I'm in Portland, but close enough :) I have an artichoke start sitting here that I got cheap that I'm finding a home for this week. They are perennial. A lot of people have rhubarb here with lots of success (I haven't made space for one, yet...they are big). Lots of herbs either are perennial or are consistent reseeders.

I read that pepper plants are actually perennial in warmer zones than us (9 and up?) and that you can bring them indoors under lights and they will go for years.

I'd love to hear how the artichoke goes. I've been looking at perennial kale, chinese yams, walking onions, musk mallow, cranberry hibiscus, ramps, ostrich fern...a few other things. But just looking; not starting! I think I have the perfect place for ramps, but the cost is over the moon.

I know rhubarb does well in Eugene. You'd probably do fine with it. I hate it, so not for me, but I know a lot of people love it.

I've been looking at perennial vegetables this year too, and thinking about what I might establish. Since I'm stuck in town and I have to look presentable, I found a few ornamentals that double as perennial vegetables I'm adding out front - certain sedums, hostas, and daylilies, actually. I was surprised at how good daylily buds tasted; something I'd prefer to some of the "standard" veggies.

I will keep you posted on the artichoke :) A few neighbors have them growing in the front and they seem to do fabulously here with little care (don't think either of these neighbors is particularly diligent with their yards or even waters haha).

I love rhubarb pie, but I don't really enjoy baking so not sure that one is for me anyway.

I'm really interested in learning about the perennial kale as we eat a lot of kale here. How is it different from regular kale? I have overwintered ours but usually dig it out in the spring, it just gets buggy after a year and quite tall as it grows up not out for me (maybe its just how I pick the leaves). This year mine died after that february snow storm (had a foot of snow) but the two years prior to that it kept on going. Its definitely a year round for us....mine never bolts.

^ More evidence on why it is hard to give away surplus rhubarb.

I LOVE rhubarb, wish someone would give me some...

I make rhubarb crisp, it is faster than pie.

Invitation extended via email.

Larry, I responded

@princessgrace - I think the perennial version doesn't hold up to our climate. We can grow it as an annual, but...
What I want is stumble upon someone giving away ramps :-)

I do have daylilies; thanks for the reminder that they're edible! I've never tried them.

Walking and clumping onion and garlic are supposed to be perennial here
I don't know much about perennial kale. I read about it in the book referenced in the website below. Included:
brassica oleracea acephala western front, walking stick kale (ridiculously tall. looks like a Dr. Seuss plant) and tropical tree kale (I don't know if I'd want to look at that much kale all year). He also mentioned brassica oleracea wild cabbage, which doesn't look that immensely edible.
All this is from:
http://perennialvegetables.org/perennial-vegetables-for-each-climate-type/cool-maritime/

I'm kind of interested in goundnuts.

buyorsell, I replied at 8:30PM.

I have a few artichokes and they have been coming back since I planted them 5 years ago. Same with asparagus.

For the space and the effort it takes (yearly dividing) not to mention the watering, I do not feel that artichokes are worth growing. I have to grow everything in raised beds due to gophers and space is too dear to me. One good artichoke per plant and several more smaller ones is not a good yield imho.

Any time I can bumble through and accidentally improve your life, just let me know, larry-gene.

Thanks for the heads-up, still kris.

I overwintered a pepper before in Portland. The bell pepper produced more the second season. I did not have it under a grow light, only by a west facing patio door. The plant had a lot of aphids, which were not a problem outside in my garden. I had to rinse the plant in the shower many times and also spray it.

Halfway through the winter all the leaves fell off (the aphid issue was then gone). My wife made fun of me for keeping the plant, as it looked like a stick tree. However, once April or so came around, the pepper leafed out very bushy :)

If I was to overwinter peppers again, I'd through them under a grow light.

-Ed

There are Jerusalem Artichokes. They are not actually perennial, but once you have them they never go away.
Either plant them where you don't care that they invade or move them every few years to keep under control. I've had them here since 1982. Also like the normal artichokes for at least 15 years with no special care other than putting compost on every spring and weeding. They are now producing about 7 to 10 buds per plant. We enjoy a lot now and then just let them go without water.

I cut up and froze the rhubarb in 4 cup bags as that is what a crisp or a pie takes. I then boiled what was left with some brown sugar, nutmeg and blueberries on the stove and we ate it poured over ice cream. THANK YOU

Sounds good. I missed last Tuesday's local CSA delivery, so this Tuesday a few more pounds will go there, plus I will make a 4thJuly dessert, that should keep the plants at bay until mid-August.

The minor effect of the harvest for you is already obliterated by new growth.

Rhubarb smoothie is the best ever!

I was excited the first year my peppers lived over the winter and I shook them to pollinate and they had jalapeno babies. This winter I tried to save more. I have the white bug problem I have to find out if they are aphids and how best to delete them. I vacuum but they are proliferous!! Is there a way to add a photo?

