How To Choose Vegetable Varieties That Really Perform

(Page 6 of 6)

May/June 1977
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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Lemon cucumbers. People grow these small, sweet fruits (which make excellent pickles) because they like the flavor . . . and—I suspect—because the vines that produce the lemon-like cukes are amazingly productive.

RELATED CONTENT

Celtuce. Related to (and as easy to grow as) lettuce, celtuce may be used both as a celery substitute and as lettuce . . . hence the name. The vegetable bears a thick central stalk which contains a crisp, juicy interior that can be eaten raw once the outer skin has been peeled away.

Purple-podded beans. These beans (variety name: Royalty) have two endearing virtues: [1] Bean beetles seem to avoid them, and [2] they're every bit as delicious frozen or canned as they are fresh. (Amazingly, the pods' purple color turns to a bright, appetizing green as soon as they're placed in boiling water.)

Ruby chard. This plant's crimson stalks add a great deal of color to any vegetable patch . . . and that's the main reason for its popularity. Many people grow the crop in flower gardens because of its striking appearance.

THE SPICE OF GARDENING

As you can see, numerous considerations (earliness, yield, disease resistance, growth habit, and many other factors) must be taken into account when choosing the vegetable varieties that you want to grow. But to me, that's part of the fun of gardening: being able to pick from dozens of familiar (and unfamiliar) vegetables . . . and discovering—on occasion—something new and different that adds measurably to my gardening enjoyment.

The next time YOU open a catalog and find yourself confronted by as many as 80 varieties of tomatoes, and perhaps 60 types of lettuce, don't despair. Just remember: Variety is the spice of life . . . and the spice of gardening!

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