{"id":3069,"date":"2009-07-06T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2009-07-06T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nybg.org\/wordpress\/?p=3069"},"modified":"2011-04-11T11:54:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-11T15:54:21","slug":"tip-of-the-week-%e2%80%94-7609","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2009\/07\/tip-of-the-week\/tip-of-the-week-%e2%80%94-7609\/","title":{"rendered":"Tip of the Week: Hip Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\nSonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations <\/a>on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.<\/span><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"Orange<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

Vegetables are no different. Some of them are\u00a0born 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\u00a0P\u00e9pin.<\/p>\n

An Internet survey of the most popular homegrown vegetables in the\u00a0 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?<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, tomatoes were at the top of the list\u2014close to 90 percent of the population includes tomatoes in their vegetable garden. Both tomatoes and\u00a0peppers\u00a0are incredibly prolific\u2014if you have\u00a0space for only one plant you will get a nice harvest.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0hot pepper? What color would you like the fruit to be this year\u2026 yellow, purple, red, orange, or green?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Onions in fourth place surprised me although they are easy to grow either from seed or from transplants. I pick up my transplants\u00a0at the Union Square Market in Manhattan early in the season and just pop them into the ground. Scallions get pulled up and tossed into the salad early in the season, followed by cipollini (they usually take around 60 days to harvest), and then finally the late-season bulbing onions.<\/p>\n

Beans are a treat because they are so easy to grow and great for a beginner. For my bush beans, I usually try and do two sowings, one in early\u00a0May and another in the middle of the summer for a later harvest. The fine French beans such as \u2018Fin de Bagnol\u2019 are delicious and \u2018Blue Lake 274\u2019 is not only prolific and reliable but also very tasty.<\/p>\n

Pole beans climb up my trellises and adorn my garden all summer long. My favorite pole bean is a classic called \u2018Kentucky Wonder Pole\u2019, although other heirloom varieties such as \u2018Purple Podded Pole\u2019 and \u2018Rattlesnake Snap\u2019 have an aesthetic edge <\/p>\n

Cabbage came in 10th, landing in only 30 percent of the nation\u2019s gardens\u2014clearly the German contingent stepped in at the last minute to make a push for their beloved sauerkraut.<\/p>\n

So what are the criteria for a vegetable’s popularity? I think what you grow\u00a0is probably an individual decision, but you most likely have your\u00a0reasons. Here is a guide for making your own choices <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Choose vegetables\u00a0your family likes to eat.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. If you are a beginner, choose vegetable that are easy to grow.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Think about yield: <\/strong>Given your space, will it be worth the effort to grow one tomato that produces a rich harvest or two cabbages that will provide you with enough cole slaw for several good meals.<\/li>\n
  4. Consider taste<\/strong>. The amount of space it takes to grow sweet corn is disheartening, but the taste of fresh sweet corn is worth its weight in gold.<\/li>\n
  5. \u00a0Do you have the space<\/strong>? What is feasible given the size of your plot?<\/li>\n
  6. Are the vegetables readily available from<\/strong> transplants<\/strong> in the garden center; sometimes a head start is more appealing than sowing seeds.<\/li>\n
  7. Are you making choices due to a lack of imagination<\/strong> (e.g. it\u2019s\u00a0just the first thing that pops into your mind)?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you find yourself answering yes to the\u00a0last question, come visit The Edible Garden <\/a><\/em>at The New York Botanical Garden this summer and take home some new and interesting ideas for your own home garden.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    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… <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n