The seed catalogues are here and visions of green growing things are dancing around in my head.So,let's all share what is our favorite variety, of plant that we've grown,and why.

Last year we grew CANDY onion that we started from seed.We really liked it.It grew to a good size,and is a sweet one,so the flavor was very good.It has also stored well as claimed,which is not a normal sweet onion characteristic. And, it is not day lenght dependant.

It was an all around winner,and even tho it is not an heirloom,our normal fare,it is a keeper that we will definetely grow again this year.

What do you like that you've grown?

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), January 07, 2001

Answers

Sharon, being a gloom and doom sort of person, I am always prepared. In fact over prepared. LOL We have a 40 kw generator so I can even heat the pool. No little inconviences for this old lady. Been the homestead route and still have all my "stuff" and the knowledge, but we have worked hard and now enjoying the "good life" from a different angle. I first started reading Countryside in 1971 or 2. JD and I both go back quite a ways. Re seed. I always make sure I have the basics covered with non hybrid seeds. Things like corn, beets, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, turnips, beans, etc. Then I buy and plant mostly hybrids due to the fact that there is more disease resistence and in many cases more flavor, such as the candy corns. My favorite choice is in the egg plants and I really like the Ichyban egg plant. It grows small fruits about an inch in diameter and 6 or 7 inches long. They are great. I have a couple in pots on the patio and I go out in the morning and grab one and slice it up into an omlet with whatever else I have grabbed out of the main garden. And yes, the eggs come from our own hens. But we no longer do the goats and making cheese and all that stuff. I do still make bread though as that I do for the soul. Judith

-- Judith (JHaral2197@aol.com), January 07, 2001.

got a gardens alive catalogue in,, had a $20 off coupon on the front,, ordered 22 bucks worth,, only cost 2 bucks,, bought green cover crops that Ive been debating on doing,,

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 07, 2001.

Hi Sharon: I just came on thinking I would ask the same question!!! We must be on the same wave length. I like to try at least one new thing every year, plus my old favorites. I am wishing that I would keep better records of what I liked and what I did not. I was wondering,(maybe I should start a separate thread) if anyone is a nut like me (my dear one thinks this is nutty) and collects beans? I have been doing it for a number of years and have some heirlooms that I would trade for others if anyone was interested. Sorry Sharon, I guess I didn't answer your question. Off the top of my head I can't think of the names of things. We grew a purple snap bean last year that was really flavorful and I will have to look up the name. I want to grow it again.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 07, 2001.

Hi Sharon,

When I'm not winter-proofing, I'm flipping through the catlogs. :-)

I like pink and old german tomatoes for flavor, Kandy Korn and Peaches N' Cream sweet corns, sugar snap pea, Romano Italian flat bean, black seeded simpson is always a lettuce I have, and I always have butternut, sweet keeper, and plain old speggeti squash. Everything else in my kitchen garden is up for debate!

Does anyone grow anything "unusual"? I've been thinking about trying loofah gourd, and GIANT pumpkin.

Peace

-- Marty (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), January 07, 2001.

That's a hard one.So many to choose from.I'm an heirloom and open- pollinated nut. Try Russian Red Kale.Aka Ragged Jack.Another good kale that has been available from some SSE members in the past is Palm Tree.It is now available from Cook's Garden And Johnny's.Find it there as Lucinato or Tuscan,two of it's aliases.Deeelicious. And on another note.Check out Davesgarden.com if you havn't already done so.Great site for seed swaps,info etc.

-- JT in nw Florida (gone2seed@hotmail.com), January 07, 2001.

Chioggia Beets and Honey and Cream Corn were my two favorites this year. Also tried and had good luck with the Bright Lights Swiss Chard. Didn't have good luck with most of my root crops except the Chiogga Beets. I would like to try Sugar Beets from Shumway's. Has anybody had any experience with these? How hard are they to process? Would also like to plant culinary and medicinal herbs next spring. Any good suggestions?

-- (trigger@mcn.net), January 07, 2001.

I was most pleased with Boothby's Blonde cucumber last year. They are an heirloom variety, very consistent in shape, nice and blocky, good, mild flavor, and they make beautiful pickles. They are so much more attractive than the olive green colored pickles! What I liked best was how nicely they fit into the jars ( they were never distorted or curly), and they were easy to find when picking. As you know, pickles are one of those crops that quit producing if you miss even one cucumber! Try as I did, I missed an awful lot of the green ones, but even in the shade the blondes were easy to find. This variety is from Pinetree. Good grief, I sound like an advertisement!!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 07, 2001.

