[Daisygirl]

Good afternoon everyone
I am just starting to think about what to grow next year (my second allotment year) and wanted your invaluable advice please.
Please can you advise me on what in your opinion are the best :
Tomatoes
Cucumbers (outdoor)
Beetroot
Runners
Pumpkins
and Courgettes

last year I ordered from the allotment catalogue and used the advice of Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh but to be honest I'd rather get advice from you's lot.
Cheers me dears
Daisygirl

[mobilekat]

Hi Daisy

It may be helpful if you can let us know where you live, and what you want from your veg.

Do you want veg that are easy to care for, or ones with big yields, or is flavour more important?

After this year I am going for the most blight resistant tomatos I can find!

[arugula]

Good questions mobilekat and I'm going for Parthenon courgettes after this "summer" as it doesn't need pollinating.

Beetroot wise, this year we grew ordinary round ones (seed we had from last year, can't recall the variety off the top of my head), Cylindra which were really sweet and Chioggia which just look great. Happy with all types.

[Daisygirl]

Great replys already
I live in Cornwall and just want to grow some tomatoes which taste of something, courgettes that actually grow, cucumbers that have not got rhino skins and nice large tasty pumpkins I can make soup with please?
I heard that red pear and cristal tomatoes are good any views? & Mayan gold pototoes came out well in a trial.
Thanks
Daisy

[arugula]

My favourite potatoes are Lady Christl. I get them from Garden Organic.

[DD.]

x 2 for Lady Christl.

Two of our members on this thread were not impressed with Mayan Gold:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=98410.0

If you could put your approximate location into your profile it will save our grey matter from trying to remember it if you have any further questions.

[allotmentann]

My highest yielding courgettes this year have been Floridor (a round yellow one) and Clarion (long pale green), they have both been prolific, but the Floridor was incredible. Both are still fruiting and prodcing new fruits inspite of the recent frosts. Both have a good flavour and I would certainly recommend them.

[Auntiemogs]

Tomatoes for me:-
Sungold - beautifully sweet cherry toms
Alicante - supermarket style toms but with good flavour and good crop
San Marzano 2 - plum style, excellent for saucing/drying - tale a little longer to ripen but you should be fine where you are (as long as the weather improves next year!)

Mags

[angelavdavis]

Tomatoes - I like sungold, black cherry, beefeater, constuluto fiorentino and Incas.  I only grow tomatoes in the GH though.
Pumpkins - I like Mars, they are a nice size, good colour, mature quickly. The one downside is that the plants are a bit vulnerable to mildew.
Beetroot - I plant boltardy and pick them small - I have tried others, but go back to these.  I am going to try out golden beets next year as I was given some plants by a neighbouring plotholder last year and was impressed with the flavour but she couldn't remember the variety.
Courgettes - I like tricolor round courgettes which are prolific and versatile, another vote for parthenon, plus I also like endurance and gold star.  Zephyr is one that I have grown twice which always raises an eyebrow at my site!
Runner beans - I seem to do well with scarlet emperor.  I would also recommend a climbing french bean if you fancy it - blauhilde which was very productive this year.

I only grow cucumbers in the greenhouse.

[shokkyy]

I did Parthenon courgette this year and in future I'll always grow one plant of that variety. They were cropping several weeks before my other courgettes and they're still going strong now. I do like the round yellow ones, best I've found are Summer Ball, and for quality and quantity of fruit in a standard green variety I like Defender.

My favourite basket/cherry toms are Gartenperle, favourite all-rounder large toms are Alicante, favourite for sundried/cooking toms are San Marzano and Roma.

I grew Burpless Early cukes this year and they're the best variety I've ever grown, lovely big juicy cukes which I didn't need to peel. I grew them in my tunnel but you can also grow them outdoors.

For runners, White Lady are a fantastic variety, stringless, tender and prolific, and easy to grow. For French beans I'd second Blauhilde, always very productive.

I did Golden Detroit beetroot this year and liked them a lot, for leaf as well as for root.

[Auntiemogs]

Favourite squash this year - Golden Nugget.  Bush like habit (good for smaller spaces) and the fruit is just big enough for two.  Not as sweet as a butternut, which I prefer. 

[BabbyAnn]

Cucumbers (outdoor): Marketmore are reliable but in good summer weather I have enjoyed La Diva, Crystal Lemon and Long White cucumber
Beetroot: my fave is Golden Beetroot
Runners: sorry, I'm not a runner fan (prefer french beans) so can't advise though I thought Painted Lady was pretty
Pumpkins: I'm not interested in growing big pumpkins and I like Baby Bear - not only for handy size pumpkins but several fruits on a single vine, but naked seed to eat too
and Courgettes:  I agree Floridor is amazingly prolific, but also Jemmer and Defender.  Cavilli is another parthenogenic variety (that is, will still produce fruit even in the absence of pollinating insects) - it crops earlier than the others and just keeps on going.  For flavour and something different however, I've taken a liking to Romanesco. 

[lazza]

Tomatoes: even this far north, I got great yields from my outdoor golden sunrise tomatoes, and reasonable sucess with Alicante.

Cucumber: this year's burpless tasty have done exceptionally well... a rare succes story for this season. But I had some success with marketmore last year (although they were in a lean-to greenhouse, but one that doesn't get much sun!)

Courgettes: have been a disaster for two years. But the only ones I have had anything from are black beauty, which I think have a very nice sweet taste.

Don't grow runner beans, but would like to put in a good word for purple teepee dwarf beans. I only planted out 6 plants, but have had enough beans for a meal from them almost every weekend since.

[mumofstig]

Tomatoes - Black Cherry for salads Rio Grande for cooking
Runner beans - White Lady
I don't grow pumpkins, but grow winter squash their smaller cousins   Thelma Sanders and Uchiki Kuri.
Courgettes - Parthenon and Striata d'Italia

and for Potatoes it's another vote for Lady Christl  

[shoozie]

Tried lady christl this year - so agree with the others there.  Tried Wilja for the first time, it too was very nice.
I don't grow outdoor cucumbers, but there's a little lunch box size indoor variety called Beth Alpha which is just gorgeous - it'll grow in a small blow away growhouse too.