CORNELL's 2003 VEGETABLE SELECTIONS
By Tom Rood, Master Gardener
Cornell Cooperative Extension

The New York State College of Agriculture in Ithaca has released their 2003 recommendations for vegetable varieties best suited for home garden use in our area. These are the result of field trials in and around central New York. A condensed form of this release showing the more popular garden vegetables is listed below. Hard to find varieties have been eliminated. Every home gardener has his or her own favorites and while they may not be included on this list, it doesn't necessarily mean they have been superseded by other varieties. Continue to grow what does well in your own garden soil, but at the same time, try a few "new" things every year. Many stores in our area carry a wonderful selection of seeds
including some of those listed and would be most happy if we purchased our seeds locally and supported local businesses.

Each year, hybridizers try to out do each other with newer and better vegetables and flowers; often showing increased disease resistance and drought/wet tolerance as well as improved yields, flavors, and storage capabilities. It pays to keep abreast of what these dedicated hybridizers are turning out.

New varieties are suffixed with (new).

Basil: Sweet Thai, Genovese.
Green Bush Beans: Provider, Tendercrop, Bush Blue Lake, Improved Tendergreen.
Wax Bush Beans: Gold Crop, Sungold, Golden Butterwax.
Green Pole Beans: Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder, Kentucky Blue.
Beets: Early Wonder, Warrior, Crosby Green Top, Detroit Dark Red, Long Season, Golden (new), Ruby
Queen (new), Red Ace (new).
Carrots: Pioneer, A-Plus, Royal Chantenay, Kinko, Healthmaster.
Sweet Corn: All yellow hybrids unless followed by (WH) white or (BC) bi-color.
Early Corn: Seneca Spring (BC), Sprite (BC), Jester, Stardust (WH), Sundance, Early Gold and Silver (BC), Stars-n'-Stripes (BC), Precocious, Sugar Buns, Temptation (BC), Sweet Dawn, Geronimo (BC), Trinity (BC), Fleet (BC).
Mid-season Corn: Platinum Lady (WH), Silverado (WH), Seneca Scout, Jubilee, Pristine, Precious Gem (BC).
Late-season Corn: Sweet Sal, (BC), Sweet Sue (BC), Silver Queen (WH), Sugar Ace, Bodacious, Sensor (BC) Delectable (BC).
Supersweet Corn: Top-Notch (BC), Twice as Nice (BC), Supersweet #7210, Camelot (WH), Even Sweeter (WH), Golden Gourmet, Northern Extra Sweet, Candy Corner (BC), Punchline,
Primetime, A-mazingly Sweet (BC), Jumpstart (BC)
NOTE: Supersweet corn must be isolated from other varieties of sweet corn by a few hundred feet to prevent cross pollination.
Cucumber-Slicing: Spacemaster (dwarf vine), Sweet Slice, Marketmore 80, Marketmore 76, Burpless
Hybrid, Orient Express, Raider, Greensleeves.
Cucumber- Pickling: Premier, Regal, National Pickling.
Lettuce- Crisphead (Iceberg): Tom Thumb, Ithaca, Burpee Iceburg, Great Lakes 659 (Fall), Summertime.
Lettuce-Butterhead (Bibb/Boston): Summer Bibb, Winter Density, Four Seasons, Dark Green Boston, Sangria, Buttercrunch, Esmeralda.
Lettuce- Looseleaf: Oak Leaf, Black Seeded Simpson, Green Ice, Salad Bowl, Lollo Rossa, Prizehead,
Red Sails, Slobolt, Ibis, Ruby, New Red Fire.
