Crops For Injecting Colour - Grow Your Own Wants Your Advice!

[summer]

I have the old fashioned pot marigold growing in odd places around my vegetable garden. Don't have to worry about planting it as some always manage to seed themselves. A bright splash of colour (I noticed the first flower out yesterday) helps to deter insects and can be used instead of saffron.

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Summer

[Paulottie]

helps to deter insects and can be used instead of saffron.

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Summer[/QUOTE]

What you can cook with it?

[Heidi]

This is our first year of real growing and our first with an allotment.

Assuming everything germinates and grows successfully, the following will be adding interest and colour:

Yellow Ball Courgettes
Sweet Dumpling Squash
Borlotti Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Valentine Dwarf French Bean
Jack Be Little pumpkins
Sweetcorn
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Beetroot

Plus we're going to put some herbs - rosemary, curry plant, oregano & sage in the allotment to bring some flowers and scent to it.

[berksmike]

I'm growing the usual swiss chard, tagetes, nasturtium, beans for colour but also trying the following:
Jerusalem Artichokes for a colourful windbreak
Black Cherry Tomatoes
Aubergine Caliope (Beautiful White/Purple striped fruits)

[stigoftheplot]

pot marigold......can be used instead of saffron.

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Summer

I'm interested in this too. Saffron usually sold as power in packets, how do you use marigolds as a substitute?

[heebiejeebie]

Last year I started late as I only got my tenancy agreement in June. I had orangey-red runner bean flowers, yellow flowers then red tomatoes (cherry & "normal"), yellow courgette flowers, pepper plants with white flowers (but only green peppers - they went in too late so didn't ripen further). The neighbour's kids each had a sunflower too.

This year I will have black & white broad bean flowers, white pea flowers, red & gold nasturtiums and marigolds, sunflowers, strawberries, squash plants (various), a variety of red & green lettuces wherever there is space, tomatoes (only gardeners delight probably) peppers going in a bit earlier to make the most of the summer sunshine and hopefully add some late summer colour. There are greengage trees (beautiful at the moment) and one cane each of blackberry and blackcurrant. And rhubarb! I'm growing caulis too and I know they come in different colours too if you like, but I'm sticking with snowball.

Also trying Jerusalem artichokes and asparagus to add a bit of interest. None of this was planned with colour in mind - I think it would be hard to have a boring plot unless all you grew was a monoculture of greens.

[summer]

Sorry for delay in answering, been away a few days.
Pot Marigold petals are sometimes known as "poor mans saffron'. The petals can be used in dishes where you would normally use saffron, colouring the rice..omelette..whatever just as saffron would. It has a slightly different but not too dissimilar flavour.
Pot Marigolds do have quite a lot of culinary uses.

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Summer

[chickenjane]

cor lummy--that is utterly fascinating.
will def try that.we have a few plants that self sow around the garden.always enjoy them,but now they are on my wanted list.

of course they probably won't appear this year-maybe a packet bought esp for the veg patch is the thing!

ps can I use the petals fresh & dried?Are there any special things I need to know before using?

[summer]

You can use the petals either dried or fresh. I sometimes make little cup cakes using a basic sponge cake mix and adding a couple of tablespoons of fresh marigold petals, then sprinkle a few petals on the top with a little sugar.
When dried the petals are more concentrated but as I haven't a scanner to give you all the detail I have in my file I have just googled it and found this rather good page http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants....la+officinalis
Hope this works the way I have done it.

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Summer

[Birdie Wife]

If you're really lucky and have a warm sheltered garden, how about trying a citrus tree or two? I can only dream... but I gather the garden people have been busy producing varieties of lemons and oranges that fruit in southern climates at least?

[Flummery]

An interesting link Summer, thanks. I have grown and used calendula flowers on and off for years but never realised they were doing me SO MUCH GOOD!

Flum

[chickenjane]

Many thanks summer,I've reads the article & it's most interesting.
I reckon i'll have a go at calendula rice this autumn, also the fairy cakes sound just the thing for the kids to do esp with fresh petals.Off now to but some seed just incase the garden ones do a no show this summer

[Birdie Wife]

I'm going to try that this summer too, sounds excellent and I'm growing calendula for the first time this year too.

BTW Jane I find your avatar a bit disturbing for some reason it's fun but messes with my mind! Some Grape (forget which one) posted a heap of these type of pics last year, they were fascinating and must have taken someone a great deal of time to make!

[Paulottie]

Just found that pot marigold petals can indeed be used as saffron-in an old herb book of mine it says they have a 'subtle flavour' and to retain their colour must be dried out of the sunlight on a paper towel.

Learn something new every day! Thanks Summer

[joel]

Hi
Takes a season and some space, but my artichokes look great. Silver foliage and purple blooms if left to flower.
Yellow courgette "Defender", Squash "Turks Turban" for me this year.