Best Makes of Seed

[Craigw02]

Hi guys was wondering on people's opinions for the top 3 seed varieties for the veg listed below ie meaning top 3 tomato seeds then basil etc:-

Tomatoes
Basil
Chillies
Courgette
Peas
Sweetcorn
Potatoes
Cucumber

All thoughts welcome!


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[Kristen]

IME its very subjective - things that one person likes another won't ... or the soil / local growing conditions will produce a different flavour.

Still, its not a bad idea for getting a short list to try (if that's your aim?). In which case I would also ask for varieties to avoid!

I grew 10 different tomato varieties last year - all the ones my mates raved about - I didn't think any of them were better than the 3 varieties I had grown for the previous umpteen years, so this year I've gone back to them!! But I do try a few different varieties of This and That each year, alongside the varieties we have come to prefer, to see if any of them are better; its rare that they are.

For me:

Tomatoes: Shirley, Gardeners Delight an Sungold. Avoid: Moneymaker and Ailsa Craig.

Chillies: I prefer the small ones, easy to use in the cooking (which is what we do, easily dried or frozen too, but obviously no good for "whole, large chillies" recipe). I grow Demon Red.

Sweetcorn: Gone off Swift in favour of Lark

Potatoes: 1st early Arran Pilot, 2nd early Charlotte, Salad: Pink Fir Apple

Cucumber: an All Female F1 (for greenhouse). e.g. Bella

[sparrow100]

Chillies: padron (for tapas), chenzo, habanero, jalapeno - I like the fruity chillies rather than the sharp ones like lemon drop.
Tomatoes: black cherry, 100s&1000s, maskotka, sweet million
Cucumber: la diva, because it copes well being outside
Courgette: pale green lebanese style ones like genovese or otto
Potatoes: charlottes & lady christl

[Penellype]

Tomatoes Sungold, Shirley. Disappointed with Bajaja, Chocolate Cherry
Courgette F1 Goldmine (yellow), Green Bush. Piccolo makes round courgettes which have less skin to flesh ratio.
Peas Hurst Greenshaft, Onward (but not Early Onward) Meteor for early peas
Potatoes Desiree, Charlotte
Cucumber Vega has been excellent indoors and out this year (1st time I've tried)

[Chippy Minton]

Ooh I love these questions, I love to see if the answers trend towards consensus or if you'll just end up with a complete list of varieties that are available

Tomatoes - Gardeners Delight and red and yellow tumblers (we get more for less take up of space)
Chillies - I also like the small ones - Prairie Fire, Demon Red, Basket of Fire
Courgette - Any, sick of them we usually grow Zephyr for the novelty
Peas - in a taste test 2 out of 2 kids preferred Balmoral, I like meteor because it's small and quick
Potatoes - first early Lady Christl, main crop I've ben really impressed with Cara this year, novelty Salad Blue or Highland Burgundy Red
Cucumber - we like the little ones such as Cucino

Good luck with the list of 3 best.....

[Scarlet]

Tomatoes - black cherry, Black Russian, gardeners delight (very difficult to choose, it may well be different tomorrow!)
Basil - Sweet Genovese, lemon and lime
Chillies - lemon drop, habanero, Padron
Courgette - all green bush, tromba d'abenga (some people grow this as squash but I pick mine very small)
Peas -telephone or meteor for peas - but i usually eat just the leaves these days
Sweetcorn - I don't eat it!
Potatoes - pink fir apple, Charlotte, salad blue
Cucumber - piccolino, carmen

[solway cropper]

An impossible question but I'll give it a go
I don't like cherry tomatoes but some folks love em but that rules out a lot of varieties. I try new varieties every year and have to say I like most of them.
I don't like chillies full stop
I like sweetcorn but don't have the space to grow it.
The local sparrow population seems to like pea shoots so I rarely get to see a complete pod!
Courgettes - I only grow the round ones not the long ones
Potatoes - Lady Christl and anything that makes good chips
Cucumbers - La Diva

[Kristen]

Ooh I love these questions, I love to see if the answers trend towards consensus or if you'll just end up with a complete list of varieties that are available

Tomatoes - Gardeners Delight and red and yellow tumblers (we get more for less take up of space)

Indeed The thing that troubles my pea-sized brain about this line of thinking is: you like Gardeners Delight, I like Shirley. If you have never grown Shirley and me Gardeners Delight, then the information is of no value. Either of us may have a Tomato variety that the other would rave over ... but we'll never know (unless we all grow all varieties!)

Why are so many seed packets of Moneymaker tomatoes sold in the Sheds each year? Beats me ... everyone I know who has grown them, and tried others, thinks that Moneymaker is watery & tasteless.

Mind you, as a "What should I try as an alternative" or, for a newbie, "what variety should I start out trying", then those that are popular amongst folk have got to be a good bet. I'm obviously just getting old and stuck in my ways and should probably be put down!

Sweetcorn - I don't eat it!

For me its the best tasting veg we grow (compared to Supermarket flavour) if picked fresh and cooked immediately. Lousy yield per unit area of ground) though.

[Small pumpkin]

Tomatoes. Black Russian , gardeners delight, sweet baby.
Basil, sweet genovese, cinnamon, Greek
Chilli, I grow as many different varieties as I can every year, ring of fire, hot banana, Thai dragon will get grown every year
Courgette again varieties seem to change every year, I think I like all of them!
Pea. Kelvedon wonder
Sweet corn. I'm 100% with Scarlet. I don't eat it.
Potatoes. Only my first year at spuds. Pink fir apple is the best thing ever and will be growing again next year. I am also open to recommendations on next years second verity.
Cucumber. Fem Spot

[Kristen]

Potatoes. I am also open to recommendations on next years second verity.

I suggest you try a local outlet that sells seed potatoes "loose" and try 3 tubers each of several varieties and see which ones you like the taste of, and suit your soil.

Charlotte is probably the one that I see most commonly championed, but everyone has favourites and yours may turn out to be different.

[Small pumpkin]

I suggest you try a local outlet that sells seed potatoes "loose" and try 3 tubers each of several varieties.

I really like that idea. But have you seen my location????
Even if I do get off the island, I can't think of an outlet anywhere (on route to Rhyl or Somerset. Only places I go if off island apart from Tesco ) that would do loose seed potatoes.
I really do like that idea of a selection of potatoes. Will do some research on inter web see if anyone on line dose loose seed potatoes.

[Kristen]

I really like that idea. But have you seen my location????

I have now!

I think that JBA used to sell packs of 5 spuds, can only see 2kg packs now ... won't be the cheapest way, but might be worthwhile for a one-time experiment.

Buy Seed Potatoes

Perhaps easier to get someone on the mainland to buy the selection you want and send them to you (at a time when the weather is forecast to be frost free, natch )

[Scarlet]

I knew I'd get that kind of reaction with the not growing sweetcorn comment! Both my boys have braces - they find it difficult to eat sticks in their braces!! And it a dead sure crop for encouraging the deer into my plot!

[Scarlet]

I really like that idea. But have you seen my location???? :

Ha! I was going to suggest going to a potato day. The one local to my boys rugby club (I could sneak over, buy a few and pretend I'd been watching them play all morning!) had loads of different varieties and you could buy 3 of each variety.

[Kristen]

I knew I'd get that kind of reaction with the not growing sweetcorn comment! Both my boys have braces - they find it difficult to eat sticks in their braces!! And it a dead sure crop for encouraging the deer into my plot!

Didn't stop my two eating Sweetcorn, and those silly little ones (that I have tried to grow, and failed) ... but they are addicted!!

Can't do anything about the Deer, sorry. Risk of marauding Badgers and Rats too