Super Sugar Snap peas, Mammoth Melting Sugar snow peas, Red LaSoda potatoes (early spring plantings here). Summer/fall crops were; Black Krim, Caspian Pink, and Cherokee Purple tomatos, Bell Boy bell peppers, plain old Jalapeno, Squash, Corne de Toro hot peppers, Contender, Greasy and Roma beans, Cherokee wax bean, Black Turtle black beans, Sugar Baby watermelon, Egyptian onions, Red Russian and Winterbor kales, a small Butternut and Blackjack squash. I grew a bunch of other stuff, too, but these did best and matured before the horrible drought and heat set in last summer.

Wish I could grow better strawberries! :(

-- Hannah Maria Holly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), January 08, 2001.

Diane-uh..bean nut,here,too.Well,truthfully,if it grows,I probably have or will grow it.Total gardening nut!You, me,JT,Jay,and Sam in W. va. all seem to have suscumbed to that siren's song.

Also.I have my analysis of beans I grew this last year,on an email I'd sent to another forum.I'll hunt it up and post it.It was a bad year,too wet this time, so it gave them a good trial.

I grow royalty purple snap and really like them, too.Takes cold soil better,as well.Sold some at tha Farmers Mkt,and had them asking for more.You have to explain to people that they turn green when cooked,but Nick is a good talker!

And Trigger- I do Herbs-dye, everlastings, medicinal,teas and edible.Laid out an historical herb garden for one school's nature trail.Working on a second one, for the community park here.I have tons of info.I don't know where to start!

I'll try to organize something and put in on a seperate post.

JT-will check out the seed swap.See you over on The Seed Exchange.I'm getting ready to post my trade list,there.

Marty-I grow loofahs every year.One woman bought them to shredd up and put into soap, for the scrubbing action.Thought that was a great use.I use them for sponges, of course.Gourd Lady of KY used them to create amazing gourd creatures.Grow like any vine crop.

Hannah-I too grow greasies.We sell them,as well.People love them or hate them.I can't grow enough to meet demand.

I'm looking for a good strawberry,too.I grew Cavendish with good production,but found them TOO sweet,lacking that strawberry flavor.Very good for the freezer tho.I have a patch of Surecrop that I'll get a crop off of this year.

I also have alpines.Not alot of berries at once,but produce all season and take some shade.Different flavor,but great in pancakes, cereal, or eating fresh.Yoy pick them before completely red.I had to learn that,as they get mushy and rather tasteless if left on too long.

Rebekah-Nick LOVES Blonde cuke.So praise on.He grows and likes the lemon cuke also,but liked Blonde better.

It's been pleasant to talk gardening with you all this A.M.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), January 08, 2001.

I was wondering if any of you "bean people" grew a pea called "Whipporwill" peas? Also, a large butterbean that is white with purple speckles? My grandfather used to grow these years ago and I have been unable to find them anywhere. Also, I grow herbs and make herb wreathes, and I've been looking for a plant called "Pearly Everlasting" and "Rabbit Tobacco". These two dry very nicely and can be dyed for use on the wreathes. Thanks :)

-- Leah (GrayOwl31@aol.com), January 08, 2001.

I just wrote a whole e-mail on this for a local homesteading list, so rather than duplicate myself, I'll share it here.

I have used three companies almost exclusively for buying seed. Pinetree Garden seeds, Rh Shumway, and Totally Tomatoes also owned by Shumway. All three of these companies have been great. Currently I have mostly seed from Shumway and TT. This is from last year as most of my seed didn't get used because of our move. This year I am hopefully planting a garden out at our property. I am desperately looking for spoiled Hay and horse manure right now for mulch. Any ideas? It might be fun to share some seed with members of the list. I have quite a few unusual varieties that I will probably reproduce this year. It would be fun to do this in the fall, because everyone will have a new seed harvest. Some of my favorite varieties are: lady finger peas(an heirloom southern pea handed down by my grandfather), Black Krim tomatoes(These are a black tomato and look spoiled when ripe, but oh the taste is spectacular), Delicious tomatoes, Bloody Butcher corn, Carolina Cross watermelons(I have seen these produce a crop under unbelievable drought conditions), Lemon cucumbers{ ditto for these},Purple Peacock pole beans(I love purple pole beans. The color changes upon cooking, but the green they become is a jeweltone green. These beans produce well under drought. We made a teppee out of them and my children had a ball keeping the beans picked.), White half runner beans(These beans produce a lot of beans that can be used many ways, green, shelled, dried. These are a great all around bean. They will have some strings, but these are easily removed. The beans are naturally a shorter length which means no snapping. The only thing is I wish there was a full runner version of them. They are a little hard on the back. Maybe I'll develop one.). I also like turnips. Turnip are a great vegetable and it is easy to see why our ancestor relied heavily on them. They produce food for nearly all months of the year. Greens in the spring, babies in the summer for boiling with peas, and big ones in the fall to put into storage for feeding you the rest of the year. Turnips are high in vitamins and are a good source of Vitamin C in winter, when their aren't many around. Not to mention, these things are incredible croppers that come through fine even when other foods fail. They are definitely an aquired taste, but well worth it to the person who bothers to aquire it.

