HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST -TASTING VEGETABLEVARIETIES& OLD AND NEW&; THAT I KNOW

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Although pole beans generally taste better—and crop over a longer period—than bush-type snap beans, many gardeners find the compact bush varieties easier to grow. For such grow-your-own enthusiasts, I recommend: [1] a savory new dwarf Romano called Roma, and [2] the delicious new yellow wax bean called Goldcrop. (The latter produces heavy yields of long, straight, pencil-thin and icicle-brittle pods.)

BURPLESS CUCUMBERS

It's probably hard for a beginning gardener to believe that the mild flavor of a cucumber can vary from one variety to the next, but it can ... and does. If you doubt my statement, try growing the new, non-bitter Burpless cucumber this summer. Its long, slender, dark-green fruits are heavily spined, but so tender you can eat 'em whole—skin and all—just like sticks of candy. (And, if you grow the plants on a trellis so that the maturing cukes hang straight down and don't curl, they'll also be as straight as sticks of candy.)

I met the "inventor" of the Burpless cucumber—Mr. T. Sakata—during a recent visit to Japan. When asked why he'd chosen to call the plant "Burpless", he replied that the name had been suggested to him by an American housewife who found that the fruits failed to give her indigestion ... and he liked it.

TASTE-TEMPTING TURNIPS

When I was young, I was served turnips with school dinners, and—as many youngsters do—found them repugnant. For that reason I avoided eating the vegetable altogether for the next several years.

Then one day—at a barbecue buffet—I helped myself to some small, white, golf-ball-like victuals that I thought were new potatoes. They were sensationaljuicy, super-sweet, mild-but definitely not potatoes. I was later amazed to discover that what I had eaten were, in fact, turnips ... a new variety called Tokyo Cross. I've been growing them in my garden ever since.

The beauty of Tokyo Cross turnips is that they mature within just 35 days of the time they're planted. For best flavor, pick them when they're the size of baby beets. (They can be left to grow larger, if you wish ... and—of course—their tops are edible.)

TOMATOES (LARGE AND SMALL)

If you like tomatoes—and you want to experience good "old-fashioned" flavor—I recommend you try a variety (first introduced around 1892) called Ponderosa. The pinkish-red flesh of this tomato is exceptionally meaty, with very few seeds, and has a smooth, low-acid flavor. Although Ponderosa is a late-maturing variety and won't win any prizes for productivity, the gigantic (up to two pounds apiece), succulent fruit are—in my opinion—well worth the wait.

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