My 2012 Garden Plan - What's In and What's Out

In my last posting, I covered some of the new and interesting vegetable varieties that you might consider adding to your garden.  In this posting, I'll let you know what's going what's being added and dropped to my garden in 2012 and share my 2012 garden plan.

What's In & What's Out

• Long-Fellow Corn is Out- Last year I successfully planted an heirloom variety of flint corn called Longfellow.  This is an heirloom corn that is used to make cornmeal for pollenta, tortillas and other dishes that require low sugar/high starch corn.  This crop was extremely successful for me and I ended up with over 9 pounds of dried kernels that are ready to be ground into meal.  That's enough to carry us for some time at the rate we've been eating it, so in 2012 I'll be using the space that I dedicated to this crop last year to grow a variety of other veggies that require space including Boston Marrow and Galeux D'Eysines winter squashes.  These are wonderful heirlooms that I've grown in the past.  I'm also able to plant a few new varieties.
• Petit Gris De Rennes Melon is In - This is a French heirloom that comes from the town of Rennes.  The name translates to "Little Grey from Rennes" and refers to the melons appearance prior to ripening.  Dating back over 400 years, this melon is considered to be one of the best cantaloupes in the world.  The 2-3 pound melons mature in about 85 days and the variety is reported to be well adapted to cooler climates like we experience in the Pacific Northwest.  If you're interested, you can buy seeds from Sustainable Seed Company.

 

•  Mokum Carrot Is In - Also going into this space is a new variety of carrot for me called Mokum.  This  is a hybrid carrot that matures in about 50 days.  This variety excells for it's crunchiness and sweetness.  The 5-6 inch roots are very brittle and can't be harvested mechanically, so this is one that you have to grow yourself if you want to try it.  You can purchase seeds at Johnny's Selected Seeds, Fedco or Territorial Seed Company.

• Costa Rican Sweet Pepper is Out - The pepper has performed well for me over the past few years but I would like to try an heirloom variety that is good for both fresh eating and preserving.
• Jimmy Nardello Pepper is In - This sweet pepper was brought from Southern Italy to the U.S. by Giussepe Nardello in the 1880's.  It produces large quantities of long thin peppers in 80-90 days that are said to be delicious fresh but heavenly when fried.  You may be aware of an organization called Slow Food; the Jimmy Nardello pepper is on their list of recommended varieties, or "Arc of Taste." Seeds can be purchased from many suppliers including Burpee, Seed Savers Exchange, Territorial Seed, Baker Creek and others.

• Japanese Pickling Eggplant is Out - A very good variety and one that can be used much more broadly than just pickling. (We've grilled it and also used it in egg plant parmesan.)  However, we are looking for a bit of a change, so we decided to grow a different eggplant that also comes to us by way of Japan.
• Kamo Eggplant is In - This heirloom eggplant is a traditional variety of the Kyoto region, or "Kyo Yasai" as it is said in Japanese.  The deeply purple-black 1/2 pound fruits are good for frying and baking.  According to Kitazawa Seed Company, this variety is served in some of the best restaurants in Japan.

Sugar Snap Peas are Out - These peas have edible pods which made them both more productive in-terms of edible quantities and also handier for giving to kids.  They are out this year because the pea-lover in our family has taken to eating the English variety (pods are not edible) from the Farmers Market.

Thomas Laxton Peas are In - This variety has stood the test of time.  It's over 100 years old and still favored by many.  This English Pea reliably produces peas on 3 foot vines in about 65 days.  This will be one of the first things I put into the Garden in 2012.  In Northern California, the climate is temperate enough for me to plant these in February, which means that I can harvest them long-before other veggies like cucumber or tomatoes go into the ground.  My plan is to grow a ton of these for fresh eating and freeze the surplus for later consumption.  You can find seeds for Thomas Laxton Peas at Sustainable Seed, Burpee, Cooks Garden, and others.

