I grabbed a radish out of my cold bin that I use to overwinter my largest carrots, radishes, etc. I was cutting it up for dinner as I have more than I need to transplant back out in the spring, and it had the farty-est pungent smell i’ve ever smelled from a raw vegetable, and it tasted even worse. It wasn’t rotten, it was even regrowing its top. It kind of affirms the idea you should taste biennials and fall vegetables before regrowing for seed.
What’s the worst tasting anything everyone else has ever grown?
One mixta squash from a commercial strain! Horrendous and definitely poisonous! I vomitted… And thrown the whole 3-strain mixta grex of 2022 to the compost! Fortunately it was a first year grex.
Years ago, I grew Huckleberries. They grew great in that garden (old house) in that clay soil with very alkaline water. They were ooky fresh, they didn’t improve with lots and lots of sugar or cooking. So sad to discover something that grew great and yet was not something I wanted to grow. At least I can laugh at it now!
My first ever grown pumpkin , a volunteer from our shared compost bin with the neighbors.
I was so happy and proud. Finally a pumpkin of my own. It was the most disgusting soup I ever tasted. I ran for the watertap and rinced my mouth for minutes and still would taste that awful taste. Worst thing I ever tasted.
Any squash that has managed to have seeds sprout inside it has wound up tasting intensely bitter. Which makes the fruit inedible, because cucurbitan is a poison. Viviparity is not a desirable trait in squashes, I’ve decided!
Other than that, I’d say the Early Prolific Straightneck squashes I grew in 2022. They just . . . weren’t good. Very little flavor, very thick and tough rind that was hard to cut (even in a young summer squash!), and they had the nastiest pepo squash thorns I’ve seen yet. I was very unimpressed with that variety, and I would not grow it again.
I had five Early Prolific Straightneck plants. One individual was vigorous and productive, and the fruits were sorta okay. Three took forever to make any fruit, and the fruits were almost flavorless and the rinds were even tougher. One plant never made a single fruit at all. I think it may have been androecious! (Meaning it was only capable of making male flowers.) Not an acceptable trait in a fruiting species that is usually monoecious, let me tell you. I wound up pulling it out and saying, “You have not earned your space in my garden!” and taking it to the compost pile.
