Each year I garden, I become more and more convinced that choosing the proper plant varieties (or cultivars) is one of the cornerstones of a successful garden. Other practices that are essential for the support of that productive patch include proper soil preparation, fertilizing, timing, irrigation and pest control.
But back to the selection of the seeds that will grow our plants. It takes no more work to grow an adapted, improved, high-yielding crop than an inferior, low-quality plant that doesn't produce as much. There has been a great plant breeding effort over the years to improve those factors. The aim of the seed industry has been to develop superior kinds for the food processing and fresh market area, but home gardeners also benefit.You say, "But newer varieties cost more." I suggest that seeds, even those that seem expensive, are a bargain when you calculate the returns you receive. A watermelon or cantaloupe seed may cost as much as 10 cents. What kind of a fruit can you purchase, even when you calculate other gardening expenses, to replace that grown at home? Plus, don't forget you put as much work into a mediocre crop as a superior one.
When I arrived in Utah about eight years ago, "they" said broccoli was difficult to grow and didn't do well. Since it was one of my family's favorite foods, I decided to ignore those warnings. I relied on the variety recommendations of Alvin Hamson, Utah State University Extension horticulturist. Seed companies around the world respect his ability to select high-quality, productive vegetable cultivars.
I planted Premium Crop very early in the spring using healthy vigorous transplants. A complete fertilizer was placed near the roots, and ammonium sulfate was sprinkled along the row at about four-week intervals. I was able to harvest large heads of excellent quality broccoli that were followed by cuttings of good-size side shoots most of the summer. More broccoli planted from seed about July 1 kept us in that vitamin-laden, delicious crop until well after frost.
Ever on the search for superior seeds, this year I selected from an NPI seed rack Packer broccoli. Using the above techniques, I cut the largest broccoli head I've grown in Utah, 12 inches in diameter, from the State Fairpark garden in mid-October. It fed us with plenty left over for the freezer to enjoy later.
Green Comet and Grand Duke also are adapted to Utah climate.
Corn variety choices have been revolutionized in the past five years or so. Hamson has kept us in the forefront of information with his Farmington trials. If you don't grow Sugar Buns or Breeder's Choice in 1990 you'll miss the best early corn- eating you can experience.
These varieties, plus others of the sugar-enhanced (SE) kinds, are head and shoulders (maybe even waist!) above the varieties like Jubilee, Earli-Pak and others grown a few years ago. If you think NK199 is a good corn for home gardens, one ear of a SE type will change that. Choose from Miracle, Incredible, Bodacious, Phenomenal and other enticing names.
Those SE hybrids not only taste good, their sugar changes to starch very slowly. You can harvest from the same planting over a prolonged period, 10-12 days with good eating quality.
If you're a regular reader you may have the impression that I promote kohlrabi. You're right! Turnips are a good vegetable but seem always to attract cabbage root maggots that burrow through the flesh, rendering it useless. Kohlrabi grows above the ground, has many of the characteristics of turnip (but in my mind, superior) and is exempt from maggot invasion.
White and Purple Vienna have been on the market since Adam's time! An Oregon seedsman introduced me to Winner a few years back. It was one of the top-ranked selections in Hamson's recent test of many kohlrabis. Very tender and sweet, even into large sizes, Winner offers vitamins, minerals and flavor. You can seed it in your garden from early spring to late summer.
Grand Duke is another choice. If you like the purple kind and it's only the exterior that is colored, Purple Danube offers high quality.
Earlier I brought up melons. Summet, now joined by Hamson's choice Mission, are quite early cantaloupes of superior eating quality. I've become addicted to Rocky Sweet, a green fleshed melon with the sweetest taste they've measured at Farmington.
Seeds, or young transplants of these melons, if started in a Wall O'Water or other protection from cool spring weather, will ensure ripe fruits in your garden.
Crimson Sweet is the Green River commercial watermelon but does well in home gardens along the Wasatch Front. Again, early season protection will enhance your chances of sweet, ripe fruits.
Each year All-American Selections, a national organization, tests new vegetable and flower varieties for their home garden adaptation. Many of their past introductions are those that do well here but there's no guarantee. A crop may do well in many other U.S. locations but not surpass superior kinds that we grow. Still, it's a place to begin if you're into seeking the best for your garden.
The 1990 introductions include:
-SQUASH F-1 "Sundrops." It's a new shape in summer squash. The yellow oval fruit matures in about 50-55 days. Immature squash may be used whole as a gourmet vegetable dish or left to develop a 3-to-4-inch size. Sundrops has a nutty squash flavor. The plant is compact and can be spaced 20-24 inches apart.
-SQUASH F-1 "Cream of the Crop." This is an acorn squash with a creamy white skin which makes it easy to find and harvest. The 2- to 3-pound squash matures in about 85 days and has a creamy golden flesh color. "Cream of the Crop" has a bush habit also.
-BEAN "Derby." A green bush bean with improved pod quality. They're long and then mature in about 57 days. Pods remain tender with excellent eating quality when up to 7 inches long. Seed development is slow. Gardeners will be able to pick them easier because pods slip from the bush without the stem attached.
-PEPPER F-1 "Super Cayenne." It's a small plant suited for ornamental use or in a container. There's a lot of long, thin peppers but not for the "faint of heart." The fiery peppers can ignite tender taste buds and are similar to being close to fire (from AAS press release!).
I'd suggest you select some of our recommended varieties to compare to your own standards. They're not the only good ones, but they've been tested under our local growing conditions and have performed well. You'll have a chance to know which tomatoes we have success with, one of our most universal questions.
"Selected Recommended Vegetable Varieties" is a fact sheet that's yours if you send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to USU Extension, 2001 S. State, Room S1200, Salt Lake City, UT 84190-3350.