Tip of the Week: Hip Vegetables
Posted in Gardening Tips on July 6th, 2009 by Sonia Uyterhoeven – Be the first to comment |
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center. |
Have you ever observed the popular kids in school? They look stylish seemingly without having made an effort, are confident and outgoing, and always seem to surround themselves with beautiful people.
Vegetables are no different. Some of them are born with style while others struggle to cast off their utilitarian image. Some just have a universal appeal, others are easy to grow and never disappoint, while a select class can transform any second-rate chef into the next Jacques Pépin.
An Internet survey of the most popular homegrown vegetables in the country resulted in the following Top 10: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, beans, lettuce, carrots, sweet corn, radishes and cabbage. (Reading the list just made me hungry.) How were the choices made?
Not surprisingly, tomatoes were at the top of the list—close to 90 percent of the population includes tomatoes in their vegetable garden. Both tomatoes and peppers are incredibly prolific—if you have space for only one plant you will get a nice harvest.
Tomatoes and peppers are also easy to buy as transplants at your local garden center or farmers market. The choices are always exquisite: Do you want an F1 Hybrid or an heirloom? Would you like a sweet pepper or hot pepper? What color would you like the fruit to be this year… yellow, purple, red, orange, or green? read more »