FAVORITES AND TRIALS

[lazy gardener]

This thread is for folks to share information about some of the vegetable plants that are on their forever favorite list, and the vegetables that are being trialed.

Please, include: Your growing climate, your soil type, and any other info about growing conditions particular to your gardening. Then, list the plant variety, whether it's a favorite, or a trial, as well as any comparison with other varieties of that vegetable you've grown.

Here are my first entries: I'm in zone 4B, garden is sandy loam, good sun, good drainage. Currently converting to Back To Eden style and using a lot of mulch.

Pole Bean: Fortex. I absolutely love this bean. It's super productive, with pods that grow > 10" while still maintaining good flavor and texture. I've been growing and saving it's seed for years. Garden would be very sad without it. Pole beans are a must have for anyone who is limited on gardening space, or doesn't like to bend over to harvest bush beans out of the mud. Pole beans can go from garden to table with a quick rinse.

Blue Lake bush: Second year trialing. I'm using this bean as a harvestable cover crop and soil fixer upper. Pleased with the flavor and texture. But, the short stubby beans (when compared with Fortex) and having to bend over to pick them take getting used to. Fantastic crop growing in the sheet compost area right now. Loaded with blossoms.

Radish: French Breakfast. An other MUST HAVE. Grows long. Excellent flavor, never bites if you keep it watered. I do successive sowings. I don't like other radish b/c they are sharp tasting. I love to slice this radish into long "planks" and sandwich 2 planks with a dollop of peanut butter. I'll eat a whole plate full in one sitting. Radish make great row markers. They sprout before the other seeds, letting you know where you've planted. They suppress weeds, and are removed long before your target crop needs the space. They also repel a few insects.

Pink Banana squash: Totally new to me. Rampant vines. Also growing in sheet compost area. Any other gardeners have experience with this variety?

Tomatoes:

Sun Gold (cherry). Absolutely MUST HAVE. These sweet little nuggets rarely make it into the house. I graze on them any time I go to the garden.

Amish Paste: Heirloom. Have saved seeds for a number of years. Large, beefy size makes them easy to process.

Olpaka: Trialing. Any one have experience with this one?

Anna's Russian: Trialing. Any one have experience with this one?

Potato: My all time favorite: All Red. Second best: Adirondack Red. I absolutely love the vibrant pink color of the flesh. Once made mashed potatoes using AR and Yukon Gold. Lightly mashed them so the colors were swirled. Awesome presentation!

New Zealand spinach. This is the first year I've grown it. It has a nice texture and flavor, does not bolt, and will be good in a stir fry. Will most likely make space for this plant in the future. Slow to germinate and establish.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm zone 4. I have raised boxes I plant in, they come up to my waist and are filled will the composted soil I created over the years by amending my garden soil.

The only thing I'm trying to find is the perfect few tomato plants.

Early girl is my go to for good solid tomatoes for freezing. I love sun sugar, egg yolk, and indigo cherry drops for my cherry tomatoes. I also love Black Krim but it keeps blighting on me, so this year I tried Carbon and it's pretty tasty too.

The ones I won't grow again are better boy, not really better than early girl, independence day, nothing impressive, Brown berry, not very sweet, and Aunt Ruby's German green, I can't tell when they are ripe, so so far I haven't tasted them.

For cucumbers I like sweeter yet, and marketmore, they are my standbys.

Beans I like blue lake bush, and I grew a few First strike. Big Kahuna is a big bean but not very tasty so I won't grow it again.

Squash I like butter bush butternut squash, but will grow any butternut.

For pumpkin I like Howden for decoration, and for eating Hooligan, which is a mini. I'm trying out sweet lightning this year too, another mini. Both are small pumpkins I cook like squash in a water bath.

Carrots I like danver half long and Nantes.

Other stuff like beets, kohlrabi, my various lettuce, peas. I grab whatever.

Garden has been extremely productive this year. Too much stuff.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks OH. good assessments. I discovered butternut several years ago. MY BIL and his family, as well as a friend of mine eat nothing but, and I could not understand their stubborn adherence to eating a variety which IMO is bland, watery, totally devoid of flavor. So, I tried growing some. This has made a convert of me. Home grown does not resemble the yuck factor of store bought AT ALL. I like it! So, have grown the butter bush, and trying Waltham this year. However, I have to say that some of my other faves are Red Kuri and Blue hubbard. Really, what's not to like about a good sweet winter squash???

