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The best of the best of the veg

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  • #1

    The best of the best of the veg

    Whenever I buy seeds, I just look for cheap packets of something I like the idea of growing, put it in my seed tin, and then pull it out around sowing time. But after I read the Serbian Pole Beans highly recommended thread in which shushkin recommends Flummery's variety of seeds (that she originally got from Pigletwillie. Still following?) I started to wonder. Perhaps I should be searching for the tastiest, most productive and easiest to grow varieties rather than just the cheap ones. Problem being that this is my first year of growing, so everything I've grown is both the best AND the worst I've tried.

    So what varieties of veg have you grown and recommend or condemn and why?
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  • #2
    It's a difficult one as taste is very personal and what grows well depends on your soil, climate etc etc. It's good to learn to read between the lines on seed catalogues eg uniformity of ripening can mean they all ripen together and therefore a glut, good for commercial growers but rubbish for us. I tend to stick with the varieties I love (some of which can be more expensive but in some cases I can save the seed eg Yellow podded mange tout) but try a few different ones each year. Most importantly, keep records so you don't forget what's good / bad.

    Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

    Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

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    • #3
      Depends on what you like eating, if you are like me and eat all the fruit and veg regardless (the better half calls me a 'fruit Bat') than I find that the flavors I get from veg seeds bought from the 'The real Seed Company' are near the top. Most of the stuff is growing easily and I think they try it all on them-self before they actually putting the seeds for sale.

      I do use other sellers like T&M but only when they are 50% off like this time of the year, Tucker seeds also give me good results.

      Many here will tell you justifiably, that this is only half the story, providing good growing conditions is the rest of the story.
      Last edited by CimaDirapa; 12-08-2009, 09:57 AM.

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      • #4
        Most of us will have varieties that we grow year in year out, either for flavour or simply because they grow consistently well in our part of the world, but as has been mentioned, we all have different tastes and will all grow for different reasons.
        For what it's worth my every year choices are as follows;
        Broad Bean - Witkiem Manita
        Pointed Cabbage - Hispi
        Savoy Cabbage - Primavoy
        Turnip -Purple Top Milan
        Tomato - Golden Sunrise, San Marzano
        Cucumber - Femspot, Pepinex
        Lettuce - Charita
        Other than that, I am willing to chop and change varieties each time
        Rat

        British by birth
        Scottish by the Grace of God

        http://scotsburngarden.blogspot.com/
        http://davethegardener.blogspot.com/

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        • #5
          I like to try something new every season, this year it was squash, i only have a smallish back garden so most of my things are grown in pots, this year i've made a raised bed, and that's where im growing my squash's "little green gem" and "munchkin" there doing rather well, but i've learnt that quality seeds are best, but you live and learn.

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          • #6
            I tend to visit the RHS site and check out their award of garden merit selections but I do have personal favourites like Cucino lunchbox F1 cucumbers, expensive at a £1.00 per seed but consistently producing 4" cucumbers which are tasty and offer a lot less waste. I dont tend to go for cheap seeds, well not in veg or fruit and I definitely wont buy from Wilko's after planting horseradish thongs that weren't and globe artichoke that was cardoom, mind you I would like to see their faces if I was to take 3 x 8' plants back and say Oy this isn't what it said on the packet.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by TEB View Post
              I would like to see their faces if I was to take 3 x 8' plants back and say Oy this isn't what it said on the packet.
              Go on Teb...i dare you ..i'd love to be a fly on the wall for that one .

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              • #8
                I recommend Black Krim beefsteak toms, very early, they almost beat the Gardeners Delight in the greenhouse and did so outdoors for a friend of mine, delicious grilled.... Two words of warning they look wierd when ripe, are very overripe if they are red and have all the worst beefsteak growtrh habits going.... taste great though


                chrisc

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                • #9
                  If you like beetroot try Sanguina Beetroot from Real Seeds. Juicy, tasty. Proper old-fashioned beetroot.

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                  • #10
                    The only way you will come up with a great veg list for yourself is with experience and that will take time. I have been gardening over 40 years and 12 on current lottie and I still haven't come up with a definitive list and change things each year. I do find that even something that may not grow well on my site is still far fresher and tastier than shop bought stuff.

                    Ian

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                    • #11
                      this is my first year growing on my plot,although i have grown stuff before.What i decided to do was ask others on the allotment what variety they were growing.As i assumed my soil would be fairly close to theirs.I thend tried to fnd out if it was an easy to grow variety.This way I hopefully avoid having too many disasters,next year I might or might not change variety to my taste,quantity etc preferences

                      If you have no crop then its a bit of a downer,I'd rather something grew and then find out i didn't like it than to have no crop

                      So I'd err on growing the easiest afterall the easiest might also be the best

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