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As the years pass my seed selections are getting to be more dialed in. I have my favorite varieties for each vegetable and then every once and a while I’ll test a new variety to see if it can beat my favorite. If it can’t, it doesn’t get grown again next year and if it’s great, I grow it again.

Once I have a tried and true variety then I’ll start to save seeds from it, if they are easy to save. I haven’t gotten into any complex seed saving techniques yet. I seed save beans, cowpeas, peppers, lettuce, some herbs, flowers, and arugula right now. The peppers I grow have seen the most improvement with seed saving.

I also just love to try new things and I’m enticed by color so I buy new varieties each year for that reason too. Growing things is so much fun! Here is the list of what I’m growing this year. Every variety is linked to where I buy it from.

And in case you just want to know where I buy my seeds without going through each variety, here are the main places: High Mowing Organic Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Also a disclaimer… This list is likely change slightly throughout the growing season.

Dried Beans and Cowpeas

My Favorites

• Black Turtle (90-120 days)
• Tigers Eye Bean (80-90 days)
• Ozark Razorback Cowpea (90 days) 

Still Testing

• Light Red Kidney (85 days)

New this Year

• Jacob’s Cattle Dry Bean (90 days)
• 1500 Year Old Cave Bean (95-110 days)

Broccoli

Still Testing

• DeCicco (48 days) May or may not grow it this year, always performs well but is more like little broccoli florets rather than a big head. You need a lot of plants to get a decent harvest.
• Calabrese Green Sprouting (90 days) This one came recommended to me by Cam’s Mom. I’m looking forward to trying it this year.

New This Year

• Green Magic F1 (57 days) A hybrid but it came recommended by two gardening friends in Arkansas! We’ll see how it compares to the open pollination varieties.

Brussel Sprouts

By far the hardest plant I grow, here in Arkansas it struggles with summer heat and pests. Hybrids definitely outshine open pollination varieties on this but since I’d like to save seed I still try the OP types.

New this Year

• Long Island Improved (100 days)

Cabbage

My Favorites

• Golden Acre (62 days)
• Red Express (62 days)
• Chinese Cabbage Hilton (70 days)
• Brunswick Cabbage (90 days)
• Violaceo Di Verona  (120 days)

Carrots

My Favorite

• St. Valery (70 days) This one is incredibly sweet and maintains its crunchiness when grown as a fall crop. 
• Black Nebula (70 days) 
• New Kuroda A new favorite of mine from last year! Delicious and easy to grow!

New this Year

• Purple Dragon (70 days)

Celery

My Favorite 

• Tango Celery (80 days)

Corn

My Favorites

• Who Gets Kissed? Sweet Corn (78-84 days)

New this Year

• Popcorn Mini Blue (80 days) Kids will grow this one
• Montana Cudu – Kids will grow this one
• Nothstine Dent (100 days)
• Pennsylvania Butter Popcorn (102 days)

Cucumbers

My Favorite

• Homemade Pickles (55-60 days)
• Tendergreen Burpless (55 days)

Still testing 

• Natsu Fushinari Really productive and disease resistant in my garden last year. 
• Beit Alpha

New this Year

• Cool Customer (55 days)
• Salt and Pepper (49 days)

Flowers

My Favorites

• Pink Senorita Zinnia
• Meteor Zinnia
• Purple Prince Zinnia
• Cosmos Bright Lights
• Sweet Alyssum Tall White
• Echinacea Purpurea
• Marigold Brocade Mix
• Sunflower Lemon Queen
• Nasturtium Globe of Fire
• Calendula Playtime Mix
• Red Scarlet Zinnia
• Polar Bear Zinnia
• Envy Zinnia
• Peredovik Sunflower (great for bird feed)

New this year

• Mexican Sunflower Red Torch
• Afternoon White Cosmos
• Double Dutch Rose Cosmos