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks OH. good assessments. I discovered butternut several years ago. MY BIL and his family, as well as a friend of mine eat nothing but, and I could not understand their stubborn adherence to eating a variety which IMO is bland, watery, totally devoid of flavor. So, I tried growing some. This has made a convert of me. Home grown does not resemble the yuck factor of store bought AT ALL. I like it! So, have grown the butter bush, and trying Waltham this year. However, I have to say that some of my other faves are Red Kuri and Blue hubbard. Really, what's not to like about a good sweet winter squash???

How you cook it too seems to affect flavors. I usually do a 1/4-1/2 inch water bath, cut in half and seeded, foil covered, and a bit of butter in the seed holes. Cook until tender, scoop out. They sweeten up very deliciously. They also need to be mature and than cured for a month or so which also sweetens them up. I tried peeling and sauteeing, it was very disgusting.

We eat a lot of squash all winter. It's one thing that grows well here and doesn't need my constant care.

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed, squash MUST be ripe. And each variety has an optimum curing time for the ultimate in sweetness. I often leave skin on my squash, and put just enough water in the pan to keep the squash from sticking (about an inch or so). Then, I fill the pan with squash chunks, cook until squash is tender, then scoop the flesh out of the skins. The skins get tossed to the chickens.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I trialed Minibel Tomato this year. It is a determinate grape tomato. They were planted in containers with composted horse manure. These are the first to ripen in my zone 5 garden this year. The flavor was okay, I'm still super partial to Black Brandywine and White Queen (both have a very robust flavor).

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I trialed Minibel Tomato this year. It is a determinate grape tomato. They were planted in containers with composted horse manure. These are the first to ripen in my zone 5 garden this year. The flavor was okay, I'm still super partial to Black Brandywine and White Queen (both have a very robust flavor).

I am still looking for the perfect black tomato. Most of mine here seem to get late blight. How did black Brandywine do? I think I tried Brandywine one but wasn't impressed with them. I can't recall if they got blight.

I rotate and move, and cover the soil but some still get it yearly.

 

[Peaches Lee]

I am still looking for the perfect black tomato. Most of mine here seem to get late blight. How did black Brandywine do? I think I tried Brandywine one but wasn't impressed with them. I can't recall if they got blight.

I rotate and move, and cover the soil but some still get it yearly.

I haven't dealt with blight on any of my tomatoes so far (knock on wood), mostly blossom end rot (like on my beautiful Striped Romans ). So, I guess I can't really say in regards to blight resistance. What are you looking for in a black tomato? What varieties have you tried? Lots of people rave about the Cherokee Purple.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I haven't dealt with blight on any of my tomatoes so far (knock on wood), mostly blossom end rot (like on my beautiful Striped Romans ). So, I guess I can't really say in regards to blight resistance. What are you looking for in a black tomato? What varieties have you tried? Lots of people rave about the Cherokee Purple.

I live a good sweet meaty tomato. I'm getting too old for too much acid so I'm liking sweeter these days. I may have tried that one a few years back, but I can't remember. I really should write it down. I absolutely love Black krim but I can't get it to hang around long. I will probably try it again.

 

[oregonkat]

Zone 8b. Soil: heavily amended forest loam. Very fast draining, silty if left unamended and then sets up like concrete when dry. We actually used our own soil for the plaster on our straw bale house, it's perfect for that application.

Tomatoes: Black Plum, Black Prince, Black Russian, German Green (they are ripe when the blossom end of the tomato turns orangey/yellow and they give a little when you squeeze them), my own crosses talked about on another thread. I have liked Black Krim, Sungold, Green Zebra, Malakitovaya Shkatulka, and others that I cant remember. I dont grow indigo colored tomatoes because I dont like the thickness of the skin, the flavor isn't worth the real estate for me.

Beans, bush only, both yellow and green as I like to pickle them with dill and they look pretty in the jar together. This year I am growing Yellow Wax and Provider which irritates me because it grows curly not straight. I wont grow it again.

Eggplant, Japanese. Zucchini Cocozelle. Watermelon: moon and stars because it is small and ripens quickly.

Butternut squash, and pretty much any winter squash do pretty well for me but my kids are not fans YET! So I soldier on!