|
Greens
(Salad and Cooking)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Tyee |
++
|
F
|
Hybrid, very slow-bolting, savoyed, disease resistant |
| Olympia |
+
|
F
|
Hybrid, medium-bolting, mainly for fall use; semi-savoy, mild taste |
| Space |
+
|
J
|
Hybrid, slow-bolting smooth leaf |
| Bloomsdales – Various |
T
|
Various
|
Open-pollinated heirloom varieties – need more trials to determine best cultivars; very savoyed; usually not as long-standing as hybrids |
|
|
Lettuce
(Baby for Mild Mix)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Red Velvet (red Grand Rapids) |
+
|
SS
|
Similar to Johnny’s Blackjack, but redder, slower bolting |
| Merlot (deep red Grand Rapids) |
++
|
HM, F
|
Equiv. to Johnny’s Galactic, darkest red of all lettuces; med. bolting |
| Tango/Monet (green oakleaf) |
++
|
J/F
|
Frilly, almost like endive, fairly slow bolting, great texture for salad |
| Dano (red oakleaf) |
+++
|
LL
|
Johnny’s discontinued my favorite variety, so I’m producing seed. Very slow bolting, both heat and cold resistant, dark red; many cuttings possible |
| Rave (red Grand Rapids) |
++
|
J
|
Unique deep pink/majenta color, productive |
| Baronet (green Grand Rapids) |
++
|
J
|
Dark green, heavily ruffled |
| Wild Garden Lettuce Mix |
++
|
WG
|
40 varieties, mostly created by Frank Morton |
| Flashy Green Butter Oak |
++
|
WG, F
|
Fast growing, beautiful lime-green oak leaf with red splotches; medium bolting |
| Aruba (red oakleaf) |
++
|
J
|
Deep red, angular lobes, slow bolting |
| Forellenschluss/Troutback/Freckles |
+
|
F, HM, J, WG
|
Romaine with lots of red speckles; WG’s strain is selected for larger speckles; fast bolting; speckles can look like rotten spots under some interior lighting |
|
|
Lettuce
(Dual Purpose Head/Baby)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Jericho (Romaine) |
++
|
various
|
New Israeli heat tolerant romaine |
| New Red Fire (red G.Rapids) |
++
|
F
|
Slow bolting, not darkest red, huge when grown for heads |
| Marin (Green Grand Rapids) |
++
|
J
|
Fast growing, slow bolting, large |
| Green Ice (Succulent G. Rapids) |
+
|
F, TT
|
Tasty; Succulent, crisp, good for switching folks from iceberg to leaf |
| Mikola (Red Bibb) |
++
|
TT
|
Large, dark red when grown for heads, bolt resistant |
|
|
Lettuce
(for Heads)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Esmerelda (Green Bibb) |
+
|
F
|
Large, lime green, nice heart |
| Sierra |
+
|
F
|
Very slow bolting, “summer crisphead” |
| Ermosa (dark green Bibb) |
++
|
J, TT
|
Darker green, solid, my favorite bibb |
| Green Forest (Romaine) |
+
|
J
|
Large, fast growing |
| Carmona (large red Bibb) |
+
|
WG
|
Huge |
| Pirat Butterhead (Seed from WGS) |
+
|
HM
|
Good, compact red bibb |
|
|
Other Mild Salad Greens
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Yukina Savoy |
++
|
J
|
Savoyed brassica, dark green, almost looks like spinach, or like tall “Tat Soi”, much easier to pick than Tat Soi |
| Kyona Mizuna |
++
|
Various
|
Lacy leaf adds unique texture |
| Mizspoona Salad Selects |
+
|
F
|
Cross, Mizuna X Tat Soi, many interesting leaf shapes, fast growing |
| Red and Purple Orachs |
|
F
|
Tall-growing; pick individual leaves, color is bright purple |
| Wild Garden Mild Mustards |
|
WG
|
Mix of many mustards |
| Hopi Red Dye Amaranth |
|
WG
|
Not a hardy green – more of a summer ingredient |
|
|
Spicy Salad Greens
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Arugula |
++
|
many
|
Variation in varieties from different companies |
| Persian Cress |
|
WG
|
Watercress taste, upland grower, slow |
| Osaka Purple Mustard |
|
J
|
Hot; nice color |
| Magma – (Curly Purple) |
