Row by Row Episode 130: Only Can Choose One Variety to Grow
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Only One Variety to Grow in the Garden
If we only had to grow one variety of each crop in the garden, what would we choose and why? Imagine if you had a small 20 x 20 garden and could only pick one variety out of a list of crops, which would you choose to grow in your vegetable garden. The guys go over a list of ten different crops and the one variety they choose to grow if they were in this hypothetical situation. The first crop they discuss is tomatoes. Greg chooses the most popular tomato variety that we carry which is the Bella Rosa, while Travis decided on the SummerPick variety because of its impressive productivity and disease resistance in the garden. The next crop to only choose one variety to grow is peppers. Greg decided on growing the Mama Mia Giallo since he prefers to grill and stuff his peppers once harvested. While Travis decided on the Aruba Cubanelle Pepper which is a hybrid variety that is very productive and excellent to cook with on the homestead. As for cucumbers, Greg enjoys growing pickle varieties so he decided on the Calypso Cucumber because it's a little more versatile. However, Travis decided on the Olympian Cucumber which is a slicing variety that produces dark green uniformed cucumber. The next crop that they could only choose one variety to grow is summer squash. If Greg could only grow one variety of summer squash he would grow one of his favorites the Gentry Squash. As a crookneck squash, it is one of the easiest summer squashes to grow and matures fast in the vegetable garden. Travis also decided on a crookneck variety, the Gold Star has exceptional disease-resistance and is a heavy producer which makes it great for late spring/early summer plantings. As for the sweet corn, Greg went back and forth on a few different varieties, but he ended up choosing the Silver Queen Sweet Corn which is an older variety that has always performed well in the garden. Travis likes to grow the super sweet corn varieties, so he decided on the Temptress Sweet Corn which is one he grew recently and really liked with the overall production, harvesting, and storing. For greens, Greg went with the Savanna Mustard while Travis chose the Top Bunch 2.0 Collard. When it comes to choosing only potato variety to grow the guys both chose the Yukon Gold because of its exceptional flavor profile and storing ability once harvested. Moving along to onions, Greg decided on growing the Sweet Harvest which is another old school favorite of his since it is a flatter style onion variety. Travis chose another recent favorite of his which is the Plethora Onion. It is also a flatter style onion that has produced well in the garden this year. The last two crops left to choose from are lettuce and okra. For lettuce, the guys decided if they could only grow one variety it would be either the Coastal Star Romaine Lettuce or the Tehama Lettuce. For okra, Greg decided to switch up from his favorite variety and instead chose a newer variety which is the Jing Orange Okra. However, Travis stuck with his all-time favorite the Jambalaya Okra which he has tested against other okra varieties and it always outperforms them.
Show and Tell Segment
On the show and tell segment this week, Greg has harvested some Bule Gourds from the vegetable garden. All gourds can be shaped a little bit differently, some can be smooth or some can have warts. You can make several different crafts out of gourds, one of the most common is bowls. The guys also show off some great stocking stuffers for the holiday season this year. The first stocking stuffer is our Corn Silking Brush which is a great tool to use for easily removing silks from corn cobs. Another great stuffer is the wooden garden labels which work perfectly for labeling plants in your seed starting room or greenhouse. The third product is the Hoss garden planner which includes information on plant spacing, row spacing, and companion planting suggestions for multiple crops. Another great product that fits nicely in a stocking stuffer is the Pickle Packer Jar Tamper which works to pack vegetable contents into jars for canning and fermentation on the homestead. Next is the Multi-Top Jar Lids which is available for either regular mouth or wide mouth mason jar lids. The guys also share some new varieties to try out in the new year. The first new variety is the Container's Choice Red Tomato which is a hybrid dwarf variety that is great for growing in pots or containers. Next, is the Green Zebra Tomato which is an indeterminate that is larger than traditional cherry tomatoes, but smaller than a large slicing tomato. Another new variety that we share is the Abe Lincoln Tomato which is an heirloom tomato that is ideal for slicing and canning. The last two new tomato varieties are Kellogg's Breakfast Tomato and the German Johnson Tomato. Both of these varieties are heirlooms that are great for slicing tomatoes on the homestead.
Viewer Questions
For the Q & A segment this week, the guys decided to take a break on answering some viewer questions. Instead they wanted to share some holiday cheer and grant two loyal viewers a Christmas wish. Travis picked Mrs. Carol Avant and granted her wish of a Double Wheel Hoe. While Greg chose Mr. Tom Matthews to grant his wish of a Single Dibble Wheel Kit. We thank everyone for all the support in 2020 and we can't wait to continue to help you grow your own food in 2021.