Lettuce-Cos (Romaine): Cosmo, Little Gem, Valmaine, Parris Island, Green Towers.
Lettuce- French: Sierra.
Muskmelon: Charantis (new), Earlisweet, Earli-dew, Early Queen, Early Queen (new), Fastbreak, Burpee Hybrid, Gold Star, Superstar, Iroquois, Harper Hybrid, Roadside, Saticoy, Ambrosia, Pulsar, Pass Port- green flesh (new).
Parsnips: Hollow Crown, All American, Harris' Model.
Peas-Early: Sparkle, Early Market, Little Marvel, Knight.
Peas-Late: Frosty, Lincoln, Green Arrow, Wando.
Snow Peas: Oregon Sugar Pod II, Little Sweetie, Mammoth Melting Sugar, Dwarf Gray Sugar.
Snap Peas: Sugar Ann, Early Snap, Super Sugar Mel, Sugar Snap.
Sweet Peppers- Early: Ace, New Ace, Gypsy, Canape, Golden Bell.
Sweet Peppers- Main Season: Lady Bell, Sweet Banana, Klondike Bell, Wizard, Renegade, Enterprise, Belle Star, King Arthur, Golden Bell, Early Sunsation, Yellow.
Hot Peppers: Cayenne, Jalapeno, Super Chili, Anaheim Chile, Serrano, Habanero, Sweet Chili.
Potatoes-Early: Andover, Superior, Norland, Carole.
Potatoes-Mid-season: Chieftain, Reba, Russet Bake-King, Salem, Yukon Gold, Yellow Finn, Eva (new), Keuka (new).
Potatoes- Late: Elba, Genesee, Katahdin, Allegany (new).
Pumpkins-Mini: Munchkin, Baby Boo, Jack-be-little.
Pumpkins-Small: Small Baby, Baby Penn, Jackpot, Spookie, Baby Bear, Lil' Ironsides, Lumina (white),
Pumpkins-Large: Autumn Gold, Howden, Rocket, Tom Fox, Goldrush, Merlin.
Pumpkins- Giant: Bix Max, Atlantic Giant, Prizewinner.
Radish: Cherry Belle, Sparkler, Champion, Scarlet Knight, Icicle, French Breakfast.
Spinach- Spring: Melody, Indian Summer, Dark Green Bloomsdale, Winter Bloomsdale, America.
Spinach-Summer: New Zealand, Malabar.
Summer Yellow Squash: Sunburst, Seneca Prolific, Early Prolific Straightneck, Sundance, Yellow Crookneck, Fortune.
Squash-Zucchini: Gold Rush, Eldorado, Burpee's Golden Zucchini, Multipik, Midnight Zucchini, Zucchini Elite, Revenue, Dividend.
Squash-Winter, Butternut: Ponca, Puritan, Walthan, Harris Butternut, Zenith.
Squash- Winter, Acorn: Table Ace, Ebony, Table Queen, Carnival, Table King, Tuffy.
Squash- Hubbard: Red Kuri, Blue Ballet, Hubbard.
Swiss Chard: Lucullus, Fordhook Giant, Large White Rib, Rhubarb, Ruby Red, Rainbow, Bright Lights.
Tomato-Cherry: Sungold.
Tomato-Grape: Jubilee
Tomato- Extra Early: Early Cherry, Supersweet 100, Cosmonaut Volkove, Early Cascade,
Tomato- Early: Cascade, Sunrise, Springset, Early Girl, Lemon Boy.
Tomato-Mid-season: Better Boy, Big Beef, Celebrity, Jet Star, Supersonic, Big Boy.
Tomato-Paste: Nova, Roma, Viva Italia.
Tomato- Heirloom: Big Rainbow (new), Black Prince (new), Black Plum (new), Box Car Willie (new), Golden Queen (new), Brandywine.
Turnips: Tokyo Cross, Purple Top Globe.
Watermelon: Yellow Baby, Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet.
Watermelon- Seedless: Disko, Favorite Ball, Millionaire, Tri-X Carousel.

For all your lawn and garden questions call the Master Gardeners at the Cooperative Extension office 315-536-5123 leaving your name, question, phone number and a time we may return your call with the results of our research. Stop in and visit our new offices in the newly renovated county office building. We're now located on the ground floor.