The Best (And Worst) Vegetables of 2009-2010

As promised, the best of the best, and worst of the worst seed-grown vegetable list from 2009. Now remember, to some extent these ratings are subjective, and dependent on climate; when choosing varieties, you must always select cultivars that are adapted to your site and growing conditions. Take for instance, that all time American favorite tomatoes. I was just speaking today with Laurel, of Laurel’s Heirloom Tomato Plants, (a great source for live plants, by the way) asking her if she would provide me with some recommendations for San Jose, California, where I’ll be speaking next week at the South Bay Home & Garden Show.

Here’s the list she kindly put together, based on both personal input and purchaser comments:

Paul Robeson
Sunset’s Red Horizon
Clint Eastwood’s Rowdy Red
Blood Gulch
Summer Cider
Kellogg’s Breakfast
Goose Creek
Japanese Black Trifele
Mortgage Lifter
Grandpa Ashlock
Marianna’s Peace
Cherokee Green
Any Brandywine but especially Brandywine Yellow which loves San Jose’s long temperate growing season
Black Zebra and Yellow Zebra
German Giant
Marvel Striped
Isis Candy
Yellow Gooseberry
Omar’s Lebanese

Now many of these varieties are very long season, perfect for San Jose, but somewhat problematic here in Boston. Most other crops show similar differences between one variety and another. Unfortunately, the only way to find out what’s what is to experiment, or, ask a knowledgeable gardener in your area (the second option being the far more economical. Most good nurseries as well as the invaluable Cooperative Extension Services can provide sound advice.)

One other tip garnered from last year: don’t select crops for appearance alone. I know this sounds basic, but as gardeners, we (I) fall for it all the time. If produce is cute and/or unusually colored, people flock to it in droves, never-mind how it tastes. That’s a mistake: witness my trial of the white raddish ‘White Icicle’. I’m sure 2 x 4’s have more flavor…

Also keep in mind that smaller sized varieties are great for compact gardens where fresh eating is the aim, but often smaller sized produce doesn’t have sufficient biomass for long term storage. Big fat round beets, and full sized butternut squash last far better than their more petit cousins.

Finally, I’ve already lamented enough about last year’s tomato season, and am anxious to put in, along with most of 2009, into the bin of bad memories. But, despite the late blight, two varieties actually managed to produce a decent crop last season, before dying totally away in August: ‘Red Rose’, a cross between ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Rutgers’ with the best qualities of each; and ‘Sungold’, still the best cherry in the business. Both are available from Tomato Growers Supply.

And, I almost forgot: a fantastic green to red pepper: Ace, from Johnny’s. This was the best and most abundant pepper yield I’ve ever had, and this variety is particularly adapted to northern gardeners. The flavor is average, but the yields! Rating: 5

Until next time, I’m Michael Weishan, for Old House, Old Garden.

Tags: best and worst vegetable of 2009, best and worst vegetables of 2009, best vegetable seeds 2010, choosing vegetable varieties, growing tomatoes, growing vegetables, seed-grown vegetable list from 2009, starting seeds, traditional gardening, vegetable gardening

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 8:18 pm and is filed under New American Victory Garden, Traditional Gardening®, container gardening, green gardening, history of food, organic gardening, urban gardening, vegetable gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.