We received our selections for the 2019 variety trials today. Many of these varieties were developed here in The South or tWe will be participating in the following tests:
Heritage Pole Bean: Turkey Craw vs. Hill Family Greasy
Turkey Craw is an heirloom variety originally grown in parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. It is ready in 67 days as a fresh bean and up to 100 days for dried beans. Legend has it that a hunter found the first of these beans in the craw of a wild turkey- hence the name. Hill Family Greasy beans originate from Haywood County, North Carolina. These types of beans are traditionally called “greasy” because their pods are smooth and not fuzzy or textured like other varieties of green beans.
Compact Cucumber: Spacemaster vs. Bush Crop
The Spacemaster cucumber is a 60-day variety with vines that grow up to a maximum length of 3 feet. We are particularly interested in varieties like this because we grow primarily in raised beds and containers. Bush Crop is a similar variety that is ready for picking in 60-62 days.
Pickler Cucumber: Cool Customer vs. H-19 Little Leaf
Cool Customer and H-19 Little Leaf are traditional pickling cucumbers. Cool Customer is ready in 55 days. H-19 Little Leaf is a hybrid developed at The University of Arkansas and is ready in 57 days.
Genovese Basil: Dolce Fresca vs. Aroma II
Dolce Fresca is an All-American Selections winner from 2015 and is supposedly slow to bolt. Aroma II is another hybrid that is slow to bolt.
Nasturtium: Alaska vs. Trailing
I have always been a fan of nasturtiums but have never grown either of these varieties. Alaska has variegated foliage and Trailing has traditional foliage.
We also chose to participate in a “free” blind bean trial and received two additional packets with just an identification number on them. The package also included some plant markers as well as some evaluation forms to submit at the end of the season.
We will start the basil this weekend and the nasturtiums later on this month. We will take care of everything else in April after the last frost date.
Deltavore 
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