The oyster mushroom gets its name from its cap which, some say, resembles an oyster. The stem of the oyster mushrooms is perhaps more distinct; it unfurls something like one of those old-time paper lady's fans. The oyster mushroom has...

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Eggplant Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Give eggplants a warm location, warm soil and keep them evenly watered and stress free and they will reward you with beauty and flavor.

Here are best bet, easy-to-grow eggplants divided into shape and size categories: (1) large oval eggplants; (2) elongated eggplants; and (3) white eggplants.

Keep reading to the bottom of this post and I will give you my tips for sure-fired eggplant growing success. (There is more about eggplant growing at How to Grow Eggplant.)

Large oval fruit:

• Black Beauty. 72-85 days. Fine flavor; holds well. Large round to oval fruit 4 to 6 inches long, 5 inches in diameter; smooth, glossy, purplish-black skin with bright green calyx. Bears 4 to 6 fruits; holds color and quality well after being picked. Medium-tall, bushy plant 24 to 30 inches tall; widely adapted; popular for home gardens. Heirloom. Open-pollinated

• Black Magic. 72 days. Purple-black oval, bell shaped fruit.

• Dusky. 63 days. Firm, very good quality flesh. Uniform, long, oval fruit to 8 inches in length, 3½ inches in diameter; glossy purplish-black skin. Upright plant, 24 to 36 inches tall. High yield. Recommended for home gardens. Tobacco mosaic virus resistant. Hybrid.

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Corn Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

There is no substitute for the flavor of corn just picked from the garden.

Flavor and adaptability to your garden's climate are the major considerations when choosing a corn variety. There are three types of fresh-eating sweet corn grouped by flavor: standard corn, sugary enhanced corn, and supersweet corn (adaptability to your garden's climate--the soil and air temperature--is actually linked to the flavor type). Here's how these corn types differ:

• Standard corn is the "old-fashioned" corn your grandfather grew; the corn with tasty corn flavor. These varieties--many are heirlooms and open-pollinated--have been around for years and years. Standard corn is plantable in cool soil, as cool as 55°F. This corn is best rushed to the kitchen and eaten within an hour of harvest.

• Sugary enhanced corn are hybrid varieties that keep their sweet flavor up to 3 days after harvest. Sugary enhanced hybrids give growers a 3-day window for harvest. (Near harvest time it is important to monitor standard corn each day to make sure you pick at the peak of its sweet flavor.) Sugary enhanced cultivars don't require daily monitoring; pick sugary enhanced corn anytime within the 3 day peak flavor period. This type of corn demands soil temperatures about 10° warmer than standard corn.

• Supersweet corn are also hybrid varieties--the sweetest flavored of all corn. Supersweet corn varieties are sweeter than sugary enhanced varieties. Supersweets also have an enhanced harvest window of 2 to 3 days. One note, supersweet corn can be demanding: it requires soil no less than 65°F at planting time; it grows best when the soil is pre-warmed (cover beds with black plastic to warm the soil); and it is less vigorous than standard or sugary enhanced corn.

In addition to the best bets of these three types, also listed here are recommendations for popping, baby corn, and ornamental corn. Keep reading to the bottom of this post and I will give you my tips for sure-fired corn growing success. (Also read How To Sweet Grow Corn.)

Standard corn:

• Butter and Sugar. 73 days. Bicolor white and yellow kernels, good flavor; 7 to 8 inch ears. Resists bacterial wilt and southern corn leaf blight.

• Golden Cross Bantam. 85 days. Large yellow kernels. Uniform ears 7½ to 8 inches long with 10 to 14 rows per ear. Sturdy stalk to 6 feet; very prolific. Resists bacterial wilt.

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Pepper Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Peppers demand a warm location from start to finish. For peppers to prosper: sow pepper seed in a warm seed bed and transplant seedlings into a warm planting bed where the air temperature will remain consistently warm until harvest. Cool weather and soil are a pepper's greatest challenge.

Here are best bet, easy-to-grow peppers, both easy eating sweet bell peppers and hot hot peppers.