Greens

My Favorites

• Arugula (20-50 days)
• Bok Choy Purple Lady (45 days)
• Tatsoi (40- 50 days)
• Vates Collards (75 days)
• Champion Collards (70 days)
• Yellow Heart Winter Choy (45 days)

Green Beans

My Favorites

• Provider Bush Bean (50 days)
• Jade Bush Bean (53 days)
• Goldilocks Bush Bean (52 days)

Herbs

My Favorites

• Genovese Basil
• Thyme
• Green De Belleville Sorrel
• Rosemary
• Dill Bouquet
• Slo Bolt Cilantro
• Holy Basil
• Blue Borage
• Parsley Giant of Italy
• Amethyst Improved, Purple Basil

Kale

My Favorites

• Blue Curled Scotch (50-60 days)
• Nero Di Toscana (55 days)
• Scarlet (55 days)
• Dwarf Siberian (50 days)
• Vates Kale (50- 60 days)

Lettuce

My Favorites

• Little Gem (50 days)
• Winter Density (55 days full size)
• Mesclun Mix (28 days baby)
• Tropicana (52 days) Great for growing in heat
• Coastal Star (57 days) Great for growing in heat
• Merlot (35-50 days)

Melon

Still Testing

• Petit Gris de Rennes (85 days)

New this Year

• Trifecta (83 days)
• Madhu Ras Honey Melon (95 days)

Onions (These are definitely grown based on region. For more information on what kind of onions to grow in your area click HERE)

My Favorites

• Rossa Di Milano (110 days)
• Zebrune Shallot 
• Gladstone Onion (110 days)
• Australian Brown (100 days)
• Bulgarian Giant Leek (110 days)\

New This Year

• Patterson F1 (104 days) I don’t often grow hybrids because the goal is self-sufficiency but this one came highly recommended.

Peas

My Favorite

• Sugar Snap  (58 days)

New this Year

• PLS595 (64 days) This is a shelling pea.

Peanuts

New this Year

• Tennessee Red Valencia (110 days)
• Carwile’s Virginia (120 days)
• Georganic (130 days)

Pepper

My Favorites

• Poblano (80 days)
• Emerald Giant (72-80 days)
• Banana Pepper (70 days)
• Tam Jalapeno (85 days)
• Lemon Spice Jalapeno (65 days)
• Korean Pepper (75 days)

Potatoes

My Favorites

• Kennebec
• Yukon Gem

Spinach

My Favorite

• Bloomsdale Long Standing  (48 days)
• Equinox (29 days) Great winter type

Summer Squash

My Favorite

• Lemon Squash (50 days) Best and most bug resistant summer squash around.

Sweet Potatoes

My Favorite

• Beauregard (I got mine from a Walmart six years ago and have been growing from the prior years slips.)

Radish

My Favorites

• Chinese Red Meat
• Japanese Minowase Daikon
• Schwarzer Runder Radish
• Watermelon Radish 
• Pink Beauty Radish

Tomatoes

My Favorites

• Black Cherry (64 days)
• Cherokee Purple (80 days)
• Roma (70-80 days)
• Kelloggs Breakfast (80 days)
• Amish Paste (85 days)
• Blue Beech (82 days)
• San Marzano II (78 days) 
• Sunrise Bumblebee (70 days) Cam loves these
• Brandywine (82 days)

Still testing

• Egg yolk (70 days) I originally got these from Baker Creek but they no longer sell them.
• Black Krim (80 days)

New This Year

• Eva Purple Ball (78 days) 
• Brandywine, OTV (72 days)

Turnip

My Favorite

• Purple Top White Globe (40- 50 days)

Still Testing

• Scarlet Ohno Revival (50 days)

Watermelons

My Favorite

• Ledmon Watermelon (no longer available from where I purchased it)

Still Testing

• AliBaba Watermelon (100 days)

New This Year

• Nancy (90 days)
• Chou Cheh Red (75 days)
• All Sweet (90-104 days)