Hit the Dirt; New Varieties for the Nineties

Like many gardeners I'm always looking to try something new each season. Experimenting with new crops and techniques are challenges which provide part of the allure of gardening. These challenges are great opportunities to learn. Then if we share the knowledge and cultural techniques we have gained with other growers we will continue to feed this learning process thereby improving even further our gardening skills. It is in this spirit that I'd like to share with you the first of what I call my what's new in the garden additions the dirt trialing new varieties is a favorite passion of mine. Some of my friends like to kid me about the number of different tomatoes I grow. This year it was 35 or so plus 20 varieties of peppers 15 different beans 9 carat varieties a dozen kinds of lettuce as well some more unusual crops for this area like peanuts okra and sweet potatoes. All in all I grew two hundred sixty varieties of 46 different crops. I guess some would think that's kind of nuts. I call it fun for gardening is one of the few activities that you can participate in right at home in your backyard and really get a taste of different cultures

from across the globe. It is truly international in nature. Each of the crops has its origin in a different part of the world and the various crops and varieties are integral parts of the traditions and lives of the different peoples. When growing heirloom varieties in particular you're preserving and carrying on a bit of history. Well this is how I look at it anyway. So today I'm going to discuss a few of the new crops from different parts of the world that I had success with this past season. Squashes are thought to have originated in Mexico Central America and South America. Archaeological evidence indicates the cultivation of squashes in all of these areas dates back to 3000 B.C. all types of squashes are rich in nutrients and are an important staple food in the diets of peoples across the globe. Two of the varieties I grew this year but I think were particularly worthy of note. Both are summer squashes The first is called Nonie or Lebanese white. Bush squash and a quote from the bountiful gardens catalogue. It is a Bush

summer squash that is very popular in the Middle East with a sweet excellent flavor. The fruit looks like a small honeydew melon and is sweet. So we call it the honey dew of squashes rinds cook up well and is easily eat the fruits whey one to two pounds quick maturing matures and 40 to 50 days under desirable conditions and is capable of withstanding variable climactic conditions. Well I found it to be of excellent flavor and edibility both when small and even if I go to a fairly large size but not so quick maturing as they claim it was one of the last of the summer squashes I grew to begin bearing fruit. However it was also the last to stop airing. Overall I feel it was quite worthy of a place in a main garden. The second variety which really impressed me and a number of friends who I shared some with was called Zappa Leto the protocol and to quote the bountiful gardens seed catalogue again. The small acorn squash type roots are a wonderful cross

between summer and winter squash. Have the appealing graininess of winter squash with that fresh watery summer squash taste unique and the rind is eaten with the meat. The seed cavity eats raw just like pine cucumber bushy plants with upright growth which provides excellent coverage and easy picking produces around two and a half to three and a half inch diameter fruits. There are medium green color excellent keeper and shipper. It is very popular in southern America. South America has a fresh market and a home garden variety. It sounds pretty nice. I definitely thought the fruit's had a unique and wonderful taste. They were variable in size although some of the ones I grew got up to four and a half to five inches in diameter in my garden. It proved to be very early and prolific producing a surprising number of fruits all season long. I find the fruits quite beautiful in appearance as well. The South American round has this squashes also known has definitely secured a spot

in my squash patch tomatoes are another crop which has its origins in South America. Probably first being cultivated in the Andes where wild tomatoes still abound while only fairly recently had that accepted as an edible vegetable in the US it has quickly become the number one favorite Home Garden Home grown garden crop. It is also quite popular of course in Italy and forms the basis of much of southern Italian cuisine. One of the tomatoes I tried this year that I really liked is an heirloom from Italy called princeps a Borges se and it is supposedly the tomato they use over there for dried tomatoes which they use as we use tomato paste. The seed for this Friday I obtain from seeds Bloom the plants were amazingly prolific yielding an abundance of small and deep red fruits. More like cherry tomatoes in size but with a slight touch. The pear shape comment to paste tomatoes. It started bearing relatively early and ripen most of its crop before the first frost.

While my attempts at drying them did not exactly work out that was more due to my inexperience. However the thick sauce made from them did turn out delicious. So a little curiosity has yielded me these three three great new taste sensations and more from my gardens. I really like to hear new or unusual crops grew in your gardens this season. Write to me here. Are you an upcoming hit the dirts. You will be hearing more about what new varieties and techniques cropped up in the garden this season. Until then happy growing. This is Keith Goldfarb. See you next week.