More Veggie Varieties 2023

A week ago, I started a series of GFF blog posts that focused on vegetable varieties we grow and recommend.  The first entry in this year's list can be found here.  This is certainly not the first time we've written about such things and you can find many of the prior writings using the theme "Variety Show" on this blog.

The first thing I should do is state up front that we favor open pollinated varieties when we can and we like heirlooms when it is feasible for our production needs.  Also, I want to remind everyone that every farm - and the techniques each farm uses - has its own strengths and weaknesses.  This alone should remind us that a vegetable variety that grows well for us may not do the same for you.  That said, we try to give enough information to make informed decisions.

Pumpkin

We do not grow ornamental pumpkins or gourds at our farm.  We would prefer to grow squash for food, though our choice for pumpkins can certainly be decorative if you want.  We still grow one variety that is a no-brainer for us.  

Musquee de Provence has been a consistent producer, has fantastic taste and is a good looking pumpkin to boot.  Production numbers will certainly be smaller than it might be for other varieties in part because of the size (8 to 32 pounds) and the density of the fruit.  But, these store well and give you alot of squash when you process them. 

We have grown many other pie pumpkin varieties over time and this is the one we still grow. If Musquee were to disappear, we would likely move to Long Island Cheese.  After that, we would have to do some thinking.

Melons

For today's blog, I'm just going to select the melon we would choose for open field production if we were limited to only one.  Like tomatoes, we actually prefer some diversity to spread out the production period and to provide some taste and texture variety.

So, we're going to have to go with Pride of Wisconsin.  

Why?  Well, for one, it gives us a fairly standard looking cantaloupe, so it would be easier to get people to take it from us if we had a plethora of them.  The taste is certainly quite good, so that isn't an issue either.  But, the thing that really sets it apart from the others is the consistency.  They can handle some goofy weather and/or some goofy farming.  Perhaps not both at the same time, but they are more forgiving than most.  Production levels are good and they do take the ride in the truck pretty well too.

Other varieties we appreciate include Emerald Gem, Ha'Ogen, Eden's Gem and Minnesota Midget.    

Cucumbers
As I go through this list, I realize that we could almost do the same thing with melons and cucumbers as we did with tomatoes and peppers a week ago.  

We have grown several varieties for different reasons.  For example, Boothby's Blonde gives us a small, snack cucumber that can also be used for pickling and Marketmore 76 is a larger slicing cucumber and A&C Pickling could be either.  Should you have to pick between them?  The answer is - for the sake of keeping the blog a reasonable length - yes.  Drat.

We would select Marketmore 76 for consistency and production for the past 10 years on our farm.  If this variety fails, it is unlikely we would have gotten any cucumbers from any other variety.  Their taste is good, though you might want to peel it a bit if it is a larger fruit.  We like it even more because it is an open-pollinated variety that continues to be grown in all sorts of farming operations.

Winter Squash
This one in particular will pain me a bit.  I could happily live with eating Pride of Wisconsin melons and maybe tolerate missing the other varieties.  I'm fine with Marketmore 76 for cucumbers and won't be crippled if the other varieties went away - though Tammy will miss her Boothby's Blonde.  But, I get stuck on the winter squash because the varieties I REALLY WANT for my own personal use aren't the ones I feel like I must select for this category.

So, with apologies to my personal favorites Marina di Chioggia and Burgess Buttercup, I must select Waltham Butternut.  Perhaps this hurts even more because I feel like this and the other two before it are not very creative selections.  A standard cantaloupe, a standard American slicing cucumber and now the ubiquitous butternut squash are on the list.

Let's be honest here, Waltham's have less trouble with vine borers as a c.moschata than squash in the c.maxima family.  You'll get some Waltham's almost any year as long as you get them in the ground and keep weeds away for the first half of the season.  Butternuts can be used for pies or soups or however else you prepare squash.  And, I DO like their taste too. 

Reliable, useful, good taste.  Waltham Butternut is a winner. 

We also like Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato as an acorn squash option, so we'll probably always grow it.   And, we've happily grown a smaller batch of Burgess Buttercup nearly every year for our own consumption.

Watermelon 

It simply has to be Orangeglo. Sometimes it is spelled with the "w" on the end, sometimes it isn't.  the presence of the "w" doesn't matter when you open one up and start munching.  At least that's what I think.

Orangeglo are different from the norm.  They have a great texture and a great taste.  They look cool.  They've produced in years when other watermelons didn't want to.  Their seeds have set distance records in watermelon seed spitting contests.  And.. well... they're ORANGE inside!  

I think I got a soft spot for this variety when we had a couple of beautiful vines volunteer in the middle of one of our pastures.  We managed to protect those vines and got some gorgeous watermelons in a year when we hadn't planted any other watermelons.

Watermelons are one of those crops where you can have some fun with different sizes, textures and colors.  At one point in time we grew Sweet Siberian, Mountain Yellow Sweet, Chris Cross, Moon and Stars and a smattering of other varieties.  We liked Sweet Siberian because we could get a bunch of smaller watermelons for our CSA and the taste was good.  But, if we wanted to grow a second watermelon now I think we might go with either Mountain Yellow or Moon and Stars.  

Why?  Well, we kind of equate watermelons with fun and we see them as a treat.   I prefer the taste of the yellow and the orange watermelons and I love the look of the Moon and Stars.  

There you go!  Some more veggie varieties for you to consider.  If you were paying attention, you might notice that some of these varieties have links to other blog entries that discuss them in much more detail - so if you want more info, take the links!

Have a good day everyone!