Homegrown Vegetable Trials: Uncovering the Best and Worst Garden Varieties for Your Kitchen
Every gardener knows the thrill of planting seeds and watching them grow, and the subsequent satisfaction (or sometimes, disappointment!) of harvest time. For me, looking back at my gardening notes is a crucial part of planning for the upcoming season. Recently, I stumbled upon an old post detailing eight specific vegetable varieties I decided to try back in 2015. It immediately struck me that I never shared a comprehensive follow-up on their performance. While every garden, climate, and gardener is unique, sharing my personal experiences can offer valuable insights for anyone considering these varieties for their own backyard plots.
The journey of discovering new garden staples is often paved with trials and errors. My aim with this retrospective is to provide an honest account of how these particular vegetables fared in my garden. From their initial growth and vigor to their final flavor profiles and versatility in the kitchen, I’ve assessed each one. This isn’t just about what tasted good; it’s about what thrived, what was manageable, and ultimately, what earned a coveted spot in future planting plans. These reviews represent one season’s journey through my garden, but I hope they serve as a helpful guide to inform your own seed choices and gardening adventures.
Detailed Reviews of Our Homegrown Vegetable Varieties
The 2015 growing season was, by all accounts, exceptionally pleasant here in my region. We enjoyed more sunshine and consistently warm weather than is typical, which generally bodes well for most garden crops. I made sure to keep everything adequately watered, and the vast majority of my other established plants flourished without any noticeable stress or disease. Therefore, I don’t believe the weather conditions significantly skewed my observations for these specific varieties. It’s important to remember that these are my personal findings and preferences. Gardening is an inherently personal endeavor, so I always encourage you to experiment and discover what works best in your unique environment!
1. Kentucky Wonder Wax Pole Bean: A Disappointing Trial
Oh, the Kentucky Wonder Wax Pole Bean. This was, unfortunately, the biggest disappointment of the entire gardening season. If you appreciate tender, slender, “filet-style” beans, then I strongly advise against growing this particular variety. From the outset, these beans took an exceptionally long time to develop their color and reach a substantial size. However, the moment they started looking ready, they rapidly became thick, fibrous, and tough – often within just a few days of appearing mature. My family, who are enthusiastic consumers of fresh green beans, simply did not enjoy their texture or flavor. We found ourselves leaving the majority of the harvest on the plants to wither, which is always a sad sight for a gardener. Considering that the classic Kentucky Wonder green beans are also not our preferred variety, perhaps I should have anticipated this outcome. It was a valuable lesson learned: sometimes, sticking to what you know works best for your family’s palate is the wisest course of action when space is limited.
2. Atlantic Broccoli: A Reliable Producer
My experience with Atlantic Broccoli was largely positive, though it started with a moment of minor concern. After successfully harvesting the main head, which was perfectly formed and delicious, there was a noticeable delay before the plant began producing side shoots. As I rely on side shoots for a continuous supply of broccoli throughout the summer and into the fall, this initial lull gave me pause. However, my worries were unfounded. Once the side shoots began to emerge, they did so prolifically and were consistently excellent in quality. The plants continued to produce an abundance of tender, flavorful florets right up until the first hard frost of autumn finally brought an end to the season. The overall yield and sustained production made this variety a clear winner. Given its robust performance and excellent taste, Atlantic Broccoli has certainly earned a spot on my list of reliable vegetables, and I would definitely choose to grow it again in future seasons.
3. Purple Sun Carrot: A Colorful and Productive Choice
The Purple Sun Carrot proved to be a delightful addition to the garden, primarily due to its striking appearance and good performance. What truly impressed me about this variety was its consistent purple coloration throughout the entire root – a trait not always common in other purple carrot varieties I’ve grown, which can sometimes be white or orange internally. This made them particularly appealing for fresh eating and adding a vibrant splash of color to salads and dishes. In terms of germination and overall growth, they performed very similarly to my standard orange carrot varieties, showing good vigor and health. I also observed that these carrots tended to grow longer than previous purple varieties I’d cultivated, providing a more substantial harvest. Their unique aesthetic combined with reliable growth and good flavor makes them a strong contender for future planting. I will certainly be growing Purple Sun Carrots again, both for their novelty and their consistent quality.
4. Cabernet Grape Tomato: An Unfulfilled Promise
The story of the Cabernet Grape Tomato is a short and rather tragic one in my garden journal. Despite my efforts to grow them from seed, both of the seedlings I had carefully nurtured (following my usual seed-starting basics) failed to thrive. They simply succumbed before I even had the chance to transplant them into the garden beds. This was a particular disappointment as I had high hopes for a unique grape tomato variety. With no homegrown plants, I was forced to resort to purchasing generic grape tomato plants from a local nursery to fill the void. While those nursery-bought plants did turn out to be incredibly prolific, yielding an abundance of small, sweet tomatoes throughout the season, I regrettably do not recall their specific variety name. This experience with the Cabernet Grape Tomato served as a reminder that even with the best intentions, some seeds simply don’t make it to the garden. It remains an unfulfilled promise in my gardening history, leaving me curious about what could have been.
