Top varieties for fruit/veg

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by Linz, Jan 2, 2017.

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  1. Linz

    Linz Total Gardener

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    Looking ahead, I've started picking out a few fruits and veggies I'd like to try growing this year so I'd like some opinions on the varieties to try please. Taste, ease and do they need any specifics eg pollination partners.. I have a small blowaway and another large walk in blowaway which will be up for the end of spring/summer :)

    Blueberries, having read a bit about them last year I'll need 2 to set fruit, right? Any recommendations? "Blue crop" has come up twice for me, also like the look of the "Pink Sapphire".

    Raspberries, found a variety called "Valentina" an orange/gold type and "Glen Coe" a purple type, colours are for the kids or should I go for something like Tayberry/Logan berry.. I haven't had the pleasure of tasting of either though.

    Rhubarb, No idea what I tried to grow last year but it rotted. A good type for pies and not prone to rot please?

    Tomato, I'd like something that's got an intense taste but slightly sweet too.. good for sun-drying? Not too big though I prefer small plum/cherry types

    Sweetcorn, "Lark f1" has come up several times. Bear in mind Welsh summers are pretty pants.. should I bother?

    Carrot, failed last year. I think I have "Autumn King" and "Nantes" seeds here, should I buy fresh/different? I plan on continuous sowing.

    Peas, Grew "early onward" and "kelvedon wonder", amazing! Gutted I didn't continuous sow.. Any other types to try?

    Parsnip, Also failed last year.. (down to me though.)

    Potatoes, I grew from seed spuds, Maris Peer I think? Loved them gutted I didn't carry on throughout the year. Will be trying Charlotte and King Edwards if I can get my hands on them. Any other top cropping ones? Will be growing in sacks again.

    Onions, do I bother? If I do, Seed or sets? Any types.. sturon keeps popping up?

    Melons, been reading the cantaloupe type are best for our weather?

    Can't think off the top of my head.

    Any input is greatly appreciated and add the varieties you are growing yourselves, even if the fruit /veg isn't mentioned in my list :dbgrtmb:
     
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    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      A few thoughts:

      Blueberries - can't help as my soil is alkaline - they need acidic.

      Raspberries - wen I selected some varieties for my allotment firstly I went for thornless (as I want to encourage my grandkids to come along and pick) - then selected on flavour and a spread of harvest time:
      Glen Moy - early
      Glen Ample - mid season
      Tadmore - late summer
      Polka - Autumn

      Rhubarb: Timperley early

      Tomato: Sungold are the sweetest and best all rounder. FOr sun drying nearly all the tomatoes I tried last year improved when dried - even the ones that were fairly bland when eaten raw. I got good results drying the San Marzano. Floridity fits the bill as a slightly sweet and very tangy taste when raw.

      Sweetcorn: Swift F1 - really sweet and fast maturing.

      Carrot - I've never found any real difference in taste between varieties. Best to get fresh seed each year though, especially if yours failed last.

      Peas: Try mangetout - delicious raw. I grew Sweet Horizon last year - got good crop.

      Parsnip - need fresh seed every year. I tried Countess F1 last year and got excellent straight canker free roots. Also grew Tender and True and that hasn't done quite as well.

      Potatoes: Grow Rocket for the earliest and best tasting spuds. It's hardly worth growing a main crop but if your do go for Sarpo mira _ I got a tremendous yield and they seem resistant to slugs and blight.

      Onions: Easiest from sets but prone to bolting, just grow a lot of them and pack them close together, discard any that bolt. I grow Sturnon - they store well.

      Melons: Tried them years ago and concluded they need heat and light and space in a greenhouse, even then I only got a couple of small fruit - I decided it wasn't worth the effort for little return so gave up.
       
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      • Linz

        Linz Total Gardener

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        Thanks John, your a star :)

        I have slightly acidic soil so don't think that will be a prob with blueberries. Failing my soil I'll shove them in big pots.

        Raspberries; I bought few early and mid canes last year but they turned out to be dead as a dodo so bought an autumn fruiting type from tesco, not sure what they are, nice though! Will give Glen Ample another go for sure this year

        Will try and get the varieties you mentioned for every thing else and get fresh seed for carrots and parsnips :blue thumb:

        I think I'll have a go at melons just to try out my luck/ the green house and maybe put 2/3 san marzano in there too :fingers crossed:
         
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        • Fat Controller

          Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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          Blueberries - Blue Crop do quite well for me, I have them in containers with ericaceous compost and they seem quite happy. You need to be a bit careful what you feed them with though, to maintain acidity

          Raspberries - Glen Coe is another one that I have, and again I am quite happy with. I cannot remember the variety that make up the bulk of my crop though (sorry); Loganberries are worthwhile - think of a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, OK on its own but lovely in a fruit mix or even cooked

          Tomatoes - Maskotka are a nice small plum shaped red tomato, and in my experience are pretty bullet proof. I haven't done them for the past two years, and my crops have been such a washout I have regretted it; needless to say, I already have a packet of seeds standing by to start in the coming weeks.

          Carrots - I have had decent success with an F1 variety 'Flyaway', but my experience is limited.

          As for everything else, I cannot really add anything.
           