++
|
WG
|
Like Osaka but beautiful greenish wavy edge |
| Wild Garden Pungent Mix |
|
WG
|
|
| Chinese Thickstem Mustard |
+++
|
via
Fedco
|
Brett Grosghal’s hardy improved flavorful sweet/spicey mustard – available by special arrangement with him or Fedco |
|
|
Cooking Greens
(Brassicas)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Toscano Kale (Dinosaur, Lacinato) |
++
|
F, J, WG
|
Unique, long gray-green, puckered leaves, heat and cold tolerant |
| Lacinato Rainbow Kale (Brassica oleracea) |
+++
|
WG
|
Beautiful cross of Toscano type and ornamental type, lots of purples |
| Red Ursa Kale (B. napus) |
+++
|
WG
|
Stunning special selection of Red Russian type, hardy/heat resistant |
| Wild Red Kales (B. napus) |
++
|
WG
|
Mix of red Russian/Siberian types, some leaves quite frilly, hardy |
| Wild Garden Kales |
++
|
F, WG
|
Like Wild Red, but with some green ones. Many different leaf types |
| Redbor Kale F1 |
++
|
F
|
Deep purplish/red, European frilly type |
| Champion Collards |
+
|
F
|
Hardy, productive |
| Senposai (mild mustard) – B.rapa xB.oleracea |
+++
|
F, LL
|
Exciting new collard substitute; faster growing, more tender, faster cooking, heat/cold tolerant. I’m dehybridizing it;have lots of seed |
| Toraziroh (mild mustard) |
+
|
F
|
Large, fast growing, very dark green, mild mustard taste |
| Shuko (Pak Choi) |
++
|
F
|
Hybrid baby pak choi, quick (45 days) |
| Joi Choi |
|
T
|
Standard pak choi, loose head |
|
|
Chard and Miscellaneous Greens
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Argentata Swiss Chard |
++
|
F
|
Wide, pure white stems, very dark green leaves, very productive |
| Rhubarb Chard |
+
|
SS
|
Seed Savers has a selected strain that performs better than others |
| Bright Lights Chard |
++
|
F, others
|
Stunning mix of stem colors; My selection emphasizes red/orange |
| Golden Chard |
++
|
WG
|
One outstanding color! |
| Celery, Ventura |
++
|
TT
|
Check with me on how to grow celery in the Piedmont |
|
|
Carrots
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Nelson |
+
|
F
|
Quick maturing Nantes hybrid, very thin tops offer little freeze protection |
| Nantes Fancy |
+
|
F
|
Good, longer-than-average Nantes |
| Atomic Red |
|
J
|
Fancy red gourmet carrot |
| Yellowstone |
|
F
|
Yellow, long, O.P. heirloom, somewhat uneven in flavor and growth |
| Red-cored Chantenay |
|
F
|
Short stocky storage carrot – good for heavy soils |
| Shin Kuroda |
|
F
|
Refined Chantenay type |
| Nantaise (O.P. Organic) |
+
|
TT
|
The latest refinement of Nantes from Europe |
| Nevis F1 |
+
|
J
|
Hybrid Nantes, sometimes our best tasting |
| Kinbi F1 (Yellow) |
+
|
J
|
Fast-growing, good looking yellow carrot, short (Chantenay) shape |
| Sugarsnax |
+
|
J
|
Very sweet, extremely long “Imperator” type, high in beta-carotene |
| Scarlet Nantes, Navazio improved |
++
|
SC
|
Some years this has the best flavor |
| Dragon (Navazio purple) |
+
|
SS
|
Quite purple, good but not our favorite for flavor |
|
|
Beets
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Early Wonder |
++
|
F
|
Productive, high quality greens and roots |
| Burpee’s Golden |
++
|
TT
|
Beautiful but not productive; gold color doesn’t bleed into other food |
| Bull’s Blood (red leaf) |
+
|
F
|
More for salad mix but also a decent root |
|
|
Turnip
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Rutabaga |
+
|
F
|
Laurentian |
| Hakurei F-1 Salad Turnip |
+++
|
J
|
Super crunchy, sweet, mild, for salad or snacking out of hand |
|
|
Radish
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Easter Egg |
+
|
F
|
Nice color mix – red, pink, purple, white |
| Cherry Belle OG |
+
|
F
