Vegetable Variety Selection In Northern & Cold Climate Gardens
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- Опубликовано: 16 июл 2024
- OK, you've asked us over and over again. The question always comes up about "what varieties do you grow?" And we've always been a bit cagey about it. Not because we're hiding anything, we talk about the varieties we grow all the time! The reason we don't make a list is really because we think about that question in a very different way than the people who are asking it.
As somewhat advanced gardeners, we think it's much more important to understand "why" you might select a particular variety. Over the years, we've seen how varieties can come and go. We've witnessed how a particular genetic might be super popular one season and then all of a sudden vanish from all seed houses on earth the next. What then? Practically every "variety list" we've ever laid eyes on is out of date with obsolete, unobtainable genetics. Or maybe you'd have to order from a dozen different seed houses to get everything.
Not just that, but in our cold climate growing research, we've learned that variety selection is really only important with certain types of plants. For the overwhelming majority of veggies out there, the variety you choose isn't going to make a bit of difference. So, if it looks good to you, grow it! Assuming you can learn to grow that plant, you'll likely have success.
But, we have been thinking about this question and how we might want to answer it. And we've figured out how we'll answer this question in a way that satisfies us. And hopefully it'll also satisfy you.
We picked the 10 veggies where variety selection is actually going to matter in cool, northern gardens. Instead of just giving you a list of varieties, we talk about the traits that we're looking for, some of the techniques we use and answer the "why" behind our variety selection process. The astute among you will note that we do show and tell you some of the actual varieties we use. And if you stick with us, we're bound to give away countless more "variety secrets" that we aren't really keeping.
We think approaching this question in this way will be much more informative and will set you up with the skill sets needed to select your own varieties. We don't really want to see a growing culture where everyone is doing the same thing. We want to learn from you, and you can learn from us. We will all benefit more this way. People really don't talk about this, but in a lot of ways, extreme northern gardening is really in its infancy compared to agriculture elsewhere. Most of our land's people were migratory hunter gatherer cultures not all that long ago. It's really important that we all experiment, try different things and figure out what works and what doesn't!
We know this video is long, it's our longest to date! And it's because this is a hard question to answer properly. But, we do hope you enjoy it! Let us know what you think!
We do mention some links in the video, so here you go!
If you're looking for this video in essentially written form, here's where you want to go:
frostygarden.com/topics/varie...
In our vegetable specific growing guides, we mention tons of specific varieties and get into the specific genetics, veggie by veggie. We offer a lot more options here:
frostygarden.com/topics/#grow...
And of course, we offer a vast array of cold climate gardening topics. Beginner to advanced, you're bound to find something that interests you!
FrostyGarden.com
0:00 Introduction
0:24 What We're Going To Do
1:06 Variety Usually Doesn't Matter
1:32 Cold Hardy Veggies Rule!
2:01 Variety Lists
2:41 Variety Selection Techniques
3:33 Additional Resources
3:51 Broccoli Varieties
5:05 Cauliflower Varieties
6:06 Brussels Sprouts Varieties
7:29 Artichoke Varieties
8:50 Bean Varieties
10:44 Onion Varieties
12:32 Tomato Varieties
15:25 Cucumber Varieties
17:43 Squash Varieties
20:17 Pepper Varieties
22:34 Rolling Out
Thanks for checking out our first new "real" video of the 2024 season. We are glad to be back at it this year. This one was entirely inspired by our viewers. We know we could just give you a list of varieties, but our goal is to make you better growers! We're looking forward to firing up our grow rooms very soon, you can expect to see some new content on growing from seed soon!
Jeff! You’re very informative without background music I really FOCUS on your awesome subject that I’ve BEEN LOOKING for! Great job! I’m in zone 6a Michigan 🥶🥶🥶🥶
I've been mastering our newer videos without the background music, it's just too hard to please everyone. Sounds like you're our target audience! While we're in Alaska, there's a ton of commonality in all cold climates!
Thank you! This was well done! I'm trying runner beans for the first time this year!
Thanks for the kind comment! We really have enjoyed runner beans. You can either crack them and harvest the beans, or eat them whole. Completely different food experience each way. We're usually lazy and do the latter, but you do have to cook them thoroughly. Excellent in stews, soups things like that. Good luck this season, appreciate the watch.
Great information again. Thank you
Thanks for watching, appreciate the kind comment.
Living here in England, I'm amazed how much you grow up in Alaska (and your incredible knowledge) . I also didn't know about day length with onions so thanks!
Thanks for the kind comment. I guess we do grow a lot! Thanks for giving us a watch, hope to see you again!
I am very new to gardening, I understand your hesitation to put out a list, but as a beginner in zone 3 it is helpful to have a starting point so thank you for the video. I have picked up seeds from the dollar store and national companies but lately am focusing on local seed companies or companies in the same type of region I'm in. I've heard that it is good to try and source seeds grown in your climate. These companies also feature a lot of seeds great for short seasons.
We can tell you that if you shop at local nurseries, you'll likely have good success. Many of them will weed out things that will do poorly (e.g. not carry okra), so the buyers have a better experience. The big box stores (and other chains) often have very "generic" selections and can be a lot more hit or miss for colder climates. They put zero effort into cultivating your choices and will just put out whatever is sent. They really don't care if you do well or not! You can source from outside your climate, but it should be reasonably close. For example, we source a lot of seeds out of places like Oregon and Michigan. While it's not "Alaska" in that case, it's generally "northern" and thus they cultivate a selection that prefers cooler climates. Most northern seed houses will have the varieties we're looking for. Good luck and thanks for the comment/watch!
@@frostygarden907 You might enjoy seeds from Alberta and Saskatchewan companies then too. We know a few things about cold and snow 😆.
I agree talking to owners of local seed companies is so helpful they have great tips and lots of experience.