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Vinlander:
Salsify:
If you rely on volunteers you'll never get anything fatter than a pencil - but that's because they seed in June.
If you sow any fresh seed you're going to get nothing better, (but truly fabulous purple-lilac flowers that sadly close at noon - still the most delightful edible ornamental).
It's best to sow them in Feb/early March in decent soil. More than 50% will be wider than pencils by Dec. Quite a few will be 15mm at the thick end.
I love them most in a roast - also celeriac, J.Arts, elephant garlic (whole), white-fleshed sweet potatoes; and spuds if there's room. That's why I prefer a small bird in a big tray of veg.

Close relative Scorzonera will produce bigger roots in their 2nd year but every root has always been damaged by then - basically the black skin is more work than the bigger root is worth - it's less work to scrub the root hairs off a salsify - even if they are sub-pencil size (baby veg anyone?).

Skirret:
Absolutely delicious - sort of a sweeter milder parsnip - unfortunately the pencil sized roots contain a 'string' so you either strip them through your teeth like a satay skewer or make mash and push it through a colander - brightens-up any soup or swede/squash/potato mash (and potato salad). Can be grown as a perennial.

I've also tried nearly everything doubtful - all the "asparagus substitutes" are rubbish, except hop shoots which are delicious despite not tasting any more like asparagus than the rubbish ones do...

Most spinach substitutes are very poor - the best one is New Zealand Spinach - but you need to pick a dozen leaves per mouthful. The wild version is smaller but less stringy so you can chop up the whole plant, steam it and eat it (same goes for chickweed - delicious). The French call it tetragon and it is everywhere in the Canary Islands and probably in bits of S.Europe too.
2nd prize goes to wild sea beet, 3rd to the other beet leaves, and wooden spoon to Swiss Chard - it's barely worth eating - except that you can pick it in winter when there's nothing else. Try (any) spinach as a puree on cooked cabbage - works like "gravy" to bring out the flavours

Skulpit:
Can be used as a salad or a spinach substitute (but the tiny leaves are too labour intensive - you'd be better stripping the whole plant), and weirdly it's quite glutinous too (but though it doesn't taste like okra some other veg can). Pink balloon Selene flowers.

Tuberous pea:
Black roots with white flesh. Genuinely tastes like sweet chestnut (without the bitterness) - especially raw. The black crop in dark soil is difficult to find, so grow in a lined trench of very light soil - the small tubers and strings you put back will survive the disturbance. Absolutely loves growing in a woodchip bin (and tumbling down showing pretty magenta flowers) - this also produces larger tubers with paler skin (is it camouflaging itself?).

I'll add some more later - may also list "don't buys".

Cheers.

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