5. Tigerella Tomato: High Yield, Low Utility for My Needs
Many readers had previously recommended the Tigerella tomato to me, praising its unique striped appearance and vigor. Indeed, the plants themselves were undeniably prolific, producing an impressive quantity of fruit. However, the Tigerella variety simply didn’t align with my primary uses for tomatoes. I was quite surprised by the relatively small size of the fruits; they were only marginally larger than typical cherry tomatoes. More significantly, they were exceptionally seedy with very little flesh, making them quite impractical for my preferred kitchen applications. I primarily grow tomatoes for making thick sauces, drying for preservation, and general canning projects, all of which require a good flesh-to-seed ratio. The Tigerella’s characteristics meant a lot of effort for very little usable pulp. While they might be excellent for fresh eating or decorative purposes, they just weren’t suited for my high-volume processing needs. For these reasons, I won’t be allocating valuable garden space to the Tigerella tomato again.
6. Blue Beauty Indigo Tomato: A Novelty with Room for Flavor Improvement
The Blue Beauty Indigo tomato certainly lived up to its name in terms of visual appeal. Seeing vibrant blue tomatoes ripening in the garden was a consistent conversation starter and truly stopped people in their tracks. It was undoubtedly a fun and intriguing variety to cultivate purely for its novelty factor. However, when it came down to culinary value, this tomato left much to be desired. The flavor simply wasn’t robust or memorable; they tasted rather bland compared to other tomato varieties. Furthermore, the shoulders of the fruit retained their bluish hue even when fully ripe, which, while interesting in the garden, often resulted in somewhat “weird-looking” slices in salads or cooked dishes. Given my limited garden space and my priority for flavor and versatility, the Blue Beauty Indigo tomato won’t be returning to my garden beds. While visually striking, it just didn’t deliver the taste experience I seek from my homegrown tomatoes.
7. Cordova Paste Tomato: An Acceptable, Though Not Outstanding, Performer
The Cordova Paste Tomato fell into the “just okay” category for me. It wasn’t a stellar performer, but it also wasn’t a complete failure. The fruits were quite small, which meant a bit more work for processing, but the plants did produce a decent yield overall. One significant positive was its notable resistance to blossom-end rot, a common and frustrating issue that many paste tomato varieties are highly susceptible to. This made them relatively low-maintenance in that regard. Currently, I don’t have a single “go-to” paste tomato variety that consistently impresses me above all others. For now, my quest continues. While the Cordova wasn’t exceptional, its good disease resistance and consistent production mean I might consider growing it again in the future, possibly alongside other trusted varieties like Amish Paste and Roma, as I continue to search for my ultimate favorite paste tomato for canning and sauces.
8. Subarctic Tomato: A Complete Disappointment
The Subarctic Tomato was, unfortunately, another complete disappointment and a stark contrast to its promising name. This variety is marketed for its early production in cooler climates, yet my experience was precisely the opposite. The plant itself remained incredibly tiny throughout the season, barely reaching 1.5 feet in height by the time autumn arrived. Far from producing earlier than other varieties, it was notably late. To add to the frustration, it succumbed to blight fairly early in the season, even though no other tomato plants in its vicinity displayed any signs of the disease. In contrast, my reliable Early Girl tomatoes, as in most years, produced our very first ripe fruits, completely overshadowing the Subarctic’s supposed advantage. Given its miniature size, late production, and susceptibility to blight, there’s absolutely no reason for this variety to occupy precious space in my garden again. It was a trial that unequivocally failed on all fronts.
Conclusion: The Enduring Value of Garden Experimentation
Reflecting on the 2015 season’s vegetable trials, the outcome was quite clear: out of the eight varieties I experimented with, only three — the Atlantic Broccoli, Purple Sun Carrot, and potentially the Cordova Paste Tomato — truly earned a place in future gardening plans. The tomato varieties, which often require careful selection for specific climates and culinary uses, largely underperformed or failed to meet my expectations. This season highlighted just how challenging it can be to find new, exceptional tomato varieties that excel in both flavor and utility for my processing needs.
Despite the mixed results, this journey through hits and misses is an inherent, and often the most rewarding, part of starting your own seeds and experimenting in the garden. Each season offers a fresh opportunity to learn, adapt, and refine our approach. It’s through these trials that we gain invaluable knowledge about what thrives in our specific soil and climate, and what truly pleases our palates and fits our lifestyle. It’s this spirit of exploration that keeps gardening perpetually exciting.
Because every once in a while, amidst the various experiments, you strike gold. You discover a true gem that fundamentally elevates your gardening experience. Varieties like the remarkably sweet and flavorful Pineapple Tomato, the rich and complex Cherokee Purple Tomato, the incredibly prolific and tender Emerite Pole Bean, or the wonderfully crisp Cascadia Snap Pea become instant favorites. These discoveries don’t just change your garden world for the better; they enrich your kitchen, inspire your cooking, and deepen your connection to the food you grow. So, keep experimenting, keep planting new things, and relish every success and every lesson learned along the way!