|
Other good red radishes are available |
|
|
Parsnip
|
Rating
|
|
Very slow growing – a challenge for our short cool-season windows |
| Johnny’s improved varieties |
+
|
J
|
Need further testing |
| Harris Model & Cobham Improved |
+
|
TT
|
Need further testing |
|
|
Onions
(biennial, but…)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Texas Superweet, other southern sweet yellows |
+
|
DX
|
Get seedlings from this Texas farm, plant early/mid March |
| Stockton Red |
+
|
SC
|
Seed flats in Jan. or buy plants from Texas in March – good keeper |
| Super Star |
+
|
J
|
Intermediate Day Hybrid, large white sweet, not long keeper |
| Candy |
+
|
F
|
Intermediate Day Hybrid, yellow, fairly good keeper |
| Newburg |
+
|
SC
|
Int. Day, O.P., works at our day-length, good keeper |
| Olympic (hybrid) |
++
|
J
|
Hybrid, matures well here, quite early, good keeper |
|
|
Leeks
(biennial)
|
Rating
|
|
Easier to grow and save seed than onions, (both cold & heat hardy) |
| Lincoln |
+
|
F
|
Tall “summer” leek, not very hardy |
| Imperial |
++
|
F
|
Quite hardy, quite tall for a hardy type, productive |
|
|
Broccoli
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Arcadia |
+
|
F
|
Mid-season, sturdy, large tight heads |
| Nutri-Bud |
+
|
SC
|
Best open-pollinated broccoli I’ve found, fairly uniform for an o.p. |
| Purple Peacock (B. oleracea) |
+
|
F
|
Pretty, leaves can be picked like purple kale. Small heads |
|
|
Brussels Sprouts
(biennial)
|
Rating
|
|
Slow to mature, try overwintering under row cover |
| Oliver |
+
|
F
|
Relatively early, hybrid. Start plants in shade late July |
|
|
Cabbage
(biennial)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Hermes |
+
|
F
|
Hybrid; Nice early head |
| Early Jersey Wakefield |
++
|
F
|
Classic pointy head heirloom, good taste, early |
| Primax |
++
|
J
|
O.P. early small head |
| Super Red 80 |
++
|
F
|
Early hybrid red |
|
|
Cauliflower
|
Rating
|
|
Difficult crop in our climate, likes mild cool weather |
| Early Dawn |
|
T
|
Best early one I’ve found, from Territorial Seeds |
| Veronica F-1 (Romanesco) |
|
J
|
Beautiful spiraling green head, not easy to grow (late maturing) |
| Graffiti (F1) Purple |
|
F
|
Striking purple |
|
|
|
Peas
(Snap and Snow)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Sugar Ann |
++
|
F
|
Best dwarf snap pea, I still remain loyal to this one |
| Sugar Snap |
++
|
F
|
The classic snap pea, needs 5’ trellis, best snap pea but weak germination |
| Oregon Giant (snow) |
+
|
F
|
Productive |
| |
|
Potatoes
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Carola |
++
|
WP
|
My favorite – creamy yellow flesh |
| Red Dale |
+
|
WP
|
Productive Red, smooth shape |
| Rose Gold |
+
|
WP
|
Yellow flesh, rosey skin, good taste |
| Caribe |
+
|
WP
|
Purple skin |
| |
|
Watermelon Gene Pools
|
+
|
various
|
I have not isolated melons, so I have not-pure lines of Yellow Doll, Blacktail Mountain, Orangeglo, Sweet Siberian, bicolor crosses. Some seedlots are almost pure |
| |
|
Tomatoes
(Red Slicers)
|
Rating
|
|
All but Jet Star and Sun Sugar are Open Pollinated |
| Cosmonaut Volkov |
+++
|
F
|
Delicious, fairly early, few blemishes, good yield, 6-7 oz. fruit |
| Tropic VFN |
+
|
SE
|
Large, few blemishes, good taste, yield, 7-9 oz |
| Martian Giant |
+
|
SC
|
Medium, good taste, minor blemishes, slightly irregular, 6-10 oz |
| Livingston’s Beauty |
T
|
Swap
|
Medium, meaty, somewhat large core |
| Productiva |
|
HM
|
Medium, meaty, somewhat large core |
| Jet Star |
++
|
F
|
High yield, great taste, my only hybrid slicer |
|
|
Tomatoes
(Pink, Purple, Black)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Rose de Berne |
