suggested... Veg Varieties Reviews?

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suggested... Veg Varieties Reviews?

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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 07 2:36 pm Post subject: suggested... Veg Varieties Reviews?
We're getting to the point in the threads on veg varieties from the last few years that we can compile an article on which varieties are reccomended by our members. Any thoughts?

BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 07 3:58 pm Post subject:
I would be interested to see what works well, my peas are not that great. Bob Flowerdew has just published a new book 'The Gourmet Gardener' which is supposed to focus on taste, I have not seen it yet, has anyone else?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 07 4:15 pm Post subject:

Good idea.

Chillies:

Thai Hot Dragon
Regularly my best yielding chilli, very hot, sharp pointy chilli, bit bigger than most Thai types.

Thailand
A huge plant if you let it be, chillies are bigger than THD but nowhere near as prolific or early.

Thai Hot
A bit like Thai Hot Dragon but a lot smaller, hence very fiddly. I prefer either THD or Nepalese Orange.

Nepalese Orange
2nd best yielding, bit fiddlier to pick as the chillis are smaller, good clean taste, actually ripens to red, not orange

Korean Hot
Highly recommended but I never had much luck with it, only tried it once so might just have been something I did.

Charlestown Hot
Funny shaped chilli, very pale green ripeniing orangey red, slightly fruity flavour, not a huge yield and quite late ripening

Fatali
A habanero type fro Ethiopia, really vigorous, really hot, not a brilliant yield but worth it, nice colour and shape, it's a bright yellow fat pointed crinkly thing.

Jalapeno
Vigorous and early, always a good standby, does well outdoors. Not overly keen on the flavour except for sauces and stuff, usually a good crop. Medium hot

Portugal
A lovely really big long chilli, like Indian (cayenne) types but 3 times the size, can be quite hot but usually fairly mild. Late ripening and not a brilliant yield but one I like a lot.

Ring Of Fire
Allegedly prolific, precocious and really hot. I've tried it twice and it was none of the above, a disappointment.

Elephants Trunk/Bangalore Torpedo
I find these indistinguishable. The kids love them because they're really long, thin and twist and turn to all sorts of shapes. Not particularly hot, early or prolific.

Westlandse Lang Rotte(???)
A fairly large cayenne type chilli with an extremely tough skin, early and prolific but nothing else to recommend it.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head.

Last edited by tahir on Sun Jun 24, 07 7:35 am; edited 1 time in total

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 07 4:30 pm Post subject:

BahamaMama wrote:

I would be interested to see what works well, my peas are not that great.

Bob Flowerdew has just published a new book 'The Gourmet Gardener' which is supposed to focus on taste, I have not seen it yet, has anyone else?

New? I just picked it up in 'The Works' bookshop in Wakefield, on the cheap.

Its okay. Typically flowerdew, very laid back in style yet overwhelmingly smug with it. Worth a read though.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 07 8:06 am Post subject:

I'm sure we have the latest 'Bob' laying around the bedroom.

Personally I'm not that sure of reviews, I tend to find different varieties vary so much between gardens and personal taste that I don't think reviews are that much use. I also tend to find seeds quite variable, for example we're currently growing a dwarf pea that should be a foot or so tall - it's currently about 5 foot and still going.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 07 9:50 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

I'm sure we have the latest 'Bob' laying around the bedroom.

I rekon that your peas got muddled up by the packers. Happens some times. I ended up with loads of chives one Spring when I was new to growing and no basil due to just such a mishap.

treaclepuss

Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 139

Posted: Sat Jun 23, 07 6:33 pm Post subject:
Great idea, sharing results! Everyone usually has to choose between seed varieties, no matter how big their plot and I find other Downsizers' opinions so useful. In fact it is the reason I joined the forum in the first place.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 07 8:12 am Post subject:
Okay... I'll start another thread and begin compiling reviews there.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 07 10:57 am Post subject:
Would it get too complicated to put in things like situation and soil type? I used to successfully grow a lot of things in my previous garden only three miles away - but have got disheartend in the wet clay in my current one .

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 07 12:52 pm Post subject:

ruby wrote:

Would it get too complicated to put in things like situation and soil type? I used to successfully grow a lot of things in my previous garden only three miles away - but have got disheartend in the wet clay in my current one

If you've got that info then I think its well worth sharing. If a variety seems to do well on one soil and not another thats really worth knowing.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Jun 24, 07 12:58 pm Post subject:

Radish Cherry Belle
A round red radish that can be harvested right up to golf ball size, good crunch and nice heat

Dwarf French Bean: Purple Teepee
Really productive, nice beans

Orach: Red, Purple, Green or Yellow
Much easier than spinach, very productive, robust plant and you can save seed unlike spinach where most varieties are hybrids.

Cucumber: Wautoma
A really good outdoor cucumber, productive, hardy, and tasty.

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