Browsing garden catalogs and planning the coming year's garden is a pleasant way to spend a winter day, despite the danger of setting off a massive case of spring fever! But choosing from the abundance of vegetable varieties in even a few catalogs can quickly become a challenge.
Beginning gardeners, especially, may have difficulty picking varieties to plant because they don't have the benefit of gardening experience and a list of favorites.
Catalogs are full of useful information about disease resistance, days to maturity, plant habit (vining vs. bush, for instance) and other desirable traits, but so many choices, all of which are described in only the most positive terms, can be overwhelming.
Getting Good Recommendations
One reliable guide to look for in catalogs, is the notation of an All-America Selection (AAS) award winner. To be an AAS winner, a variety must show superior performance in side-by-side trials with proven varieties. Trial gardens are located across the United States and in Canada, and varieties have to perform well under a wide range of conditions to earn an award.
Need ideas for reputable companies to purchase seeds? Check out the National Garden Bureau's (NGB), member companies, who support this gardening non-profit's many programs. With their support, NGB provides inspiration and connects home gardeners with professional experts in order to grow more flowers and vegetables to beautify and feed the world.
Finally, a friend or neighbor who has the sort of garden you admire may also have some insights to share. If someone shares his harvest with you and those big, juicy tomatoes are the most flavorful you have ever tasted, ask what variety they are. Variety selection is just one step in growing a fantastic garden, but it can make a big difference in productivity and performance.
Don't Ignore the Golden Oldies
Though "new and improved" is often the watchword in the seed catalogs, not all recommended varieties are new introductions. For good reason, some garden standouts have been around a long time. 'Connecticut Field' pumpkins, for instance, go back to colonial times. Often these 'golden oldies' or heirloom cultivars have stayed in the popular gardening market because of their vigor, disease resistance, flavor, productivity and other unique characteristics.
A few great heirloom varieties still commonly in the gardening market include the following.
- 'Danvers Half Long' carrot – introduced to the U.S. in 1871
- 'Detroit Dark Red' beets – introduced in 1892
- 'Early Jersey Wakefield' cabbage – 1840
- 'Early Yellow Summer Crookneck' squash – about 1700
- 'French Breakfast' radish - 1879
- 'Golden Bantam' sweet corn – a standard for open pollinated sweet corn. 1902
- 'Kentucky Wonder' pole beans – originally sold in 1864 as 'Texas Pole' and reintroduced with it's new name in 1877
- 'Nebraska Wedding' tomatoes – first documentation in Nebraska in the late 1800's
Most newer introductions are hybrids offering 1) improved disease resistance, earliness or productivity, 2) more compact plants, 3) improved color, shape, taste or storability or 4) some combination of these and other desirable traits.
Trying Something New
If you've been gardening for a while, you probably already have your favorites. But you might also find yourself tempted to try "new and improved" this year. Why not set up your own small cultivar trial, by planting the new variety alongside the old favorites rather than switching entirely to the new variety. If the new variety doesn't live up to its billing, you still have your old standby to fall back on. But, if it performs spectacularly, you'll have the tried-and-true variety to compare it to. And maybe you'll have a new favorite.