|
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 |
