So what kind of person are you? You like a little risk in your life? Maybe you stray off the path on a hike to see if you can get a better glimpse of something new? Or are you the type that knows what you want and doesn’t like the idea of missing out because you didn’t keep your eye on the prize?
If you’re the sure-thing type, go get hybrid seeds and plants this year. If you want to take a chance and maybe have an incredible culinary surprise, seek out some well-researched heirloom vegetables for your garden.
Confused? It’s really pretty easy. Seed companies for years have been developing fruits and vegetables that produce increasingly reliable, superior tomatoes, carrots, peas — everything. But “superior” can be a relative thing, some people argue. While garden vegetables, through hybridization, have become increasingly disease resistant and prolific, some would argue that qualities improving the shipability, shelf life and appearance of veggies have been traded for taste.
It’s an argument, not a fact. For the most part, a hybridized Early Girl tomato grown in the hot Colorado sun under the right conditions produces some of the best eating tomatoes on the marble. Hybrid plants have been cross-bred under controlled conditions to produce seeds that grow into plants with determined qualities. Tomatoes are the best example, with numerous varieties bred to resist disease, less-than-perfect conditions, and offer consistent fruit that ripens at the same time. Most of these hybridized plants will not produce seeds that would grow the same type of plant.
Heirlooms on the other hand do just that. The seeds are “true” in that the fruit from an heirloom plant contains seeds that will grow into the same variety as the parent. Heirloom varieties are often made popular because of the place they come from, many from all over the world. Some, arguably, offer superior tasting fruits, such as the Black Krim tomato, a growing favorite along the Front Range.
If you can only plant one tomato, find a hardy, reliable hybrid and let those red globes hang on the vine until they’re perfectly ripe. If you have the room and patience, try some heirloom varieties in the garden. The Dester OG, a German variety that’s been getting rave reviews, or the Black from Tula produce nearly exotic-tasting tomatoes — if they produce.
If space or patience are limited, tried-and-true hybridized seeds and plants are just that.
What to plant in a Denver metro garden:
When you start choosing what to grow, gardening teacher Sundari Kraft suggests plants known to thrive in this climate. Start with all of the summer squashes from yellow to zucchini. “You have to watch them carefully and harvest often or they get huge,” she said.
“Arugula grows really well here, as do spinach and leaf (not iceberg) lettuce, especially early in the season,” Kraft said. In the blast-oven heat of summer leafy vegetables tend to die off or become bitter-tasting.
Winter squash do great but Kraft recommends choosing a variety that has smaller fruits such as buttercup squash because they are more productive.
Garlic as well as most onions thrive in this climate. The best time to plant them is in the fall for a summer harvest, she said.
Instead of just planting only vegetables you’ll have to replant next year, Kraft likes to add some favorite perennials. Both asparagus and rhubarb can make themselves at home in your Aurora backyard and provide you with a good spring into summer harvest.
Basil and other annual herbs are good choices with a few rules. “Don’t plant basil until Mother’s Day,” Kraft said, because it freezes easily. Be sure to trim and harvest each plant every week and always lop off the crowns and don’t let it flower. Otherwise the leaves may tend to turn bitter.
And if you’re choosing a single fruit tree for a Front Range backyard, eschew sexier but extremely finicky peach and apricot trees, and choose a strong dependable fruit-bearer. “Plum trees generally do very well here, and they give a good harvest,” Kraft said.
Good info sources for Colorado gardeners:
eatwhereulive.com: Sundari Kraft’s website includes details on her classes, urban homesteading, and local food activities
coloradogardener.com: Info archive of tips from Colorado Gardener, a quarterly publication for serious backyard farmers
coloradogardening.com/calendar.htm: Features an extensive calendar of local gardening classes and events
CSU Cooperative Extension Master Gardner: Call 720-913-5278 or email denvermg@colostate.edu with any question
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