The Gothic Homesteader

So, with the hot Phoenix Metro summer, I lost all 3 of my outside herbs, even the heat loving one.  So I returned to the plant store determined to find some plants that will survive.  The gardener advised sweet potato vines and setcreasea, especially the purple varieties.   They had alot of types to chose from, which made my decisions harder... So sure enough, happy as a lark that the uber Gothic purple plants should survive my hot, sunny, second story balcony/walkway, I returned home to plant 2 Purple Sweet Potato Vines ( Ace of Spades, I believe though not listed ), and a Purple Queen Setcreasea... 4 days later, and they are still thriving. ~ Morria

In honor of this fine Halloween Season, I felt it only fitting to share with my fellow Gothic Homesteaders the delightful list of pumpkins and squash I have found while hunting for Black Plants and other Gothic Plants.  While the traditional orange pumpkins and normal squash are wonderful, I felt these deserved a nod and some attention as well! Blue Moon Pumpkins Silver Moon Pumpkins Full Moon Pumpkins Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins Blue Banana Squash Table Queen Acorn Squash Butter Nut Squash ( It has a rich orange flesh inside! ) Navajo Gray Hubbard Squash ~ Morria

I have been researching for the past two months "Gothic Plants" especially veggies, herbs, and fruits for the gardens and homesteads out there.  Much to my surprise 2 months in, I have thus far discover over 90 plants, and the numbers are still growing.  Sadly, due to work, my time to researching has been greatly cut, but I am continuing to work on info.  I wonder if anyone has done any books on this yet?  I will have to look into this more closely. One thing that has caught my eye is Shady Plant growing.  Where we are at now, we do have a large garden we share with family ( corn, beans, and potatoes ) and pots on the deck, but I am eyeing under the deck for more growing space.  According to my research, beans, broccoli, salad greens, beets, radishes, leafy greens, cauliflower, beans, are good for shade gardens.  In fact, I know beans are, as they grew well in the shade at our rented acre lot last year in New Mexico. ...