Tennessee Home Garden Variety Trials

2018

Image credit: Randi Nott, Greene County

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Which variety should I grow? This is an important question. Growing a well-adapted variety can result in higher yields, more flavorful produce, and reduced chemical applications to control pests and diseases. Unfortunately, it is also a tough question to answer. Because of the high cost of trialing vegetable varieties, there is very little information on variety performance specific to the various regions within Tennes-see. By taking a community based approach to vegetable trialing, we can answer this important question.

How do I get involved?All gardeners are welcome to participate, whether a gardening novice or an Extension Master Gardener. There are three easy steps to getting involved.

Step 1: Select your trial

Applications are available at your local exten-sion office and online. Take a minute to flip through this seed catalogue and check out the available trials for this year. Each trial con-tains two varieties that you will grow side by side to compare throughout the season. You can select multiple trials (max of 5).

A small fee of $1 per trial will be assessed to help cover the cost of seed.

An additional fee of $3 to cover ship-ping also applies to all orders.

We think it is especially important for chil-dren to be involved with gardening and to learn about the science behind evaluating our food sources. Because of this, each partici-pant under 18 yrs old will receive one free trial per year. Extra kid-focused material will also be included with each child’s trial.

Step 2: Grow your garden

After we receive your application, we will send you a kit containg information on the trials you selected.

Each kit will contain the following: - seed for two varieties- plot labels and a map to prepare your rows- information specific to the crop species you selected, including planting date, plant spacing, nutrient requirements, et.- an evaluation sheet

Step 3: Tell us what you think

Fill out your evaluation sheet throughout the growing season (see page 2 for an example). Be sure to note things like germination, disease susceptibility, yield, and flavor. You can also let people know how your trials are performing throughout the season by posting pictures on social media using #TNgardenVarTrial.

At the end of the season, we will compile all of the results from across the state into an annual report.

We hope that you will join us in answering the question, which variety will grow best in my

home garden

Dr. Virginia SykesAssistant Professor

Variety Testing and Agroecologyvsykes@utk.edu, 865-974-7285

Dr. Natalie BumgarnerAssistant Professor

Residential and Consumer Horticulturenbumgarn@utk.edu, 865-974-7324

2018 Home Garden Trial #002

Gardener name:____________________________

TN county:_________________________________

Date sown in garden:________________________

Which cul�var:

Kent

ucky

W

onde

r

Kent

ucky

Bl

ue

Sam

e

Comments

Germinated best?

Had healthier plants?

Produced the first beans?

Produced higher yields?

Had more a�rac�ve beans?

Tasted be�er?

Overall Performance Ra�ng Kentucky Wonder Kentucky Blue Rate each cul�var on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1= poor, 5= good, and 1= excellent. Be discerning and don’t give both a “10”.

Preference Circle the variety you prefer. Don’t circle both- make a choice! Kentucky Wonder Kentucky Blue Please tell us why you preferred the one you circled:

Preference

Circle the variety you would recommend for TN home gardens. Kentucky Wonder Kentucky Blue Both Neither

Please write any addi�onal comments on the back of this sheet. No iden�fying informa�on about your garden evalua�ons will be shared and submission of this evalua�on is completely voluntary. Informa�on will be used to assist home gardeners in TN select the best vegetables for their home gardens. By submi�ng these responses, you are consen�ng to the informa�on being used for educa�on purposes by the University of Tennessee.

Send completed forms or ques�ons to: Natalie Bumgarner, UT Extension, 2431 Joe Johnson Drive, 252 Ellington Plant Sciences, Knoxville, TN, 37996 or nbumgarn@utk.edu. Thanks for your par�cipa�on!!

Bean, green pole Cultivar Trial (Example)

Bean

2018 Vegetable Trials

1. Green Snap 2. Green Pole

3. Half Runner 4. Bush Romano

Crockett60 days. Robust plants. 4.5 - 5”, slender, dark green pods. Resistance to BB, BBS, BMV, CTM, HB, and R. (Untreated Seed)

Jade II60 days. Vigourous, upright plants. 6-7” pods. Resistance to BMV, CTM, and R. (Untreated Seed)

Seychelles55 days. 7-9’ plants, 4-6” pods. Resistance to BMV. (Untreated Seed)

Kentucky Wonder73 days. 6-8’ plants. 7-9”, thick, slightly curved pods, stringless when young. Resis-tance to BMV and R. (Untreated Seed)

Volunteer Half Runner60 days. Multiple hand harvests. Resistance to BCMV and R. (Treated Seed)

