Spicing Up Your Veggie Market
With Exotic Crops
PIKETON, Ohio Look
ing to grow and market some
thing different than tomatoes,
cucumbers or peppers? How
does amaranth, jute, Alaskan
yard-long beans or malabar
spinach grab you?
Researchers at Ohio State
University’s South Centers at
Piketon are in their first year
of organically raising such
exotic crops to provide grow
ers with alternative vegetables
and cash crops that grow well
in Ohio and satisfy the state’s
growing ethnic market.
Rafiq Islam, an Ohio State
soil and water specialist, said
the crops are ideal because
they have a short growing sea
son, require low maintenance,
compete well against weeds
and fetch a higher price than
traditional vegetables.
“Most of the vegetables can
be planted in May or June and
harvested in September,” said
Islam. “Because they are high
value crops, growers can get a
higher price for them and cus
tomers like them because they
are high in nutrition and are
what they are used to buying
back home.”
Amaranth, also known as
edible pigweed, is pne such
crop that meets those charac
teristics. “Amaranth is fast
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growing. In 35-45 days it’s in
full bloom and ready for har
vest,” said Islam. An added
bonus is that some of the vari
eties are heat and drought tol
erant.
“The leaves and stalk are
edible and are high in vita
mins A, B and C,” said Islam.
“Amaranth is also cultivated
for the grain, which contains
high levels of protein.”
Breakfast cereals, pastas
and breads containing ama
ranth grain or flour are avail
able in most health food
stores. Ohio State researchers
are growing 17 varieties of
amaranth, found in India,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines and China.
Researchers are also seeing
success with jute, a plant from
India, Thailand, China, My
anmar and Bangladesh that
produces a fiber used all over
the world for making a variety
of products such as blankets,
clothing, upholstery and
handbags. Jute is also used in
the pharmaceutical and textile
industries.
“It’s a lot like hemp. It’s a
biodegradable product used to
make products like rope and
decorative wrap,” said Islam.
“The crop is also edible as the
young shoots can be eaten.”
Jute can grow as high as
eight to 10 feet tall and is ef
fective in controlling weeds.
The crop is cut at the soil line
and allowed to dry out. It is
then bundled and fiber is ex
tracted from the stems after
they have been submerged
under water and decomposed.
Malabar spinach, also
known as Indian spinach, is
not spinach at all, but a tropi
cal vine that grows quickly on
a wide variety of sites. The
plant is cultivated for its
leaves, which have high levels
of vitamins A and C. Malabar
spinach is originally from Af
rica and South East Asia.
Researchers are also grow
ing yard-long asparagus
beans, an Alaskan legume
high in protein; Calabash
gourd, a tropical vine whose
young fruits are harvested and
cooked like squash and ma
tured fruits are used for deco
ration; and Luffa sponge, a
plant in the same family as
pumpkins and watermelons
that is cultivated mainly as a
bath sponge.
For more information on
such alternative crops, contact
Raflq Islam at (740) 289-2071
or islam.27@osu.edu or con
tact Shawn Wright at (740)
289-2071 or wright.
705@osu.edu.
Blake Myers Phil Short
Central & Eastern PA Western PA
(877) 879-1407 (419) 445-1700
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 1,2003, Grower & Marketer-El7
Hort Display Enlightens
Farm Show Visitors
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Dr. Bill Lamont, as
sociate professor of vegetable crops at Penn State,
was on hand to answer questions on opening day of
Farm Show this year. The 900-square-foot Penn
State Horticulture Center focused on the theme,
“Landscape Blooper Wall of Shame,” or some of the
things you shouldn’t do to maintain plants.
Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
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