A comfortable chair, a mug of tea, and a couple of seed catalogs- these are the winter highlights. Each year, I plan on starting a mixture of old, trusted stand-bys and new varieties. Dreams of gardening splendor.
The performance, including taste, yield, and pest resistance, of a variety is dependent on its environmental conditions, for instance, soil type, rainfall, irrigation, sun exposure etc. Heirloom vegetable varieties are selections from a plant breeder, gardener, or farmer that are usually site and trait specific. A great resource for learning about heirlooms and seed-saving is the Seed Savers Exchange. For heirloom variety recommendations, Slow Food USA has a list, the Ark of Taste, with descriptions and links to seed sources. Bonus! They have a list of the varieties by region, which is incredibly helpful for selecting heirlooms that will work well in your climate.
The List:
Tomatoes: Juliet and Sungold. Juliet is a small roma or saladette tomato that is prolific, disease-resistant, and a must-have for the garden. The other variety that I plant every year is 'Sungold', a delicious, fruity, orange cherry tomato. Caution: the fruits crack after a heavy rain. Watch the weather and harvest before a rain or thunderstorm.
Onions: 'Redwing' is a red storage onion that I continue to grow year after year because of its consistent performance. In 2013, I planted two varieties of yellow storage onions, 'Copra' and 'Dakota Tears'. I preferred the strong top and bulb growth of 'Dakota Tears' over 'Copra' this season. I've been growing 'Copra' for a number of years and have found it to be a reliable variety. This is the first year for 'Dakota Tears'. I'm curious to see how it performs over several seasons.
Leeks: Bleu de Solaize successfully germinated in the low tunnels last winter and was ready to harvest by late April. This variety develops long, slender shanks. The key to growing leeks with plenty of white, edible shank is to create a furrow about 6 inches deep and plant the seedlings into this furrow. Over the course of the growing season, rain and irrigation events wash the soil into the furrow. No hilling necessary!
Cucumbers: Last season, I trialed three varieties: 'Calypso', 'Super Zagross', and 'Poona Kheera' from Fedco seeds. In 2012, the cucumber plot was heavily infested with cucumber beetles. Based on observations of defoliation and disease levels, 'Poona Kheera' was the most resistant compared to 'Super Zagross' and 'Calypso'. The fruits of 'Poona Kheera' change in skin color and texture from a milky white to yellow and then a beautiful russet-brown. Even at the later stages of maturity, the fruits remain sweet not bitter. This variety performed well in the hot, dry beetle-infested 2012 season and the cool, wet disease-ridden 2013 season.
