Hit the Dirt; Garden Varieties

Hello and welcome to another hit the dirt. Last week I began telling you about some of the noteworthy varieties in my gardens of this past summer. And there are a bunch more I'd like to spread the word about. So this week I will continue with my garden varieties review. All in all this summer was definitely on the warm side and I think that is one reason we had such a good melon crop. Many other gardeners I've talked to report similar melon bounty from this. Out of the half dozen or so muskmelon varieties we grew. Sharon and Jenny Lind are two that I would especially recommend for growers in this area. Both produced about three or four fruits of exceptionally sweet flavor provide my tongue tingles just at the memory of the heavenly tasting delights the green fleshed heirloom Jenny Lind's are smaller the fruits we grew are typically only about one to two pounds apiece. And earlier among the earliest of the melons in my garden. The orange flashed French Sharon K.. Or of medium size 3 pound fruit seemed typical with vigorous vines but not as early as some of the others. Sharon Tate is still a relatively fast maturing variety well suited to Northern gardens.

As with musk melons this summer seem to be good for watermelons Sugarbaby a small icebox type grew well for us ripening quite a few three to four pound thirst quenching beauties before our first frost. On September 22nd. But if you're up for a challenge the heirloom moon and stars variety was our favorite just for its looks. The yellow moon and star patterns on the dark green background are beautiful and while we only got one food off of our vine it was among our largest weighing in at almost 14 pounds but it over 100 days to maturity moon and stars. He is marginal in many Downeast gardens. And while we're on the subject of Vining crops winter squash comes to mind. We tried a number of new varieties this year but still nothing seems to match the Sweet Dumpling and the delicate squash. Their names are quite appropriate. The meat in the squash is both sweet and delicious. In addition to being tops on my list for their wonderfully sweet flavor and moist flaky texture they are also among

the most prolific. This year we harvested over 44 pounds from just five vines. Since I don't have a large family I like the small one to two pound fruits which means no leftovers. As for the lesser known ingrown vegetable crops this year I'm promoting the virtues of green soybeans husked tomatoes and sweet potatoes green soybeans are harvested in the green stage as their name implies. On the whole pot is steam for about five minutes before shelling. I enjoy the most straight up just out of the pot as a snack. I find their buttery flavor and melt in the mouth texture is addicting and like the soybeans found in tofu and animal feed. They are very high in protein. Most people I've introduced them to agree that they are surprisingly delicious. Butter bean and frisky 5 are both short season varieties with great flavor. The Frisky 5 matures at least a few weeks earlier. Husk tomatoes are often listed in seed catalogs at the end of the tomato section. Although they are not really tomatoes the

fruits are quite small like the size of a small cherry tomato and growing a papery husk. And they have a nutty sweet flavor. They're like little pre-wrapped candies they grow in beautiful low spreading plants. One plant kept us supplied with more little husk tomatoes than we knew what to do with. And speaking of sweet vegetables sweet potatoes are certainly more widely known and eaten than husk tomatoes but very few gardeners I know in Maine grow them and most seem surprised that you can grow them up here. Actually they can do quite well. And if you plant a short season variety better adapt to the north you can get a pretty big harvest of roots from a fairly small planting. And I have had the roots keep well all through the winter just bored in the kitchen cabinet. We have grown the variety GA jet with good success and I have heard that Centennial is another variety known to do well in New England. I plan on trying it next year moving out of the vegetable beds and into the garden. We grew to herbs for the first time this year

which seemed to grab the attention of visitors who often commented on the striking appearance. Unfortunately while Lemon bergamot and red she so were both really beautiful plants. They did not live up to the catalog descriptions promise when it came to color qualities. Both had interesting flavors but are red she so did not impart a curry flavor as Johnny's catalog claimed in a lavender flowered Lemon Burgum Oh did not have a lemon odor or taste. With the lemon bergamot the color of the bloom should've tipped us off that something was amiss. The true Lemon bergamot has white blossoms the lavender flowers indicated that the seed we got was from plants which had crossed with Manara history Llosa a lavender flowered relative resulting in hybrid offspring which have lost the citrus scent. But still I would grow both of them again just as ornamentals. And lastly I like to mention another ornamental that seemed to attract the praise of almost all of our friends and other visitors. That is the Lissie at this. It is an amazingly beautiful flower that reminds me of both

a rose and a poppy and while it has a somewhat delicate appearance each bloom lasts a long time and makes nice cut flowers start the seeds early as Lucy and this isn't a Tory a slow initial grower. Ours was still a frail little seedlings under an inch tall after two months but it is certainly worth the wait and ours are still blooming outside. Apparently hearty enough to withstand a couple frost. Cold enough to do in our tomatoes and squash. Well those are some of the standouts from my gardens this year. If you would like to know seed sources for any of the varieties I've mentioned these past couple of weeks. Or if you have some favorite varieties that really do well for you. I would love to hear from you. You can write me. Keith Goldfarb hear it hit the dirt. Care of W. Are you a hen house Blue Hill Falls Maine 0 4 6 8 0. Well bye for now. And happy growing.