Vintage vegetables are not a fixed historical category, and “forgotten” depends on where you live: a crop familiar in one food tradition may be unusual elsewhere. This is a proposed selection of seven heritage vegetables, not a definitive list. The evidence for their past and present use is uneven, so each entry sticks to what is established rather than assigning them a shared story of decline.
Seven heritage vegetables to know
1. Skirret
Skirret (Sium sisarum) is a root vegetable found in vegetable references and historical gardening material. It is a plausible heritage crop to explore, but the available sources do not establish a clear timeline or single reason it became less common. If you want to try it, search specifically for skirret seed and check current availability and regional shipping.
2. Good King Henry
Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus, also called Blitum bonus-henricus) is a perennial leafy vegetable. Its young shoots, leaves and unopened flower buds are edible; its leaves are compared with spinach and its shoots with asparagus. The Metropolitan Museum of Art includes it among cultivated medieval potherbs, while Slow Food UK describes its food use as localized. Gardeners’ World’s growing profile describes it as a historic perennial spinach and provides crop-specific growing guidance.
3. Scorzonera
Scorzonera, often called black salsify, is a root vegetable discussed in vegetable references and historic cultivation sources. It is distinct from pale-rooted salsify, despite the similar names. The sources support its place among heritage root crops but do not justify a confident account of exactly when or why it fell out of routine use. Look for “scorzonera seeds” when checking specialist suppliers.
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4. Sea kale
Sea kale (Crambe maritima) appears in vegetable references and historic growing material as a crop cultivated for food. Those sources do not establish present-day availability, legal status or whether wild harvesting is appropriate. Treat garden-crop guidance and wild-food claims as separate questions; the evidence here is not a basis for harvesting wild plants.
5. Cardoon
Cardoon is listed as a vegetable in the available reference material. It is grown for its edible stalks, making it distinct from the root vegetables in this list. The sources support including it as a heritage vegetable, but do not provide enough crop-specific evidence for a detailed history or a reliable comparison of its growing difficulty.
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6. Salsify
Salsify is a historically treated root crop and is related to, but not the same as, scorzonera. Keep the names distinct when looking for seed or recipes: “salsify” generally refers to the pale-rooted vegetable, while scorzonera is known as black salsify. Available references establish its status as a vegetable, not a detailed explanation of its changing popularity.
7. Another heritage vegetable, rather than an unsupported claim
The evidence for celtuce (stem lettuce) is too thin to support a confident account of its history or cultivation here. Rather than present it as a documented forgotten crop, consider another vegetable explicitly treated in a reliable vegetable reference, or look for stronger botanical or agricultural sources before drawing conclusions about celtuce.
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How to choose one to grow
These crops are not interchangeable: the list includes leaves, shoots, stalks and roots. Harvesting, establishment and kitchen use therefore depend on the particular vegetable. The sources do not support a dependable side-by-side ranking for yield, nutrition or ease of growing.
- Start with the edible part. Choose a leafy crop, shoot, stalk or root according to what you want to cook.
- Check whether it suits your space and patience. Good King Henry is perennial and needs time to establish; do not assume its growing requirements apply to the other crops.
- Confirm stock before planning a bed. Uncommon vegetable seed may be sold mainly through larger or specialist catalogs. Search by crop name, then verify current stock and whether the supplier ships to your region.
- Do not substitute wild harvesting for cultivation advice. The available sources do not establish a safe or legal basis for harvesting wild populations.
Growing Good King Henry
For Good King Henry specifically, the Gardeners’ World profile recommends fertile, humus-rich soil that remains reasonably moist, in sun to partial shade, and a permanent bed. It says the plant is usually propagated from seed; germination can be slow or erratic, and autumn sowing or a cold period may help. Allow young plants to establish before taking a heavy harvest. These are source-specific recommendations for Good King Henry, not a general recipe for the other vegetables.
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Finding seeds and planting stock
Use crop-specific searches such as “skirret seeds,” “Good King Henry seeds,” “scorzonera seeds” or “sea kale seeds.” Catalog histories from heritage seed companies and information from specialist seed suppliers can help identify places to check, but neither guarantees that a particular crop is listed or currently in stock. Verify availability and regional shipping directly with the supplier.
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