+++
|
F
|
Pink, delicious, few blemishes, long production, 6-8 oz |
| Eva Purple Ball |
++
|
SE
|
Pink, virtually blemish-free, good taste, 6-8 oz |
| Brandyrose |
+
|
Swap
|
Amateur breeders’ experimental – Brandywine x Rose de Berne |
| Rose |
+
|
J
|
Very large pink, good flavor, few blemishes |
| Cherokee Purple |
++
|
Swap, F
|
Big dark and handsome, good sweet/acid balance, 8-12 oz |
| Nyagous |
T
|
SS
|
“Black” actually reddish-brown |
| |
|
Tomatoes
(Orange, Green, Bicolor)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Persimmon |
+++
|
Swap
|
Delicious, bright orange, few blemishes, heat resistant, 7-9 oz |
| Nebraska Wedding |
T
|
Swap
|
Orange |
| Aunt Ruby’s German Green |
+
|
F
|
Ripens to green |
| Green Zebra |
++
|
Many
|
Beautiful, tasty, vigorous, long season, 2-5 oz |
| Striped German |
+
|
Swap
|
Very large bicolor, colorful inside and out, good taste, some irregularities |
| Gold Medal Bicolor |
T
|
SS
|
Still testing |
| |
|
Tomatoes
(Paste, Plum, Banana)
|
Rating
|
|
Some of these make a good slicing/snacking tomato |
| Speckled Roman Paste |
++
|
F
|
Long Paste, beautiful yellow striations, good taste, 5-8 oz |
| Federle |
+
|
SS
|
Banana (very long paste), productive, 6-10 oz |
| Long Tom |
+
|
SS
|
Banana, similar to Federle |
| Orange Banana |
|
Swap
|
Nice pale orange, somewhat bland, 4-6 oz |
|
|
|
Tomatoes
(Cherry)
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Sun Sugar (Improved Sungold) – Hybrid |
+++
|
F
|
Identical to Sungold (delicious), but doesn’t split after rain; 3/4 inch |
| Black Cherry |
+
|
Swap
|
Handsome brown cherry, good taste |
| Dr. Carolyn’s Yellow |
|
Swap
|
Pale yellow, nice contrast with other cherries, not very sweet |
| New Pink Cherry (chance hybrid) |
T
|
Volunteer
|
Probably Sun Sugar X Chadwick Cherry, fairly sweet |
|
|
Sweet Peppers
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Early Pimiento |
+++
|
Swap
|
From Rob Danford – super early, crunchy, sweet, prolific, 2-3” diam. |
| Doug’s Yankee Bell |
++
|
Selected
|
My 15-year selection of Yankee Bell – early, prolific, small/medium |
| Long Yankee Bell (chance hybrid) |
++
|
Volunteer
|
Yankee Bell x Corno di Toro – large, long bell, early, prolific |
| Napolean Sweet |
++
|
SS
|
Large red bell, good ripe flavor, somewhat uneven fruit shape |
| Corno di Toro |
+++
|
BC, SE
|
Huge plant, huge long Italian fruit, huge yield, huge flavor, needs major trellis effort; holds fruit size well through season |
| Marconi |
++
|
SS, SES, E
|
Possibly the best tasting ripe pepper, medium Italian shape |
| Chervena Chushka |
+
|
SS
|
Sweet, juicy, smallish, pointy, good yield |
| Chocolate Beauty |
++
|
T, SS
|
Large, thick-walled brown bell, reddish-brown inside, sweet |
| Purple Beauty |
+
|
Various
|
Dark purple ripening to red, thick walls, decent yield |
| Gourmet Hybrid Orange Bell |
+
|
J
|
I’m starting to dehybridize |
| Quadrato D’Asti Giallo |
++
|
BC, SS
|
Huge, sweet, thick-walled yellow; heat defect in placenta, I’m selecting away from heat and looking for original no-heat |
|
|
Hot Peppers
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Aji Dulce (Capsicum chinensis) |
++
|
SE
|
All the background fruity flavor of Habanero, 2% of the heat!! |
| Habanero |
+
|
Various
|
Classic super hot with special flavor |
| Hot Paper Lantern |
++
|
J
|
Productive; sturdy red pointed fruit, quite hot |
| Aji Limon |
+
|
Swap
|
Beautiful bright yellow, sturdy pointed fruit |
| |
|
Eggplant
|
Rating
|
|
Notes
|
| Listada di Gandia |
++
|
SS
|
Beautiful purple/white stripes |
| Swallow |
++
|
F
|
Productive Asian finger-shaped purple-black hybrid, tender |
