Recommended Vegetable Varieties

Name

MGHB
Recommendation

Our tested
varieties

Notes

Artichoke

Emerald, Green Globe, Imperil Star

Green Globe

They do great in Camarillo; gophers love ‘em. Cut them back to just below ground , withhold water for a few weeks. Summer dormancy results in a fall crop.

Asparagus

500W, Mary Washington, UC72, UC157

Mary Washington

Takes time to establish; grows for years

Beans, Lima

Fordhook, Baby Fordhook Bush, King of the Garden

Pleasnat Valley was the ‘Lima Bean Capitol of the World’ in the 50′s

Beans, Snap (bush)

Contender, Harvester, Tendecrop

Improved Roma

Real confidence builder; lots of beans, fast, easy to produce.
Bush beans take more room, less work than poles beans. Yeids are the same

Beans, Snap (pole)

Kentucky Wonder, Romano

Kentucky Wonder, Improved Romano,’French Duet’

Ken. Wonder – the absolute classic

Beets

Ruby Queen,Detroit Red, Baby Ball

Baby Ball, Jewel Tone Blend, Detroit Red, Pronto

Mary said the Baby Red Balls are the best. now it may be the Detroit Red’s. Roast them, too!

Broccoli

Green  Green Comet, Premium Crop, Green Goliath

Renee’s 3-season mix has worked quite well

It’s all good, but climate limits production. Three varieities spread out the harvest.

Brussels Sprouts

Cross, Long Island Improved, Prince Marvel

Renee’s 3-Season, others

Use Bt to conUse Bt to control cabbage worms. Aphids can be a problem, control with jets of water to displace aphids. Control ants.

Cabbage

Stonehead, Early Jersey Wakefield, Danish Roundhead, Ruby Ball hybrid

Bt for cabbage worms

Cabbage, Chinese

Chinese-Michili, Jade Pagoda, Napa, Pak-Choy

Pak (or Bok Pak (or Bok)Choi

Fast germination and growth. Use in every salad, soup. Bolts very easily and quickly. Plant some every couple of weeks.

Cantelopes

Samson, Ambrosia, Saticoy Hybrid

Galia, Earlidew, Solid Gold Cantelope, Charentais

‘Three Flavor Mix’ contains first 3.
Charentais has outstanding flavor.,

Carrots

Short ‘n’ Sweet, Little Finger, Amstel, Mincor

Cauliflower

Snow King, Snowball ‘Y’

???, Broccoli Raab, ‘Long Season Mix’

Use Bt to control cabbage worms

Celery

Chard

Arsentata, Forkhook Giant, Rainbow, Bright Lights

Bright Lights, Silver Rib, Scarlett Sharlet, Pot o’Gold, Neon Glow

Colorful and tasty, easy to grow, adds snap to salads. Red varieties are more willing to bolt. Allow plenty of room between plants.

Chayote

(no named varieties)

Chives

(No named varieties)

Chives, garlic chives

Very easy to grow, and very handy in the kitchen. garlic chive flowers are edible and a good topping on salads, guacamole

Corn, sweet

(std sugary) Golden Cross bantam, Jubilee, Silver Queen
(sugary enhanced) How Sweet It Is, Breeder’s Choice, Kandy Korn, Concord
(super sweet) Early Xtra Sweet, Illini Gold, Super Sweet Jubilee

Silver queen, Kandy Korn, Illini Gold

Standard Sweets are older, lose sweetness quickly
Sugary Enhanced are sweeter
Super sweets do not lose sweetness after harvest, but are less creamy than others.

Cucumbers

Liberty Hybrid, Saladin, County Fair, Sweet Success, Sweet Slice, Burpee Hybrid, Slice Nice Hybrid

Garden Oasis, Chelsey Pride

Chelsey Pride – got way too hot too soon.
Garden Oasis has done well in Camarillo

Eggplant

Black Beauty, Epic, Early Bird, Dusky, Rosa Bianca
(Oriental) Ichiban, Tycoon

Ichiban (Mary’s favorite), Little Finger

Endive

Full Heart Batavian, Large Green Curled

Red/Green Batavian Mix

Fennel

Florence

Unk. 40 year old strain, now naturalized

Garlic

California Late, California Early

Inchelium Red, Chilean Silver, Kettle, Transilvanian

Grows easily. Many varieties need cold soak to develop cloves. 3 to 4 weeks in the vegtable crisper before planting worked wonders.

Kale

Vates Dwarf Blue Curled, Salad Savory, Winterbor

Lacinato

Can’t keep the rabbits away! We love it, too.

Kohlrabi

Grand Duke, Early White Vienna, Purple Vienna

Leeks

Large American Flag, Electra, Titan

Lettuce

(butterhead) Butter Crunch
(Romaine) Parris Island, Valmaine
(loose leaf) salad Bowl, Oak Leaf, Ruby Red

Romaine, various mixes, Butter Crunch.

