Kitchen Garden Forum

For various reasons most of us use more than one variety of most of the vegetables we grow. If you were limited to just one variety of everything, what would it be and why?

Here are a few from me as a starter:

POTATO - Nicola: grows strongly from an early planting; fairly resistant to early blight; mostly slug-free; heavy yield; keeps very well in storage without sprouting; excellent taste and suitable for most uses (though fairly waxy)

TOMATO - Sungold: vigorous grower; crops early and continues well into autumn; excellent taste

PUMPKIN - Crown Prince: reltively disease-free; a good crop of medium sized fruit; stores very well; solid orange flesh (far superior to butternuts)

CABBAGE - Précoce de Louviers: though classed as a pointy spring cabbage, can be left to form good solid heads in late spring; also excellent sown in spring and grown as summer greens or headed cabbage; hold a long time without bolting; sweet flavour

CUCUMBER - Tamra: open-pollinated medium length fruit; plants resistant to cucumber diseases and just about immune to powdery mildew; good strong cucumber taste

Tomato - Gardeners Delight
Swiss chart - Giant Fordhook
Cucumber - Mini
Climbing Bean - Cobra
Salad leaves - Frissee endive (very hardy)
Winter Squash - Sweet Dumpling. (I also love Crown Prince but it's a biggie and takes for ever for just two of us to eat).
Kale - Cavalo Nero

If I were only allowed to grow TWO vegetables in total, that would be a real deprivation. Think I'd have to pick tomatoes and climbing beans on the basis that I can probably use these two most widely for various recipes in the kitchen.

I'm gradually getting to the one variety state.

Potato - Charlotte
Runner Bean - Enorma
Carrot - Autumn King
Pea - Greenshaft
Parsnip - Archer
Onion sets - Marshalls New Fen Globe
Lettuce - Counter
Brussels Sprout - Brilliant
Tomato - Tropical Ruby

But I think it probably important to a) try new varieties and b) unless you are certain that your variety will grow under all conditions, it is sometimes wise to sow another.

alan refail. I am trying Pre'coce De Louviers this year.

potato - Anya
tomato - Gardeners Delight
climbing Bean - Blauhilde
spring cabbage - Mastergreen
kale - Cavalo Nero
carrot - Autumn King
pea - Greenshaft
broad bean - Witkiem Manita
runner bean - Lady Di
parsnip - Countess
onion(seeds) - Rijnsburger Balstora 5
leek - Musselburgh
beetroot - Monika (no, not because of the name, it really is very good!)
swede - Marian