peppers and Tabasco peppers to make a syrup like jam. I use that on so many things. You can make them sweet, use as a pie filling or fruit leather, or you can go savory. I’ve tried them on crostini with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.

[@anitasujiivana4553]

Loved it! Thank you! 💚💚💚💚

[@janetthornton7909]

We grow and freeze rhubarb. It’s wonderful in pies with other fruits! Hint: it grows best under a shade cloth. I grow all the brassicas under shade cloth as well.

[@paydenvietmeier9526]

Foraging fact! Japanese knotweed has the exact same flavor profile as rhubarb without the strings! And it has a ton of vitamin C. I live in western PA and it is a horrible invasive that chokes out literally everything around it and is virtually impossible to get rid of. I harvest it in the spring and make a knotweed and strawberry cobbler and omg is it good.

[@therevolutionscript]

I love ground cherries, they were always my go to garden breakfast for those early mornings at my old community farm.

[@FrogmanAnime]

I’ve grown pineapple. Mostly in pots. It’s a joy to see the flower emerge as that means you’ll have a fruit in about 6 months. This year I’ve got 3 pineapples getting flowers. I’m dancing. Fingers are crossed. Although I’ll probably not grow them for a bit as they are a large chunk of time commitment. But I have enjoyed the challenge of growing them.

[@jo-annjewett198]

I grew pineapples in very large pots about 10 and it was very successful until they froze. I hated the spines but am growing a spineless red variety under my bananas. I want to grow vanilla ( I don’t any more once I read about how it has to be cured-too much work) and rhubarb which I grew up with and our family loves. Zone 9b here. I have a black pepper plant coming.

[@saukhaven]

Hey, this was a fun video to watch. Thanks for making gardening even more interesting! Cheers!

[@SK-lt1so]

Agree that beets typically take much longer than packaging suggests. They grow relatively slowly, especially in cooler weather. I've had to grow them three-four months to get substantial beets.

[@kirstin3639]

I was thinking about this the other day… I can’t wait until y’all have a brick & mortar store. It would honestly be the most beautiful place. I can already see it!!