Iceberg lettuce is difficult to grow at home.
Romaines have proved easy. Succession Plant for longer seaon.
Butter Crunch is wonderful.

Melons

Charentais, ‘EarliDew’ Honey Dew, Gallery Galia, Ananas*, Zatta*, Swan Lake*,# Halogen#

Ambrosia, Samsom, Saticoy Hybrid

Swan Lake produces early fruit, likes reflected heat. Charentais produce well even on the coastal plain. All would do well inland.

Mustard

Tendergreen, Southern Giant Curled, Florida Broadleaf

Harvest outer leaves; allow inner leaves to mature. Small leaves are eaten raw in salads, larger leaves need cooking. Very old leaves get stringy.

Okra

Clemson Spineless, Blondy

Wait til soil is warm before starting seeds. Soak in water for 24 hours before planting. Stops bearing if you stop picking pods.

Onions (bulb)

(early bulb) Grano, Granes, Calif. Early Red
(late bulb) Feista, Sweet Spanish, Southport, Stockton Yellow

Calif. Early Red, Sweet Spanish, Stockton Yellow

Onions are one of the few crops that pests ignore. Harvest when the tops fall over.

Onions (green)

Evergreen White, Southport White, White Lisbon

“Long Day” varieties require 15-16 hours sun per day
“Short Day” types need ~12 hrs.

Parsely

Extra Curled Dwarf, Hamburg, Moss Curled

Parsnips

All American, Hollow Crown, Harris Model

Peas

(snow) Dwarf Gray, Mammoth Melting Sugar
(green garden) Freezonian, Green Arrow, Maestro
(snap) Sugar Ann, Sugar Snap, Super Snap

Super Sugar Snap, Chinese Pod

Peas are very ease and quick to grow.
Besides giving us the peas, the plants fix nitrogen in the soil Peas need support

Peppers

(hot) Tam Mild Jalapeno, Jalapeno Delicias, Anaheim, Cayenne, Hungaian Yellow Wax, Serrano
(bell) Bell Boy, Calif. Wonder, Yolo Wonder, Golden Bell
(sweet/Cubanelle) Sweet Banana, Gypsy, Cubanene, Nardello

Cayenne, Serrano, Habanero (hot and mild),  Cubanene, Bell

If it is a pepper, I’ll grow it. Hot weather and our sandy soils make some fire-breathing treats!
Cubanelles are sweet and very mild

Potatoes,sweet

Jersey, Garnet, Jewel

otatoes. white

White Rose, Kennebee, Yukon Gold

Yukon Gold, various colored potatoes (red, white & blue!)

Had great  luck growing potatoes – until I bought a batch of seed potatoes that were blighted. Very interesting to grow.

Pumpkins

Spirit, Autumn Gold, Jack O’Lantern, Big Max, Cinderella

Wyatt’s Wonder

You would be surprised how much pumpkin squirrels can eat…

Radish

Cherry Bell, Easter Egg Hybrid, Icicle, snowbelle

Cherry Bell, Easter Egg Hybrid, Icicle, snowbelle

Extremely quick from seed to table. Great for kids’ garden (short attention span) and the table.

Rubarb

Cherry (red salks), Victoria

Unk variety from Granny’s garden 50 years ago.

Do not eat immature as oxalates present then are harmful to soft tissues.

Spinach

Melody Hybrid, Americana

New Zealand / Malabar

New Zealnad spinach has been growing wild here for close to 60 years. Tougher than ‘true’ spinach, but spicy and very tasty.

Squash, summer

Peter Pan Hybrid, Scallopini, early Prolific Straightneck, Early Golden Straightneck, Sund  Yellow crook / straight neck

Scallopini, early Prolific Straightneck, Early Golden Straightneck

Squash,winter

Acorn) Table King, Table Ace, Jersey Golden, Sweett Mama
(butternut) Waltham, Early Butternut, Burpee Butterbush

Tomatoes

Ace Hybrid, Better Boy, Big Beef, Carmello, Celebrity, Early Girl, Marvel Stripe, Super Steak

Camello, Burbank Slicing, Marvel Stripe, Green Zebra, Roma, Black Krim, Yellow Perfection, Better Boy, Persimon

Heirloom varieties taste great, are unusual and eye-catching, but generally lack disease resistance. Rotate your crops to lessen chance of disease!

Watermellon

Garden Baby, Calsweet, Crimsom Sweet, Sugar Baby

Rainbow Sherbet*, Sugar Baby*, Moon And Stars#, Malali#

Assumed to need lots of heat, but we grow fine melons, even in Camarillo, given some reflected heat. Rainbow Sherbet, Sugar Baby do surprisingly well near the coast.