Little Bit Farm

-- Little bit Farm (littlebit@calinet.com), January 08, 2001.

Christmas lima is large with purple streaks.I think I got mine from Nichols.Crop failure for me this year,so I don't have extra for swapping.

I also saw something similar in cental KY that they called goose bean (there are a number of goose beans-I have a brown seeded one.)

On whipperwill pea,was that a black eyed pea or english pea?If noone here knows it's whereabouts,you can go the Seeds Of Change forum and ask there.Seedsavers exchange,as well. Don't recall seeing it in Southern Exposure's catalogue.JT has some more places to look for odd things,what were they? I don't remember what thread they're on.Too bad our archives aren't better sorted.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), January 08, 2001.

Little Bit,

If you look under feed or feed and tack or horses in your phone book and give them folks a call they can give you the numbers of a few boarding stables or horse ranch's in your area. Believe me, having a horse ranch myself, they will be more than happy to let you come get all the manure you want.

Good Luck

-- Stacia in OK (OneClassyCowgirl@aol.com), January 08, 2001.

The "Whipporwill" pea was a black-eyed or brown-eyed pea if my memory serves me correctly. :)

-- Leah (GrayOwl31@aol.com), January 09, 2001.

Sharon, have you tried Caspian Pink tomatoes? They are like Brandywine, but more vigorous & prolific. I like Boothby's Blond cucumbers, too. The ones I picked for seed sat outside by the back door for several weeks, and only one rotted. I don't recall other cucumbers keeping this well.

-- Sam in W.Va. (turnip55a@yahoo.com), January 10, 2001.

Leah-I found a reference for Whipperwill pea-it is a cowpea.I'll try to email you, when I can.

Sam.I'm growing Rose tomato that I got from Johnny's I believe.Sounds very much like your Caspian pink. Looks and tastes like a Brandywine,but not the defect. But,it's not a potato leaf,either, like Brandywine. What about the PInk?

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), January 10, 2001.

We plant all the usual but I always plant Star of David Okra. It is absolutely the best. It is very blocky and wonderful flavor, thrives even here in our very hot very dry summers. I have seed to share if anyone wants some. I got my first seed from Southern Seed Exchange, then they a had a couple crop failures..I can't see how they must have had a blizzard or something. Then I was able to find them in Seeds of Change, and have made it a point to save seed ever since.

I have a Shepherd's Garden Seeds catalog but I have never bought from them before..anyone have experience with their seed? They have some really good sounding stuff[ everything sounds good long about now,tho]. I usually buy from Southern Seed Exch. This blonde cucumber sounds really good, where can I get a pinetree catalog? Never heard of them.

-- Artie Ann Karns (rokarns@arkansas.net), January 10, 2001.

Sharon, Caspian Pink is a potato leaf. Hard to tell about names sometimes when they're mostly coming from Madison Avenue these days....

-- Sam in W.Va. (turnip55a@yahoo.com), January 11, 2001.

Howdy! It occured to me that the variety depends on the area that you live. I am in the central US and I have loved Marketmore 76 cucs. for making dill pickles. I came up with a good recipe about 10 years ago and if you pick them little they are great. I have tried using pickling cucs to make pickles, but in our Summer heat they turn out pretty funny looking!! About Strawberries, I have raised Strawberries for about 15 or 20 years. I originally started with some from my husband's grandpa. When we moved furthur out to the middle of no where I replanted from the Leonard and Sons nursury. They have Surecrop for cheap and they are excellent plants! Last time I looked you could get 100 plants for 17 bucks. I also chunk all of the ashes from the fire place on the garden and make special sure that the strawberries get a good dose. You don't want to fertilize them come spring or they get mushy when they ripen for some reason. Just keep them weeded HAHA, and they should give you a long time reward. I have a bed about 20 x 20 in my 1/2 acre garden and I don't ever have to buy jam or pie fixins. I can't stand to go grocery shopping so I plant a big garden and can and freeze everything. If you happen to live in an area that is fairly humid you will have great luck with rutgers tomatoes. If you have a drier climate I have found that celebrity do well. Good luck and God Bless! Nan

-- Nan Warren (davidl41@ipa.net), January 12, 2001.

I like Shumway's Lazy Wife Pole Beans. I don't have to bend over much to pick them and they snap real nice. No strings, great flavor.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), January 14, 2001.

A friend of mine told me of a cuke that didnt run too far which would be good if you didnt have much room in you garden and he said that it would have clumps of cukes about every 8-10 inches and was very good tasting. Im going to try them. I run my cukes up a wire to save room. dale

-- dale (dgarr@fidnet.com), January 14, 2001.