Bulletin #2190, Vegetable Varieties for Maine Gardens
Vegetable Varieties for Maine Gardens
Developed by Mark G. Hutton, Extension vegetable crops specialist, and David T. Handley, Extension small fruit and vegetable crops specialist.
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Choosing the right varieties of vegetables to grow is an important part of successful gardening.
Select varieties that are adapted to Maine’s climate and your local growing conditions. The varieties recommended in this bulletin are generally available and successful in northern New England. There are many other varieties available, both new and old, that may perform well in some Maine gardens. Use your past experience—the soils and climate in your location may greatly affect the performance of some varieties. You will probably develop a list of favorite vegetable varieties that consistently do well in your garden.
It’s best to test new varieties in a small planting next to a familiar variety of the same crop so that you can fairly compare their performance and qualities. For most crops, different varieties will have a range of maturity dates, indicated in seed catalogs by the number of days from planting to harvest. In northern Maine, plant only early varieties of warm-season vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, and melons, to ensure harvest before frost. In more southerly parts of Maine, both early and midseason varieties can be successfully harvested in most years.
Look for varieties with disease resistance. There are many varieties available today that are resistant to some of the most common vegetable diseases. Disease resistance can prevent crop loss and reduce the need for pesticides. Seed catalogs typically list any disease resistance a variety has. For example, with tomatoes and peppers, look for resistance to Fusarium, Verticillium, and tobacco mosaic virus. For cucumbers and squash, look for resistance to scab, anthracnose, Alternaria, Fusarium, mosaic virus, powdery mildew, and bacterial wilt. For beans, look for resistance to halo blight, mosaic virus, and rust.
| SUGGESTED VARIETIES |
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|---|---|---|---|
| AsparagusMary Washington Improved, Jersey King, Jersey Knight, Guelph Millennium, Purple Passion
Beans Green Snap: Provider, Jade, Concessa Wax: Indy Gold, Rodcor Pole: Blue Lake strains, Fortex, Kentucky Blue, Scarlet Runner Shell: French Horticultural Beets Greens: Bull’s Blood Red, Early Wonder, Crosby Green Top, Big Top Summer and Fall: Red Ace, Kestral, Pacemaker III Heirloom and Cylindrical: Chioggia, Forono, Golden, Rodina Broccoli Spring: Packman, Regal Summer/Fall: Gypsy, Premium Crop, Marathon Brussels Sprouts Oliver, Jade Cross Cabbage Early: Charmant, Dynamo, Quick Start, Stonehead, Spring Dynasty Midseason: Solid Blue 790, Blue Vantage Late: Storage No. 4, Bravo Red: Red Express, Ruby Perfection Carrots Early: Nelson, Minicor (baby) Midseason: Scarlet Nantes, Sweetness II, Sugarsnax 54, Neptune, Yellowstone (yellow), Purple Haze (purple) Late: Bolero, Caro-Choice Cauliflower Early: Snow Crown Midseason/Late: Amazing,Candid Charm, Absolute, Graffiti (purple), Cheddar (yellow) Celery Utah 52-70, Ventura Chard, Swiss Bright Lights, Fordhook Giant, Ruby Red Chinese Cabbage Jade Pagoda, Rubicon |
Corn—PopcornMahogany, Robust 128YH, Strawberry, Top-Pop
Corn—Sweet Early—Yellow: Kandy Kwik (se), Seneca Horizon (su), Daybreak (se), Sugar Buns (se+)Bicolor: Seneca Arrowhead (se), Fleet (se+), Quickie (se) Midseason—Yellow: Tuxedo (se), Northern Xtra-Sweet (sh2) Bicolor: Luscious (se), Delectable (se), Bojangles (sy), Absolute (sy), Sweet Chorus Late—Yellow: Honey Select (sy) Bicolor: Lancelot (se), Seneca Dancer (se) White: Argent (se), Silver Queen (su), Silver King (se) Cucumbers Slicing: Diva, Marketmore 76, Dasher II, Turbo, Stonewall Pickling: Cross Country, Fancipik, Eureka, Calypso Eggplant Dusky, Black Bell, Ghostbuster (white), Neon, Little Fingers (Oriental), Kermit (Thai) Endive Salad King, Neos Escarole Full Heart, Nataly Kohlrabi Winner, Grand Duke, Early Purple Vienna, Kolibri Kale Winterbor, Red Russian, Blue Ridge Leek Lincoln, Arkansas, Rikor, Norton Lettuce Bibb: Buttercrunch Butterhead: Sangria, Ermosa, Nancy Crisp Head: Summertime, Crispino Leaf: New Red Fire, Red Sails, Waldmann’s Green, Slobolt Romaine (Cos): Winter Density, Green Towers, Eruption, Rosalita
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MuskmelonEarly: Earliqueen, Fastbreak, EarligoldMidseason: Athena, Harper Hybrid, Super Star
Speciality Types: Passport, Amy, Angel, Earli-Dew Onions Early (seeded): Copra, Frontier, New York Early, Candy, Mars (red) Plants: Sweet Spanish types, Ailsa Craig, Red Burgermaster (red) Sets: Ebenezer, Stuttgarter Parsley Forest Green, Dark Green Italian Parsnip Harris Model, Lancer Peas Early: Knight, Progress #9, Dakota Midseason: Lincoln, Mr. Big, Eclipse Summer: Wando Edible Pod Types: Sugar Ann, Sugarsnap, Oregon Sugar Pod #2, Oregon Giant Peppers Sweet, Thin Wall: Ace, New Ace, Giant Marconi Sweet, Thick Wall: Red Knight, Boynton Bell, King Arthur Hot: Conchos, Numex Joe E. Parker, Thai Dragon, Tiburon (ancho) Frying Types: Biscayne, Cubanelle Pumpkins Mini: Jack-Be-Little, Munchkin, Baby Boo (white), Wee-B-Little Small-Fruited: Mystic Plus, Baby Pam, New England Pie, Neon, Baby Bear, Hybrid Pam Medium-Fruited: Magic Lantern, Merlin, Rocket, Racer, Phantom Large-Fruited: Howden, Sorcerer, Rock Star Giant-Fruited: Prizewinner, Atlantic Giant
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RadishesRed:Champion, Cherriette, Fire BallWhite: White Icicle, D’Avignon, French BreakfastOriental: Minowase Summer Cross #3, Miyashige
Rhubarb Macdonald, Tilden, Canada Red, Valentine Rutabagas American Purple Top, Joan, Laurentian, York Spinach Tyee, Melody, Bloomsdale, Space, Unipak 151 Squash Summer Yellow: Yellow Crookneck, Sunray, Cougar, Sunburst Summer Green: Spineless Beauty, Zucchini Elite, Revenue, Space Master Winter: Carnival, Festival, Delicata, Tay Bell PM, Buttercup, Blue Hubbard, Red Kuri Tomatoes Extra Early: Early Cascade, New Girl, First Lady Early: First Pik, Royal Mountie, Sunstart Midseason: Ultrasonic, Daybreak, Sunchief Late: Celebrity, Big Beef, Redsun Heirloom: Moskvich, Red Brandywine, Pruden’s Purple, Striped German Small-Fruited: Sun Gold, Matt’s Wild, Juliet, Sweet Million Paste: Bellstar, Plum Crimson, San Marzano Turnips White Flesh: Hakurei, Purple Top White Globe, Just Right, Royal Crown All White: Tokyo Cross Hybrid Watermelon Seedless (requires seeded pollinator): Gypsy, Millonaire, Extazy Seeded: Sweet Favorite, Festival, Crimson Sweet, Yellow Doll, Sunshine |
Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.
© 2006
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