I’m throwing down the gauntlet — or in this case, the garden spade. I’m issuing a challenge to all Guerilla Gardeners or wanna-be Guerilla Gardeners out there.

Grow something this year you’ve never tried before. I’m not talking about planting Better Boy instead of Beef Steak tomatoes — uhn, uhn.

I’m talking growing okra where okra has never been attempted. Or Swiss Chard which hasn’t been “charded” in your garden before. Take a chance on something which shouldn’t succeed here — artichokes, pineapples, coconuts (good luck) — I don’t care. Give it your best shot. If you’re not that adventurous then try a different type of winter squash — butternut instead of acorn, or dried beans instead of green, or a semi-exotic leafy green such as arugula, instead of the usual leaf lettuce. Boc Choy, shallots, parsnips, Japanese eggplant; the sky is the proverbial limit.

It wasn’t until I had been gardening for several years when I tried growing rutabagas — what was I thinking? Try to snatch my packet of “baga” seeds from me now and you’re just asking for a fight. Kohlrabi, peanuts, celery, sweet potatoes,  — tried em all. Some worked, some didn’t. Some, like the humble rutabaga are now a part of my annual garden repertoire. Others — like salsify, also known as oyster plant? Yuuuuck and double yuuuuck. Harsh words from a committed Guerilla Gardeneraholic but I can’t be expected to like everything out there in the vegetable kingdom. Tomatillos? A home run right up there with Chinese celery and black-eyed peas.

Take the Guerilla Gardener challenge and dig up something different this year.

“Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job.” — George Bernard Shaw

“An addiction to gardening is not all bad when you consider all the other choices in life.” — Cora Lea Bell

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