How to pick the right vegetables to grow
When it comes to planning a vegetable garden – something you might be contemplating right now – one of the most important issues is to decide what varieties to grow. Years ago, there was little choice. Today, there are dozens of varieties available from all over world. Take bush beans, for instance. You have an amazing selection from purple-stripped ‘Dragon Tongue’ to yellow ‘Serpedor’ and ‘Gold Rush’ to deep purple ‘Royal Burgundy’ and all sorts of shades and shapes of green, from ‘ glossy ‘Valentino’ to tender gourmet ‘Jade’ to ‘Venture Blue Lake’, perfect for freezing and canning. The same goes for pole beans, beets, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, and on and on. It really is a case of being spoilt for choice. To make sense of it all, I consulted vegetable guru Mark Macdonald, of West Coast Seeds, the supplier of all the best vegetable seeds for coastal gardens. Not only does Macdonald sell seeds, he has also grown pretty much everything in the catalogue, which, by...