‘Christmas’ lima beans
‘Jacob’s cattle’ bean (center), ‘Dr. Martin’s’ lima
Fava beans, ‘Black Seeded Yellow Wax’ beans,‘Blue Lake’ snap beans, ‘King of the Garden’ limas, and the speckled cranberry pods
‘Swedish Brown’: 85 days, bush, very hardy, plump, oval, brown beans with a dark eye rim; popular in Scandinavian-settled areas in the United States
‘Vermont Cranberry’: 75 days for shelling, 98 days for dry, pole; old northern New England variety, for all climates, round, deep maroon beans, a version of cranberry bean; some have speckled seeds, others have colorful pods
‘Yellow Eye’ (‘Maine Yellow Eye’): 95 days, bush, hardy, traditional in New England, oval white bean with yellow eye; prolific, reliable, disease-resistant plant; takes less time to cook than most beans
How to prepare: Most of the old varieties of green beans have a string down the side (hence the name string bean) that must be removed. String or puree them to serve as a side dish or make into soup.
Commenting on how early European settlers cooked beans, Debra Friedman said, “A lot of the old-time recipes for baked or boiled beans were very bland. Cooks might have boiled the beans and added some butter or parsley, or baked them with pepper and salt pork. But the type of baked beans with molasses that everybody is so fond of today had yet to appear. Most of the baked beans were a hardy side dish served at breakfast or dinner.”
BEETS
Beta vulgaris
A close relative of chard, beets originated in Europe almost four thousand years ago. The ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed both red and white beets. Yellow beets were popular for centuries. Early settlers to America appreciated the beet’s keeping qualities and relied on them to provide food in early spring.
How to grow: Sow beet seeds directly in rich, well-drained soil in early spring or in the fall, in full sun. In mild climates beets can be grown most of the year. A soil pH of 7 seems best. Many gardeners agree that beets become sweeter with some chilling as they mature. They can take some frost. Plant the seeds ¼ inch deep in wide rows or broadcast them over a 3-foot-wide bed. Beet seeds are a cluster of seeds; therefore, thinning is essential to prevent crowding. Thin modern beets to 3 inches apart and large keeper beets to 6 inches apart. Fertilize midseason with a balanced organic fertilizer and water evenly.
Occasionally, leaf miners tunnel through the leaves; control them with neem or floating row covers. A more common problem is cercospora, a fungus that thrives in humid conditions and leaves orange spots on the foliage. A rust fungus can also be a problem.
Harvest modern varieties when they are 3 inches or smaller. The large keeper beets (which will grow up to 6 inches across) are planted 90 days before your first expected frost. Mulch them, and they will winter over if temperatures aren’t too cold. In severe climates the roots can be stored for up to four months in damp sand in a root cellar kept just above freezing.
Golden, white, and ‘Chioggia’ red and white beets
‘Burpee’s Golden’ beets
‘Chioggia,’ ‘Golden,’ ‘Bull’s Blood’, and ‘Detroit Dark Red’ beets
Keeper beets ‘Lutz Green Leaf’
Varieties
‘Albina Verduna’ (‘Show White’): 65 days, Dutch heirloom, pure white, large and sweet, used to make white beet sugar
‘Chioggia’: 50 days, Italian heirloom known since the middle of the 1800s in America, red on the outside, white inside with red rings like bull’s-eyes
‘Crosby’s Egyptian’: 50 to 60 days, introduced in 1880, small dark red bunching beet, early beet of choice, has a rather flattened shape
‘Cylindra’ (‘Formanova’): 60 days, 1880s, sweet dark red long cylindrical-shaped beet, good for slicing, keep the top of the root covered with soil while growing
‘Detroit Dark Red’: 60 days, 1892, U.S. heirloom and for years the standard beet of commerce, popular with home gardeners, uniform color and shape
‘Golden Beet’: 60 days, before 1828, European, sweet golden roots that don’t “bleed” so won’t discolor salads and other dishes, low germination rate, so plant extra
‘Lutz Green Leaf’ (‘Winter Keeper,’ ‘Lutz Salad’): 80 days, sweet and tender even when 6 inches across, reddish purple roots, great storage beet; wonderful for roasting in coals
How to prepare: The “keeper” beets take a little longer to cook but are still the best for making borscht, pickling, or baking. Debra Friedman recounts, “Back in Colonial times, the tops were used as well as the roots. The beets themselves, with their fairly tough skins, could be roasted as potatoes might be—whole in the embers of the fire.” Today you can bake them in a covered casserole to closely duplicate this presentation (see page 86 Steam the greens and serve them with butter.
CABBAGES
Broccoli, Sprouting Brassica
oleracea var. italica
Brussels Sprouts
B. oleracea var. gemmifera
Cabbage, Heading and Savoy
Brassica oleracea var. capitata; B. o. var. bullata
Cauliflower
B. oleracea var. botrytis
Collards
B. oleracea var. acephala
Kale
B. oleracea var. acephala
Cabbage is the progenitor of many other vegetables, often called cole crops: broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and kale. Brussels sprouts are essentially tiny cabbages that pop out along the length of the plant stem. Broccolis are but the flowering stems of plants that evolved from ancient cabbages. Collards are large-leafed, nonheading greens that are a cross between cabbage and kale. Knowing that all these vegetables are related is important because related plants often fall prey to the same pests and can interbreed and so upset your seed-saving efforts.
How to grow: Cole crops are best grown as cool-season annuals. Collards prefer cool weather but can do quite well in hot weather too. All need full sun, or light shade in hot climates. Transplants
