 Planning the garden varieties of vegetables recommended for Alabama So how to choose the best variety there are so many choices and there are other PowerPoints that you may want to check out in this section But to give you a general information of which varieties we recommend throughout Alabama this Presentation will give you some that are tried and true and known to do well throughout the state Every year there are new Maybe bigger and better varieties that are constantly being developed But always stick with those proven recommended varieties if you're doing major plantings And maybe just try some new To the market varieties on a small scale to determine how well they do in the area that you live So here I'm just going to go through different varieties that are recommended of different crops in Alabama and As you'll see these are all cabbage family varieties So these are all related to each other and one way to have success in the garden is to make sure that you Rotate in your garden where you don't plant the same family in the same spot So where you planted broccoli last year you would not want to plant something like cabbage the next as they are susceptible to the same Diseases and even insects in the garden. So for more success, it's recommended that you rotate To a different family in that spot. That's where a garden journal is really going to come in to be handy as You'll forget what you planted from one year to the next so keeping that garden journal of where you planted what as well as what variety you planted and make notes of successes or losses that you had of one variety over the next so that You can continue to improve upon your success from year after year again, these are relatives in the garden beat carrots and radishes and These are recommended varieties that do well really as root crops in the state and Links at the end will also send you more information as to timing of when it is best to plant these different Plants in the garden as well as plant spacing and how to thin things like that to take into consideration with these varieties collards and kale our two plants I really do recommend especially new beginners try as they don't tend to have as many problems other than some Insects maybe some worms eating the foliage but easy pretty easy plants to grow and here are some recommended varieties Cucurbits now these are not easy to grow. They have lots of insect and disease issues and As you can see here Even what your intended use for the plant whether you want to make pickles With the cucumbers or if you're going to use the cucumbers for salad a lot of that determines which variety That you should choose when you decide how to plant them in the garden Also, if you're going to trellis the plant or if it's going to be growing along the ground there's different varieties that you would want to plant based on the intended intended use of the plant or the space that you have available in your plant in your your garden space Okra okra is definitely a southern Plant and does really well in Alabama and there are many different varieties available Again, you want to make sure you pick early the longer you let the plants the fruit Go to harvest the tougher the okra will be so you'll have to stay on this one once it begins to produce You'll be picking almost every day to ensure that you don't have tough okra at harvest So these are tomatoes peppers and eggplants and they are all related to each other So again back to rotating you want to make sure that you rotate in the garden to reduce Disease and insect susceptibility to these plants who have comment a lot of common problems in the garden. So If you planted a tomato there last year don't plant a pepper the next you want to rotate to something outside of the same family to reduce Disease and insect pressure Here are lettuce varieties and it's a lot of fun to grow lettuce in the garden and Easy to do, but it is a low value crop. So if you're limited on space You may decide to go with something Other than lettuce and leave the lettuce growing to those in the supermarket But there's lots of fun varieties and I think they're a beautiful plant to have in the garden in the early spring or the late winter So give it a try, but again, this is a more of a low value crop that takes up a good bit of space that you may decide would be better off to Purchase and use the space available for things like kale or collards or Things that will broccoli that will give you a good yield and a little more hard high value crop Pea varieties, there's black-eyed peas pink-eyed peas Crowder peas, but and they all also may come in different varieties such as those that grow more as a bush style or Require a trellising system. So things to consider when you choose your bean and pea varieties Onions there are short-day onions and long-day onions and green bunching onions So you want to be sure that you know what kind of onion you're growing when you invest that space in the garden as it will Be there for a while before especially if you're growing a bulb onion before you can harvest those big bulb onions Green onions, they're gonna grow quickly in the bunching onions. So You can you know move them out of the soil and bring in a different crop But remember that you're kind of dedicating that spot there for a while for those bulb type onions Again, here's the bean like the pea there's different kind that will Some need trellising and some are more of a bush type So take that into consideration when you're selecting the varieties. Also, you have small seeded Versus large seeded. So that also Is something to take into consideration Mustard spinach turnips. These are all easy especially mustard and turnip turnip greens are easy to establish in the garden and Give a lot of yield and continue to come back if you just harvest the tops. So In the spinach as well. So these are good varieties to put in your garden Things to consider when you're selecting varieties would even be Bolting, bolting means that it's the temperatures have gotten too hot and it'll start to Go to flower and then to seed. So once that happens your plants are finished and you'll pull them out And wait until the temperatures are right to replant. So those that are that don't bolt as quickly or as fast Would be ones to consider especially if you're planting a summer crop that are going to go I mean a spring crop that are going into summer You would want ones that don't bolt as easily because of the possibility of temperatures warming up Asparagus is a fun plant, but also one that you want to establish an area for as it can stay in that garden area for 10 15 20 or more years So it's not a plant you're gonna pull up and replant that area with something else the next year It's definitely a Dedicated space in a garden that you will have for years and years to come Potatoes like the Irish potatoes are There are many different varieties now on the market that even come in some really fun crazy colors So that's something to consider if you want purple or red Even Irish potatoes those varieties Play into that as well as like some scab resistant varieties but um and also I get the question often on planting times do you plant regular Irish potatoes at the same time of sweet potatoes and that is Not the case you plant more of the Irish potatoes Around the middle of February and harvest in May where sweet potatoes are definitely a mid-summer Planting and harvest around September. So they definitely have different seasons To dedicate that garden space to sweet corn there's lots of things to consider when you're planting corn and So here are some recommended varieties And even some that produce that are better for early season mid-season and late season and again, here are great Publications that are available through our website at acs.edu For more specific garden crop questions there. This is definitely a wealth of resource information Also, check out our free garden apps We have so and the farming basics. They're both free through the Alabama Cooperative Extension Through your app store on your phone or tablet and they have recommended varieties that do well all across Alabama as well as disease resistant and Insect Common problems and diseases that affect each crop And if you have further gardening questions, you can always call our master gardener helpline It's toll-free and it's one eight seven seven two five two four seven six nine Or one eight seven seven aloe grow