• Delikatesse Cucumber Is Out - This is a classic german pickling cucumber.  I plan to grow it again in future years, but want to test more compact cucumber as a container plant.
• PickleBush and Bush Slicer Are In - These hybrid pickle varieties grows on vines that are only 2 feet long.  Both are reported to be resistant to both Powdery Mildew and Mosaic Virus, the former of which is a major problem in my garden.  Since our family loves pickles, I also plan to grow an Heirloom variety called Solly Beiler.  I grew this variety last year and so its on the list to repeat in 2012.  If you are interested, Bush Slicer is sold by Renee's Seeds and Pickle Bush is from Burpee.

Calipso Bean Is In - Calypso doesn't completely replace anything in my garden as I will continue to grow European Soldier beans.  I'm adding Calypso to the list because of it's striking appearance and its reported excellence as a soup and baking bean.  This bush bean grows to about 15" and matures in 70-90 days.  Calypso, also called Yin & Yang because of its black and white coloration, can be purchased from Seed Savers Exchange and Territorial Seed.

• German Giant Radish Is In - German giant replaces some, but not all, of the Saxa Radishes I normally grow each year.  This variety can get to be the size of baseball but are best when eaten an inch in diameter.  It's a mild, red, heirloom variety that matures in 30 days.  It can be purchased from a wide variety of seed suppliers.

• Savoy Cabbage is Out - Savoy is an amazingly good cabbage for braising but it did not do well as a cabbage for Sauerkraut in a trial we did last year.  Since we are much more likely to eat Sauerkraut than braised cabbage, Savoy is getting the boot in 2012.

• Danish Ball Head Cabbage is In - This is an old standby variety that is particularly good for kraut and for cole slaw.  One thing to note if you decide to grow this variety.... It takes a long time to mature - about 125 days versus most other varieties that take 60-100 days depending on the variety.  You can buy Danish Ball Head from Sustainable Seeds.

• Red Orach Is In - We first learned of Orach at our local farmers market.  It's a vegetable that originates from the Alps mountain range in Europe and has a unique and somewhat salty taste that is reminiscent of spinach.  It is a dark maroon color and can be eaten fresh or sauteed.  It does not bolt as easily as spinach and is often grown as a substitute.  The plant matures in 60 days.  Seeds can be purchased from Burpee.

• German Butterball Potato is Out - This is a really good potato that is used for boiling or mashing.  However, I'm growing other potatoes that can be used for the same purposes and need to make a little room for a baking potato.
• Lemhi Russet is In - This is a baking style russet potato developed by in 1981 and is reported to have higher yields that Russet Burbank or Norgold Russet.
  

• Astia Zucchini is In - This patio sized summer zucchini is an addition to the garden next year and will be planted in a container.  The variety is compact enough to grow in a small pot and is offered by Renee's Garden Seed.

• Tomatoes What In & What's Out - 2011 was an absolutely awful year for tomatoes in the San Francisco Bay Area.  We had cold rainy weather for months and many of my neighbors got no tomatoes at all.  Some of our tomatoes were in a greenhouse and so we were able to harvest enough for fresh eating and some canning, but many of the new varieties we were testing in 2011 got nailed by aphids and wilt.  As a result, we had a complete loss on most of the new varieties we had hoped to try last year.  So in 2012, we aren't making any changes versus last year.

• Silver Queen Sweet Corn is Out - Silver queen is a staple corn variety in many gardens and we've planted it for years.  In 2012, we just wanted to change things up a bit and so this long-time favorite is being put on ice for at least a year.

• Bodacious Sweet Corn is In -This is a very popular, late maturing, sugary-enhanced (SE) yellow sweet corn.  It is a good variety for fresh eating and also is supposed to freeze well.  Our family will grow more sweet corn than we can eat fresh and so this later trait is important to us. 

Wasbi Arugula is In - This new variety from Renee's Seed is supposed to taste like wasabi.  It will partially replace Runway Arugula in our garden.

The 2012 Garden List

Below is a complete list of the vegetables and varieties we plan to grow in 2012.  We plant all four seasons, so what's listed below represents plants that will growing in the ground at one time or anther from February through December 2012.

