Vegetable wish list

I have been buying and reading gardening books since I was in college. Now that I will finally be able to plant a vegetable garden I can't stop thinking about it. Here is my vegetalbe wish list. I have already weeded out vegetables that I don't want to attempt growing my first year and ones we don't really like eating.

The growing season in Denmark is rather short, due to the lack of sunshine and rain in early spring and autumn, so a lot of hot weather crops like tomatoes and mellons fail many years if the weather isn't top notch.

Radishes are apparently very easy to grow and are one of the first things that are ready to eat from the garden. I know for a fact they grow very well in Denmark.
Herbs are SO EXPENSIVE so this year I'm going to grow my own. I hate it when a recipe calls for a bunch of fresh herbs because it dometimes doubles the price of the dish. Usually it's some kind of stew which calls for two dollar and twenty seven cents worth of of potatoes, beans, and onions and then fifteen dollars of fresh rosemary, marjoram, and thyme.

String beans are so tasty.

Peas are amony my top three favorite vegetables. I think we're going to let the peas and beans grow up on the fence in front of the train track, just to make good use of the vertical space there. Hopefully Ven can restrain himself from peeing on them and burning off all the bottom leaves like he did with my sweet peas last year.

Rhubarb is a vegetable but it seems more like a fruit to me. My Mom always grew it and so does Morten's Aunt Jette and I have a million tasty recipies for it.

Tomatoes don't ripen every year in Denmark, only in years where the summer is quite good. If you have a green house it is more reliable but I'm going to go for it anyway. I've heard about growing them upside down in buckets so maybe I can start them inside and then hang them outside afterward. We'll see.

Of course, potatoes. These are pretty cheep in the store so I don't think I'll give tons of space in the garden. If I can find seed paotatos for it I think I'll try one of the really strange ones that are purple or red inside.

I have never eaten Kohlrabi but it is apparently rather easy to grow and the recipies for it seem nice. I'm going to try it to see if we like it.

The only way I've eaten Kale is wilted in minestroni soup. It stretches the soup and makes it tasle fresher. It's easy to grow so I'm going to give it a try.

Collards; again, easy to grow and apparently tasting cabbagy. I like cabbage and the headed varieties are apparently very dificult to grow so I'm going to try this one for the first year and take it from there.

I'm not sure cucumbers will grow here because they need so much heat. If I can find a variety that will work I'll give it a try. I'd like to try making some pickles if I can.

Morten doesn't like pumpkin but I do so I'm going to grow one plant that's an eating variety rather than a carving variety. They are smaller and have better flavor.

As a child I hated zucchini but now I love it. My favorite is to grill it.

Spinach for salad.

Romaine is apparently the most healthy salad so that's what I'd like to try growing.

Belgian endives aren't something we buy very often but they are easy to grow if you have a basement to store them in during winter. You store the roots in sand and then they sprout colorless tops when you let them warm up and simultaneously keep them in the dark.

Rutabegas aka Swedes.

Turnips.

Carrots.

Parsnips.

Swiss chard.

Beets.

Artichoke. This may not grow well in Denmark but I am going to try it anyway because artichokes are my number one favorite vegetable.

Asparagus is a dificult vegetable to grow but, again, it's one of my favorites so I'm going to give it a go anyway.

I don't eat much celery but I love it as a flavoring for stocks and soup. Regular celery won't grow in heavy clay soils like Denmark has but "Chinese Celery" has a better shot and is actually more flavorful so it's even better for soups than the original. How lucky!

According to all the books the most important thing is getting varieties meant for your location. I am going to visit this big organic market/family farm near Morten's parents' place tomorrow afternoon. I want to ask them where I can find the best seeds (ones for varieties that grow well in Denmark) or if I can perhaps buy from them. I also want to see if they can point me to any resources about planting times, etc that are short and sweet so maybe I can get Morten to help me translate them.

I'm off to Danish class now. (Booo.)