Here's some suggestions for weird, wonderful and unusual food plants to grow - the stuff you won't find in Tesco.

Land Cress

If you love watercress, go for this. It’s got the same peppery kick, but is no hassle to grow. Land Cress is happy in semi-shade, so it’s ideal for slightly gloomy spots on your balcony or in the garden. Sow in spring for a summer harvest. Keep well watered and pluck off young leaves to perk up salads and soups. Sow again in August for a hardy winter crop.

Salsify

This skinny taproot is a delicacy – subtle, sweet and faintly nutty. It’s big in Italy and France, but hard to find here. Scorzonera, a hardy perennial, is closely related. The thin roots grow deep, about a foot or so. So don’t bother in shallow containers. Sow in open, light soil, thinning plants to six inches apart. Like all good things, salsify takes its time and will be ready by autumn. To harvest, carefully lift from the soil, scrub and cut into finger length chunks. Boil, refresh in cold water, peel and sauté in frothy butter for a bit of colour.

Kai Lan

Why don’t more people grow this? Kai Lan is a staple in Chinese restaurants and grocers. It has a superior taste to broccoli, and you can eat the whole plant. It’s also both quicker and easier to grow. Like all the brassica family, it wants a firm soil. Sow from June to August, then thin to ten inches between plants. Kai Lan will be ready in around ten weeks. It’s a nitrogen hungry plant, so give it a feed. Stir fry whole with garlic and ginger – you’ll see what the fuss is about.

Cardoon

A stunner of a plant, with large, silvery gray leaves. Grow it for beauty, then eat the stems in autumn. This edible thistle, closely related to the Globe artichoke, grows large - around five foot high - so you need an allotment or large garden.The stems are good to eat. A few weeks before harvest, wrap in straw then cardboard to help reduce their bitterness. Then strip off the skin and blanch until tender in boiling water with a squeeze of lemon juice. Try dipping into a rich, spicy tomato sauce.

Wild Garlic

In Borough Market, you’ll pay a fortune. Yet wild garlic (Allium ursinum), also known as ramsons,  grows rampantly in the countryside. For an urban crop, buy some bulbs for a moist, shady spot. Try Meadow Mania. Beware – once established, it spreads. So try in containers, taking care they don’t dry out. Try stirring thin slivers into mashed potato. Or wilting a few leaves into pasta.