Mountaineer Half Runner60 days. Semi-runner. Resistance to BCMV. (Treated Seed)

Roma II56 days. Upright bush. 5-6”, medium green pods. Resistance to BMV. (Untreated Seed)

Jumbo55 days. Upright to short runner growth habit. 7-10”, dark green pods. Resistance to BMV. (Untreated Seed)

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Disease abbreviations: BB (Bacterial Blight), BBS (Bacterial Brown Spot), BMV (Bean Mosaic Virus), BCMV (Bean Common Mosaic Virus), CTM(Curly Top Beet Mosaic Virus), HB (Halo Blight), R (Com-mon Rust)

Fordhook 24270 days. Widely grown bush lima with depend-able, good yield. Pale green pod with white seed. (Treated Seed)

Bean

2018 Vegetable Trials

5. Lima

7. Bicolor Supersweet* 8. Ornamental

Speckled Dixie Butterpea75 days. Vigorous plant with green pod and brown to red speckled bean. (Treated Seed)

American Dream77 days. 6-7’ plants. Good germination, tender sweet kernels, good tip fill. Resistance to north-ern corn leaf blight (F1, Treated Seed)

Honey N Pearl76 days. Good flavor and holding ability. Garden standard - 1988 AAS winner. (F1, Treat-ed Seed)

Glass Gem120 days. 10’ plant. 6-8” ear with translu-cent kernels in a rain-bow of colors. Requires long growing season. (Untreated Seed)

Miniature Colored Popcorn105 days. 6-7’ plants. 3-4” ear with multi-col-ored kernels. (Untreated Seed)

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Corn

Okra

Candle Fire60 days. Round, red okra for color, produc-tivity, and taste. (F1, Untreated Seed)

6. Okra

Clemson Spineless60 days. Light green pod with cream flowers. Traditional garden favor-ite and Southern stan-dard. 1939 AAS winner. (Untreated Seed)

*Supersweet (sh2) corn hybrids must be isolated from non-sh2 hybrids

Cucumber

2018 Vegetable Trials

9. Compact

11. Thin-Skinned

Saladmore55 days, semi-bush vine, 7-8” fruit can be harvested small or full size, resistant to A, CMV, PM, and SC. Monoecious. (F1, Untreated Seed.)

Patio Snacker50 days. Small vine with 2-3’ radius. 6” fruit. Gynoecious, Parthenocarpic. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Diva58 days. 6-8” fruit. Produces all female flowers that do not require pollination. Resistance to A, DM, PM, and SC. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Amiga55 days. 6” fruit. Thin-skinned Beit alpha type cucumber for outdoor produc-tion. Resistance to CMV, DM, PM, PRV, and ZYMV. (F1, Untreated Seed)

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Muskmelon

10. Garden Slicer

General Lee52 days. Widely adapted, but bred for the South. 8-8.5”, green, slicing cucumber. Resistance to CMV, DM, PM, and SC. Gyonecious. (F1, Untreat-ed Seed)

Olympian 52 days. 8-9”, straight, green, slicing cucumber. Uniform production and appearance. Resistance to A, ALS, DM, PM, and SC. Gynoecious. (F1, Untreat-ed Seed)

Disease abbreviations: A (Anthracnose), ALS (Angular Leaf Spot), CMV (Cucumber Mosaic Virus), DM (Downy Mildew), PM (Powdery Mildew), PRV (Papaya Ringspot Virus), SC (Scab), ZYMV (Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus)

Cucumber GeneticsCucumbers can vary in regards to plant sexual morphology. This can impact plant productivity and fruit characteristics. A few relevant terms are listed below:

Monoecious - separate male and female flowers are found on the same plantGynoecious - having only female flowersParthenocarpic - can develop mature fruit without fertilization, resulting fruit is seedless

Disease abbreviations: FW (Fusarium Wilt), PM (Powdery Mildew), WMV (Watermelon Mosaic Virus), PRV (Papaya Ringspot Virus), ZYDV (Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus)

Sugar Cube80 days. Widely adapt-ed. 2-4 lb fruit. Resi-tance to FW, PM, WMV, PRV, and ZYMV. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Muskmelon

2018 Vegetable Trials

12. Personal-sized

13. Compact 14. Standard Vining

Minnesota Midget70 days. Compact plants. Early, 4-6” fruit. Resistance to FW. (Untreated Seed)

