VEGETABLE VARIETIES FOR GARDENERS (VVfG)

  
VVfG is a citizen science project developed  by Cornell University's Cooperative Extension 
to collect and share data about growing vegetables in New York State.
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Last Year's Experience: Lettuce, Tomatoes & Basil

Last year my Master Gardener companions, Mimsy Pye, Marge Davey and I, experimented with Bed Number 1.  The Spring Plantings consisted of 3 varieties of leaf lettuces: Buttercrunch, Black Seeded Simpson, and Blade.  Because it was mid–May before we were able to plant the rows, we decided to put them along the outer edges of the 4ft by 4ft bed leaving room for the summer crop of tomatoes and basil in the bed's center.  

It was interesting to compare the 3 varieties --  all planted at the same time and all growing under the same conditions.  The ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ by far out-performed the other 2 as far as yields.  However, it really did not have much flavor.  If you prefer the taste of your salad dressing, then this was the one for you.  ‘Buttercrunch’ had a mild buttery taste, with the best texture, forming more of a rosette type loose head. Dark red ‘Blade’ had a poorer germination rate, but was the most flavorful.  Red colored lettuces have more antioxidants and micronutrients than just plain green ones.   As it matured it did have a little more of a bitter flavor, but not as much as an escarole or radicchio.

I think that it is worth noting that caring for these lettuces would have been different if they were in my home garden.  At home, one can easily check their garden every day or two, even with a busy schedule. The Demonstration Garden was not as convenient.   Thinning should be done on a regular basis, so that you have the benefits of nice tender baby lettuces, making room for the other plants to spread.  Too many plants together get leggy, with some leaves getting slimy.   

Jasper on left responded to warming weather faster than the Brandywine on right.

With the lettuces still growing, we planted a ‘Jasper’ cherry tomato and a ‘Brandywine’ heirloom tomato, as well as ‘Genovese’ and ‘Thai Sweet’ basil at the end of May. Last year’s spring in our neck of the woods was wet and cool.  This was good for the lettuces, but not the tomatoes and basil.  As the weather finally warmed, the tomatoes responded.  

The contrast between the two plants was quickly evident.  The heirloom ‘Brandywine’ struggled to overcome the wet, cool spring.  It quickly developed early blight and remained somewhat stunted.  It produced very few fruits, with the earlier ones having little flavor.  The last one picked in a gloriously warm October was large and fabulous. It was so sweet and juicy with a deep rich tomato flavor.

  ‘Jasper’, an indeterminate new hybrid variety, outpaced the heirloom.  ‘Jasper’s’ disease resistance includes Early Blight, Septoria leaf spot, Fusarium wilt and Late Blight.  The plant quickly outgrew its 5 ft stakes by a good 2 ft.  It was covered with clusters of ¾ inch round, red fruits.  The taste was flavorful and sweet, but not quite as sweet as ‘Sungold’.  Harvesting at first was a little tricky.  Trying to pick the individual fruits caused them to split, making it easy to pop into your mouth, but hard to donate.  Snipping off the whole cluster kept them beautifully intact, and they kept quite well for a few days.  Like most cherry tomatoes, one plant is all you really need.

The two basils struggled with the cool, wet conditions as well.  A few days of high temperatures in late spring caused them to go to seed.  Even with pruning, the ‘Thai Sweet’ never really recovered and had poor yields.  The “Genovese” did better, but it later became shaded by the ‘Jasper’, which also impacted its yields.  Frequent pruning can extend a basil plant’s life, but at some point it will get leggy and just keep producing flowers.  Again, a home gardener would constantly be doing this, adding the trimmings to some delicious dish. Once cut delicate herbs like basil don’t travel well, making them difficult to donate.  

Pskem River garlic, early spring 2018.

Cornell also called for a fall planting of  ‘Pskem River’ garlic but which they did not provide.  ‘Pskem River’ is a hard necked variety from Uzbekistan.  It has large purplish cloves, maybe 3-5 cloves per bulb.  It is supposed to have a strong flavor and grow well in our area.  I waited too long to buy it on line and it was sold out. However, I was delighted to find it at my local food co-op. 

After cleaning up the tomatoes and basil in mid-October, the soil was prepped and along with a dusting of bone meal, the large bulbs were pressed into the soft earth.  I am happy to report that they made it beautifully through the winter, even though they were not mulched. 

(More on garlic in a later post.) 

 So, that was last year’s experiment.  I can’t wait to see what this growing season will bring.

Text and photos submitted by Nancy Scott, Rensselaer County Master Gardener