The Pick of the Crop
(Page 3 of 10)
Peas
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While most better-known English peas mature about
midseason, William Dam Seeds offers Frostiroy that's ready
in 55 days and is resistant to fusarium wilt and yellows.
The two-and-a-half-foot vines produce a big harvest of
tiny, very sweet peas.
Among the midseason types, disease-resistant Aurora from Ed
Hume Seeds has fairly short pods brimming with large sweet
peas that mature about a week later than Hume's Olympia
(which I heartily praised last year). Other fine midseason
peas include Tillinghast's Icer No. 93, a greatly improved
type of Dwarf Telephone from Tillinghast Seeds, and Freezer
69 from Early Seed & Feed Ltd. Both have strong,
sturdy, short vines that produce heavy yields that freeze
well.
Park offers two fine new edible-podded peas for '88.
Blizzard lives up to its name by producing a literal
snowstorm of tasty snow peas on tidy 30-inch plants early
in the season. The company's new dwarf snap pea called
Sugar Pop has space-saving 18-inch plants loaded with
three-inch, sweet, stringless pods. It's disease-resistant
as well.
Rogers Brothers' Honey Pod is a real taste sensation. (T
& T Seeds lists this variety.) Growing on sturdy,
compact vines, its nearly stringless, three-and-a-half- to
four-inch pods have a honey-sweet flavor which will make
them salad favorites.
Onions and Potatoes
Neither of the two top scallions in my trials is
traditional in color. Johnny's Purplette, which is pastel
pink when cooked or pickled, is considered a minionion,
but—if picked early—it also serves as a most
delightful bunching onion. Shepherd's Red Beard is a
scallion that can also double as a mini-onion if left to
mature. The red color in the stem develops better in cool
weather, so plant this variety so it can be harvested in
the fall. Both of these unusual alliums are ready in about
60 days.
Rarely do you find a sweet Spanish onion that produces a
very large bulb yet has the storing capability of the more
pungent types, but Fiesta 61 is just such a rarity. This
new wonder from Liberty Seed Company also matures almost
two weeks earlier than most Spanish varieties.
If you want a lot of onions to store, Bountiful's James
Long Keeping produces small-to medium-size bulbs that are
some of the most remarkable keepers ever developed.
Leeks are becoming increasingly popular, and both Le Marche
and The Cook's Garden sell the lovely, tasty and very, very
firm Blue Solaise that turns almost purple after an autumn
cold spell. No variety is better to leave in the garden for
winter harvests.
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