Mini Love70 days. Short vine. 7-9 lb, red-fleshed, seeded melon. AAS winner. Resistance to A. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Sugar Pot80 days. Compact plant. 8-10 lb, red-fleshed, seeded melon. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Starlight75 days. 10-12 lb, round, red-fleshed, seed melon with good crispness and flavor. (F1, Untreated Seed)

New Orchid75 days. Compact vine. 8-10 lb, round, yellow-fleshed, melon. Resistance to hollow heart. (F1, Untreated Seed)

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Watermelon

William Nester, Knox County - 2018 Watermelon Taste Tester

Pumpkin

2018 Vegetable Trials

15. Small Edible/Ornamental 16. Medium Edible/Ornamental

17. Novelty Carving

Baby Bear105 days. 1.5-2 lbs, deep orange fruit. Edible flesh and semi-hull-less seeds for roasting. Good storage quality. (Untreated Seed)

Blaze95 days. Good yields and a short vine. 3 lb, yellow and orange striped fruit. Resis-tance to powdery mildew. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Pepitas90 days. 9-12 lb, multi-colored fruit. Edible flesh and hulless seeds for roasting. PM toler-ance, SRR resistance. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Cinnamon Girl100 days. Short vines. 3-6 lb, dark orange fruit with good handle. Resistance to PM. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Knucklehead105 days. Moderate vine. Medium to large 12-16 lb jack-o-lantern type fruit with warts. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Gumdrop100 days. Medium 11-13 lb jack-o-lantern type fruit with unique appearance. (F1, Untreated Seed)

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Dean Towers, Cumberland County - 2017 trial participant

Summer Squash

2018 Vegetable Trials

18. Green 19. Yellow

20. Speciality

Raven48 days. Semi-open plant with moderate spines and concentrat-ed fruit set. Very deep green fruit. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Tigress45 days. High yielding, open plant. Medium green fruit. Resistance to PRV, WMV, ZYMV. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Tempest54 days. Vigorous plant. Yellow crook-neck with slight ribbing and stripes. Pick at 4-7”. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Slik Pik YS 2648 days. Attractive yellow crookneck that has spineless petioles for less fruit damage. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Bossa Nova45 days. Caserta type zucchini, compact plant, dark and light green mottled fruit, 6-8” long, 8-10 oz, resistant to WMV and ZYMV (F1, Untreated Seed)

Flamino50 days. Costata type fruit with moderate spines and more com-pact vine. Edible flow-ers. (F1, Untreated Seed)

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Disease abbreviations: (PRV) Papaya Ringspot Virus, (WMV) Watermelon Mosaic Virus, (ZYMV) Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus

Squash

2018 Vegetable Trials

21. Butternut

23. Genovese

Butterscotch100 days. Short vine. Small (1-2 lb) fruit. Resistance to powdery mildew. (F1, Untreated Seed)

Honeynut110 days. Short Vine. Small (1/2 - 1 lb) fruit. Resistance to powdery mildew. (Untreated Seed)

Eleonora65 days. Intermediate resistance to downy mildew.

Dolce Fresca70 days. Combination culinary and container value with a compact shape.

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Basil

22. Winter

Sunshine95 days. Vigorous, short vine. Bright orange Kabo-cha type, 3-5 lbs, good for many culinary applica-tions. AAS winner. Resis-tance to black rot. (F1, Untreated Seed)Bush Delicata90 days. Bush habit. Oblong fruit have white skin with green stripes and orange flesh. (Untreated Seed)

Erin Bell and daughter Eliza, Davidson County - 2017 trial participantsPhoto Credit - Pam Swoner, Davidson County

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Credits This project is conducted for educational purposes only. No profits are made from this program. Descriptions and photographs of varieties in this catalog were compiled from various seed company catalogues, including Harris Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, All American Selections, Territorial Seeds, Bonnie Plants, and Holmes Seed.

We would like to give special thanks to our industry collaborators

PanAmerican Seedand

Johnny’s Selected Seeds for their help in making this program afford-able to all participants.

We would also like to thank our volunteers who help to prepare and ship trial kits.

More InformationFor more information on the University of Tennessee Home Garden Variety Trial pro-gram, please visit our website at

extension.tennessee.edu/MasterGardener/Pages/

Vegetable Garden Trials.aspx

or contact us directly

Dr. Virginia SykesAssistant Professor

Variety Testing and Agroecologyvsykes@utk.edu, 865-974-7285

Dr. Natalie BumgarnerAssistant Professor

Residential and Consumer Horticulturenbumgarn@utk.edu, 865-974-7324