Keep reading to the bottom of this post and I will give you my tips for sure-fired pepper growing success. (There is also more about pepper growing at How to Grow Sweet Peppers.)

Sweet Bell Peppers:

• Bell Boy. 70 days. Meaty, sweet pepper. Large, blocky fruit, 4½ inches square; thick walled, mostly 4 lobed; fruits turn from green to red. Sturdy compact plant Early yields. All-American selection; resistant to most diseases. Hybrid

• California Wonder. 68-89 days. Tender, juicy sweet with no hint of pungency. Smooth, blocky, 3 to 4 lobed fruit with glossy, 4½ inches long by 4 inches in diameter, dark-green skin; thick walled to ⅜ inches; ripens to bright crimson. Vigorous, upright plant 24 to 30 inches tall. Good leaf cover. Tobacco mosaic virus resistant. Open-pollinated

• Corno di Toro (also called Yellow Bull's Horn). 68-70 days. Spicy flavor, neither hot not very sweet. Fruit 8 inches long, 1½ inches in diameter at the shoulder; tapered to a curved point, resembling the horn of a bull. Ripens to a deep golden yellow or deep red depending upon cultivar. Traditional Italian favorite. Open-pollinated.

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Pumpkin Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Pumpkins for pies. Pumpkins for Jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins for the little ones. Pumpkins for the "Biggest Pumpkin Contest."

Pumpkins are not difficult to grow. Grow them just like any other winter squash. (Keep reading to the bottom of this post and I will give you my tips for sure-fired pumpkin growing success. Also see How To Grow Pumpkins.)

Here is a list of best bet, easy-to-grow pumpkins divided into size categories: (1) small pumpkins (2 to 5 pounds); (2) intermediate-size pumpkins (8 to 15 pounds); (3) large pumpkins (15 to 25 pounds); (4) jumbo pumpkins (50 to 100 pounds and larger).

Small pumpkins (2 to 5 pounds):

• Baby Bear. 105 days. AAS. Half the size of a normal pumpkin. Fine-grained flesh, excellent for pies. Deep orange fruit 5 to 6 inches wide and 3½ to 4 inches tall. Weighs 1½ to 2 pounds. Strong stem is easy to grip. Seeds are semi-hullless for seed toasting. Blight and frost tolerant. Cross between New England Pie and a small naked seed pumpkin. Great for home garden

• Baby Pam. 100 days. Deep orange flesh; good for pies. Uniform size: 5 inches tall by 5½ in diameter. Smooth skin; indistinct ribs. Tight, secure stem. Vigorous 10 to 12 foot vines. Heavy yield. Also called "Oz."

• Small Sugar (also called New England Pie). 100-105 days. Best tasting pie pumpkin; excellent flavor. Deep-orange flesh; 5 to 8 pounds. Convenient size for kitchen use. For baking and canning. Pre-Civil War heirloom. Open-pollinated.

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Cucumber Varieties: Best Bets and Easy-to-Grow

Here are 20 top-performing cucumbers for the home garden divided into 5 popular cucumber types: (1) slicing, (2) pickling, (3) burpless, and (4) space savers for small gardens and containers,

(Keep reading to the bottom of this post for my tips for sure-fired cucumber growing success. Also see more at How to Grow Cucumbers and the Cucumber Archive.)

Slicing Cucumbers:

• Dasher II. 55-60 days. CMV, DM, PM, S. Cool, crisp flesh and great flavor. Slim dark-green fruit, 8½ inches long 2¼ inches across. Standard slicing fruit. Compact heavy yielding plants. Hybrid.

• Greensleeves. 53 days. Excellent for salads and slicing. Dark-green, cylindrical fruit to 8½ inches long; uniform size, slightly tapered; small seed cavity. Good yield in home garden on vigorous vines. Responds well to touch conditions. Early maturing. Gyonecious, mostly female flowers.

• Marketmore 76. 58 days. ALS, AN, CMV, DM, S. Standard slicing fruit, uniform size, long and slender. Dark green fruit, 8 to 9 inches long; white spined; has uniform dark green color gene which reduces the number of yellow bellies at harvest time. Very good in home gardens. Open-pollinated.

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