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          • Linz

            Linz Total Gardener

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            Thanks FC! Think I'll get the blue crop and put it in a pot, good advice about the feeds totally forgot I had ericaceous feed here! And get a few of the Glen's, these seem to pop everywhere I'm looking.
            Haven't come across Maskotka seeds yet when I've been out so I'll order some online soon.
            I did see flyaway earlier but picked up the nantes 2 again
            And no probs, any input is fab :dbgrtmb:
             
          • Kandy

            Kandy Will be glad to see the sun again soon.....

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            IMG_0502.JPG I must show you these parsnips seeds and their 100%germination rate.

            In late summer I cut off a load of parsnip seeds stalks off of one of my parsnips that had run to seed.I think it was self set as I know we didn't sow any near my apple trees.:biggrin:

            Anyway I placed the stalks in a tray and put them in the allotment shed to dry off and just checked on them from time to time to make sure they were ok.In November when I checked them I noticed the tray was full of rat pooh because the rats from the chicken people decided there must be something to eat in my shed:mad:

            Well there was no way was I going to handle the parsnip seeds in case the rats had weed on the seed so after putting on some gardening gloves I emptied the tray on top of my compost bin and forgot all about them.A couple of weeks ago we took our buckets of veg peelings to compost and I noticed big clumps of parsnip seed had germinated:scratch:

            At the end of our time at the allotment I quickly got a container and with a towel scooped some of them up.Back home I have pricked out twenty five of them and as you can see the others have got a bit leggy so will probably get chucked:snorky:

            If we had gone to the garden centre this spring and bought a new packet of parsnip seed and had carefully sown them in March or started them off at home I expect the germination rate would have been quiet poor:sad:
             
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            • Linz

              Linz Total Gardener

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              Ahh awesome!! There's a bloody load!!!! :hate-shocked: Think the rat poo helped?! :heehee:
               
            • Baymule

              Baymule Gardener

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              I don't know if you can get this variety of tomato, but my favorite is Cherokee Purple. The skin is a darkish purpley red, greenish shoulders on top, deep red insides and the flavor is divine. I dehydrate them and use the dehydrated tomatoes crumbled up on our winter salads. We refuse to eat store bought tomatoes. Cherokee Purple has a place in our garden every year. I have also grown San Marzano tomatoes and they make a great tomato sauce.
               
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              • Linz

                Linz Total Gardener

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                Went to wilkos earlier in the week and today, picked up a few seeds.. should of checked before hand, turns out I have doublers now from picking up seed last Oct.
                In no order these are what I have so far:

                Peas - kelvedon wonder, Hurst green shaft, Oregon sugar pod (mangetout) x 2, Ambassador, onward

                Rhubarb - picked up a Victoria crown in wilko for £2. Will still look for Timperley.

                Parsnip - Javelin f1, White Gem, Student, Tender and true

                Carrot - nantes 5 x2, Autumn king 2

                Tomato - tumbling tom red x2, minibel, heartbreaker vita f1, 100s and 1000s (these were good last year until I got blight)

                Sweetcorn -incredible x 2, swift

                Onions - picked up sturon sets £1.50 and bedfordshire champion seed (in a mixed veg seed pack from last yr)

                Potatoes - bought rocket and maris peer seed spuds.. more to come


                Now for some randoms, I either thought I'll give it a go or were in a mixed pack.. I'm growing cabbage and leeks from plants bought in bnq which are doing alright, started leeks from seed but never got round to planting them. Any thoughts on these?

                Spinach - Americana (grew 2 pots of something last year and it went straight to seed :( )

                Swede - helenor

                Leek - musselburgh, Lyon 2

                Cabbage - Golden Acre primo 2

                Kale - dwarf green curled

                Cauliflower - all year round

                Courgette - all green bush

                Broccoli - Red arrow

                Also have some green and red mixed lettuce, rocket, cumin and thyme

                Any thoughts are much appreciated :smile:
                 
                Last edited: Jan 6, 2017
              • Fat Controller

                Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                Musselburgh Leeks are good do'ers @Linz - I grew them a couple of years ago, and they did really well for me.

                Cauliflower All Year Round - again good, if slightly small heads, but I think that was weather related.

                EDIT - if you can, direct sow your parnsips; I am sure I have read somewhere that they are fussy about being transplanted.
                 
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                • Linz

                  Linz Total Gardener

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                  Thanks, I'm sure I tried them (and a few other things) in bog rolls and they were a soggy mess.. so failed big time on a lot of things. Not doing that this year :blue thumb: I'm not really a fan of cauli so its a toss up whether I got space or the taste for it!
                   
                • Fat Controller

                  Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                  Home grown parsnips are a bit special to be honest, definitely well worth persevering with. To me, onions are a waste of time as they all taste pretty much the same and are available so cheap from the supermarket.

                  Cauli freezes well.
                   
                • Linz

                  Linz Total Gardener

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                  I love parsnips and read they're so much nicer homegrown so really want to try them out! As for the onions I know what your saying, I think I'm just mucking about and trying my hand at it!
                   
                • Fat Controller

                  Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                  I will never forget my first taste of a parsnip - in Scotland when I was a lad, they weren't the sort of thing you would commonly find in the shops. It was not long after I started my first full time job, and my boss (who also became a friend) invited me to his house for dinner; his wife pulled some parsnips from the garden and made them into 'chips' and roasted them to go with the dinner instead of tatties - I loved them!

                  I grew my own for the first time a few years back, and was pleasantly surprised. Mine were a wee bit thin, but I think that might have been a lack of water.
                   
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                  • "M"

                    "M" Total Gardener

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                    Your girls might like them :whistle: :chicken:
                     
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