• Arugula - Runway, Wasabi.
• Beans - Calypso, European Soldier, Rollande Fillet, Henderson Baby Lima, Fava.
• Beets - Cylindra, Crapaudine. 
• Broccoli - Di Ciccio.
• Brussels Sprouts - Roodnerf.
• Cabbage - Danish Ballhead.
• Carrot - Parisiane, Mokum, Chantenay.
• Celery -Amsterdam Seasoning.
• Cucumber - Pickle Bush, Solly Bieler, Bush Slicer.
• Chard - Joy Larkum's, Bright Lights.
• Dandelion - Puntarella.
• Eggplant - Kamo.
• Erba Stella.
• Garlic - Purple Glazer, Inchellium Red.
• Hot Peppers - Serrano, Pimiento de Padron.
• Kale - Lacinato, White Kale, Dwarf Blue, Red Russian, Portuguese.
• Lettuce/Greens - Forellenschluss, Buttercrunch, Jericho.
• Mache
• Melons - Charentais, Petit Gris De Rennes.
• Miners Lettuce
• Oats - Hulless.
• Onions - Red Wethersfield, Yellow Rock.
• Pak Choi - Dwarf.
• Peas - Thomas Laxton.
• Potatoes - Maris Piper, Lemhi, Russet, Yellow Finn, Reba.
  
• Radish - German Giant, French Breakfast, Saxa.
• Salsify - Mammoth Sandwich Island.
• Summer Squash - Zucchino Rampicante, Astia.
• Sweet Corn - Bodacious.
• Sweet Pepper - Jimmy Nardello.
• Tomato - Stupice, Snowberry, Japanese Trifele, Paul Robeson, Green Zebra, Costuluto Genovese, Orange Icicle, Camp Joy, Arkansas Traveler, Brandywine Liam's, Brandywine Sudduth's, Wapsipincon Peach, Amish Paste, Bonnie Best.
• Wheat - Frassinetto.
• Winter Squash - Galeux d'Eysines, Boston Marrow, Metro.

If you are growing something this next year that you think is particularly interesting, please leave a comment so we can all learn about it.

Comments

[Michaele]

Very good! Gardening science : ) I am off to find the Calypso bean.

[H. Mark Delman]

They are also called Yin Yang. You can get them from High Mowing Seed, Seed Savers and a company that Ive not purchased from before, Purcell Mountain Farm. Good luck and let me know if you find anything you are particularly fond of.

-Mark

[Matt]

Regarding your 2012 gardening plan, will you be growing the melons in the AutoPot system? If so, how has that worked out for you?

I am wondering whether the melons are full-sized when grown in those systems. Also, how many melons do you usually get per plant? I am assuming you plant one melon vine per pot.

[H. Mark Delman]

I have not tried melon in the autopot system before, so Ill let you know if it works.

[Matt]

Thanks Mark! Although you have not grown either Charentais or Petit Gris De Rennes melons in AutoPots, I saw a comment from your rooftop garden.

"Last year, I successfully grew tomatoes, watermelon, winter and summer squash, salad greens, pepper and other vegetables.  I was also able to grow beets in AutoPots, but I think root vegetables like beets and carrots grow better in traditional soil beds."

How were your winter squash and watermelon grown? And, we're you pleased with the results?

[PlanterTomato]

Hi Matt:
You're right. I did grow watermelon in an autopot. The plant survived and produced a melon of passable quality. Not sure if this was a function of using the auto pot or weather conditions. I also grew a variety of squash including Zucchino Rampicante, butternut etc and these did very very well. If you decide to grow a very big squash variety or a pumpkin, you might try getting one of the large single autopots. I'm going to test one of these this year. They are sold by MangroveStore.com.

[Kelley]

I have been unable to find seed for Longfellow flint this year. Would you consider selling me some? I will be happy to send you back more than you give me at the end of the growing season, so your seed will be newer. You can email me directly.
Thanks! Kelley