The Pick of the Crop
(Page 2 of 10)
Popeye would be powerfully tempted to try gardening this
year, because some of the new spinach varieties are
exceptional. Mazurka—a bolt-resistant 45-day hybrid
from Territorial Seed Company—has large, smooth, very
dark green leaves that are mild and slightly sweet. They're
delicious either cooked or served raw in salads. Shepherd's
offers a smooth-leaved Dutch type called Nordic that is
fairly heat-tolerant. Italian Summer, also from Shepherd's,
is a crinkled savoy leaf that's wonderful for freezing.
This heat-resistant newcomer is especially good for
late-summer plantings. Basella Malabar Red Stem, produced
by Park Seeds, is a good spinach substitute and a great
improvement on the old Malabar types. It can be trained to
grow to a height of six feet or more, and—raw or
cooked—its thick, dark green leaves and red stems are
mild and delicious.
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If Japanese-type greens are to your liking, Territorial has
a worthy new hybrid called Tokyo Beau. This mizuna variety
has extraordinarily sweet leaves that are dark and shiny,
and its thick, white stalks make a good celery substitute.
The best new chard in my trials was the Vintage Green
hybrid from Gaze Seed Company. Its green leaves with
whiteribbed stalks grow in absolute abundance month after
month. Erbette Leaf Beet, from The Cook's Garden, is used
like chard and is a great cut-and-come-again variety. When
cooked, it's nearly impossible to distinguish from spinach.
A few years ago, Twilley Seeds introduced a greatly
improved Vates-type kale, Blue Knight, that is one of the
best hybrid kales on the market. The firm's new Blue
Armour, though, is probably even more prolific. It also
seems to be the most suitable of all varieties to
winter-over—a definite plus for those wanting greens
extremely early in the spring.
Radishes
Shepherd's Roodbol (Dutch for "Redball") is an extra-fancy,
ball-shaped radish that won't get woody with size and can
be harvested in little more than three weeks. Though
similar to Roodbol in many ways, lovely Marabelle from
Johnny's Selected Seeds won't take heat as well, but it
does grow with an amazing uniformity that's perfect for
those wanting a red variety for successive crops.
Territorial offers Scarlet Globe (Ribella), one of the more
refined Cherry Belle types. Though maturing a few days
after Roodbol and Marabelle, it rapidly obtains a large
size and resists pithiness.
Stokes Seeds offers two odd new varieties. Its round-shaped
Valentine is green and white on the outside, and the inside
turns red at maturity. Though strange-looking, this radish
is tasty and easy to grow. And Stokes' Martian, shaped like
the old French Breakfast-variety, has a long root that's
green, not red, at the top. I like the way it looks (and
tastes) in salads.
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