I'm not sure wintering over qualifies it as a perennial veggie. :-)
Probably white fly. You'll need insecticidal soap, but basically, it's a stressed plant and it's probably hopeless. That's been my experience.

White fly park on the bottom of leaves and fly up in a cloud when you shake them.

Aphids are green. You can get them off by thoroughly washing the plants. If they're outdoors, put foil of some other method of discouraging ants. Ants are aphid ranchers and take very good care of them, so discouraging the ants and washing the plants usually does the trick.

Osborne Seed offers kale, broccoli, and a few others that are "winter vegetables" in the PNW. You start them in July, set them out in August. They grow until mid October, then they sit out the dark cold weather. In February-April they send up a flush of new tender, bug-free, delicious growth. It's amazing for the rotten end of winter to have these succulent vegetables.

Remember t that rhubarb plants love horse manure. I pile mine really deep.

I have both walking onions and bunching onions and they have been going for three years now. Rhubarb does well too and I get about five or six artichokes from my overwintered plant. I usually just let them go to flower though as my bees love them and they are so beautiful, great ornamental. Regarding Kale, I just let mine go to seed and always have a million babies coming up so it's just like having perennial Kale, same with the Bok Choi.

I'm growing some unusual veggies this year for the first time, Yacon, Oca, Crosne, Sea Kale and Skirret. The first 3 bought as tubers, the last two seed. The first 3 in tubs so they can be moved to the greenhouse if need in the fall to finish off. it's going to be an interesting year as I'm also growing over 40 different varieties of heirloom beans, a dozen different tomatoes mostly heirlooms, potato onions and top setters, garlic, cucs, and a few other things.... and then there's the flower garden to contend with LOL.
Annette

I've got rhubarb, asparagus, and berries. This is my strawberry bed's second year, and they look superb!

My Egyptian Walking Onions are determined to be prolific reproducers, but I'm figuring out how to best keep them useful and in reasonable numbers (I gave away lots of those since fall. A box of them probably went to the big swap this spring, though I did not).

Then there are the Jerusalem Artichokes that I need to learn how to prepare -I cooked them once and they about killed DH with the, ahem, aftereffects. He has vowed never to eat them again. I did read that pickling them seems to counter that effect, he might eat them that way- maybe. Since I thought I harvested them relatively thoroughly and didn't replant them, and the bed of them is just growing right along this spring, I'd better figure out what to do with them because I think they're never going away, lol.

I also have horseradish that might be useable this year. I was given some roots last year, and planted them, but the slugs (the #1 suspect, but it's not proven) ate all the top growth and a couple inches down the roots. I could barely find a root much less harvest it. They're not dead though, they're still trying. I was surprised they suffered so much damage from any creature, I guess I thought they'd be pretty much bulletproof.

I planted multiplier (potato) onions for this year. I bought some yellows in the fall, and I got some Kelly's Green Mountain onions from another GardenWebber this spring.

Having a problem with my rhubarb, black vine weevils! I would just throw it away and try again but it's an heirloom from my grandma... And my mom had one that did fine in its wine barrel planter but when she planted it it got annihilated by slugs... Ack!

I think in general, rhubarb are pretty hardy, and can tolerate a lot without dying. I don't know anything about the weevils, but unless they destroy the crown, it will probably come back.

They do destroy the crown, the larva do. The larva eat the roots and the weevils destroy they leaves. It may not make it after this second attack. I pick them off at night (which actually gives me hallucinagenic nightmares), and use beneficial nematodes.. Ack! I hate the darn weevils!

Aftermidnight, I want to hear how that experiment works out! I'm in the Seattle metro area, so if it works for you, it should work for me. I've been going back and forth about trying yacon and oca. The decision has become easier as the garden renovation has not gotten done, and not gotten done and... The big hold up now is mulch and - would you believe it? - dirt! Really, the biggest hold up is not owning a pickup and sturdy volunteers! Slow and steady and in bits is the way it's going to go.

mkirkwag, time will tell if I've been successful or not. The Yacon, Oca and Crosne all planted in tubs have been moved to a cool greenhouse to finish off. The Sea Kale and Skirret are planted out, now if these two can deal with our usually wet winters hopefully they'll amount to something :).

I ended up with 5 Yacon plants, the rest I gave away. I have 4 Crosne tubs and my 3 Oca tubers were planted in a single 5 gallon tub, there's also a few Oca seedlings in this tub, I was having trouble germinating the seed so just threw the lot in the tub with the tubers and I see a few seeds finally germinated.

Yacon and Oca are grown successfully in the UK, this is where I first heard about these South American vegetables, so thought I'd give them a try here as our climates are similar.

In the UK they're probably grown in poly tunnels, I don't have the room for a poly tunnel in my garden, most of the space set aside in the not so big vegetable side of my garden is for growing heirloom pole beans so these new to me vegetables have to be grown in tubs and moved to the greenhouse if needed to finish off.