As a vegetable gardener, you've probably asked: which varieties will grow best in my garden? Cornell's Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners (VVFG) Program is here to help. The concept is simple: gardeners across the state visit the VVFG website and report in which varieties perform well, or not so well, in their gardens. You can view vegetable variety ratings and read reviews to see which vegetable varieties will work best.
The Vegetable Variety Trial Gardens (VVTG) is a companion program to the VVTG which allows individual county extensions to cultivate vegetable demonstration gardens. The 2024 VVTG project guide is "Cultural Roots of Eastern Europe." Cornell is partnering with the Hudson Valley Seed Company in Accord, New York to provide seeds and plants.
You can see these vegetables growing at the CCE of Oneida County's Parker F. Scripture gardens. We will be growing several different vegetable varieties, with origins coming from parts of Eastern Europe.
Here is a sample of some of the plants you can see; visit us this summer to see how the varieties are doing.
Cosmonaut Volkov Tomato. The variety originated in Ukraine but was selected by a Russian space engineer turned gardener who gave it the name. This tomato is a large indeterminate variety producing large fruits with a sweet/tangy flavor.
Gigante D'Italia Parsley and Genovese Basil. The Italian parsley is a big plant with very large leaves with extra tangy flavor. The basil was selected hundreds of years ago by Italian villagers as the best pesto basil.
Bulgarian Carrot Chile Pepper. This is a small, very hot pepper with orange-gold skin that has a carrot-like shape.
In our gardens, you'll also find Ukrainian Slicing Cucumber, Robert Hazelwood Dry Bean, Danvers Carrot, Cherry Belle Radish, Detroit Dark Red Beet, Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage, Elba Potato, Bouquet Dill, Mint, and Clear Dawn Onion. Information about the vegetables will be on signs posted in the gardens. Our gardens are free and open to the public during daylight hours. For more information about these plants, visit the Hudson Valley Seed Company at https://hudsonvalleyseed.com/. Learn more about the Cornell VVTG by visiting the website https://gardening.cals.cornell.edu/adult-programs/vvtg.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County answers home and garden questions which can be emailed to homeandgarden@cornell.edu or call 315-736-3394, press 1 and ext. 333. Leave your question, name and phone number. Questions are answered on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, visit our website at http://cceoneida.com/ or phone 315-736-3394, press 1 and then ext.100.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Wondering what to grow in your garden? Cornell's Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners can help
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