The Pick of the Crop
(Page 3 of 6)
March/April 1984
By Brent Elswick
ONIONS, LEEKS,BEETS, AND CARROTS
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If you usually grow your onion crop from sets or bulblets, you've probably grown the late-maturing Ebenezer, a quality keeper. But if, like me, you prefer to raise your crop from seeds, you may have found it difficult to locate this popular variety. One of the more reliable sources is Nationwide Seed. This small but progressive firm is not well known, but I've come to rely on it for quality, viable seeds. Then again, those living in short-season areas might want to consider Olds's Early Pak, which has to be the best-keeping early-maturing bulb around . . . and it also boasts a mild, sweet quality.
Leeks are as popular in France as onions are here, and one of the better newly imported French varieties is Electra, an offering from Liberty Seed. While it's not as large as some of the more common American types, Electra—with its delicate onionlike flavor—is one of the best leeks ever developed.
Though I put my root crops in early, this past season's extremely dry weather was tough on both beets and carrots. Nevertheless, several new beet varieties did produce well. Monopoly (a monogerm Detroit type) from Sluis & Groot has a deep red color throughout and is uniform in size and shape, making it an excellent choice for those folks who raise beets for market: The company also offers Little Ball, the best "baby beet" I've grown. The cute, sweet, and tender little fellas are super for using whole. Yet another discovery, Petoseed's Crimson Tide, has almost round roots that show little or no zoning and are equally good fresh or canned.
Only one of the carrot varieties in my test plots actually bucked up to the inhospitable weather: Minicor, a baby type from Rogers Brothers, which is excellent for those who have clay soil or limited garden space. I did, however, experiment with two other varieties that I feel might be winners under normal growing conditions: Sweet-N-Crisp fron Henry Field (a long type) and Johnny's Selected Seeds' JSS 186. (The latter is one of that company's exclusive hybrids and offer the good qualities of both an Imperator and a Nantes.)
CORN, TOMATOES,AND PEPPERS
As the weather warmed, I planted severa early types of corn, and I've chosen the best of those to recommend for your early plantings. One of those winners was Rogers Brothers' Spirit: It has a short, sturdy stalk that produces 6" to 7" chubby ears crammed with good eating. Another top choice is Robson Seed Farm's Seneca Horizon, which (like Spirit) matures in about 65 days, with tender kernels on large ears. And for those favoring sweet corn, Agway's White Satin, with a 70-day range, has excellent cold-weather tolerance, and its 8" ears are filled to the tip with pearly white succulence.
There are oodles of fine new midseason corn varieties, but one stands head and shoulders above the rest: Seneca 258 from Robson. In fact, it was the outstanding new variety I grew in '83, and its tender, yellow kernels are perfect for eating fresh, canning, or freezing. Other good midseason yellows were Rogers' Eclipse, Henry Field's Southern Delicious, and Ferry-Morse's Golden Glade. Field's also offers a fine bi-color. Its new Double Delight proved to be productive and drought-resistant.
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