Dill flowers are attractive to many species of beneficial insects, making it a good choice for all gardens. Dill is used in pickling and making “dilly beans” and is excellent with roasted potatoes and vegetables.
Culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) has a perfume-like fragrance and flavor, and it produces lovely blue flower spikes in midsummer. Use it in poultry, stuffings and vegetable dishes. Tri-colored sage looks beautiful in containers and tastes great, though its flavor is a bit stronger than standard sage.
Arugula’s spicy, peppery flavor is distinctive. The leaves are elongated with irregular margins and look beautiful in a salad mix. Harvest arugula frequently to increase the production of fresh, new foliage.
An Asian green with sweet, mild flavor, young bok choy leaves can be eaten fresh in salads while mature leaves can be steamed, sautéed or stir-fried. Cultivars tolerant of heat are best for warmer climates, as they are more bolt-resistant.
This wonderful, underused vegetable can be eaten raw in a salad or used in stir-fries or soups.
Homegrown watermelons are as sweet as you can get. Smaller-fruited varieties like Petite Treat and Sugar Baby are good choices for smaller households. Yellow-flesh varieties have a sweet, mellow flavor and are good for gardeners wanting to try something different.
Zucchini, also known as summer squash, comes in many varieties, including the standard long green types and yellow crooknecks. For something different, plant round varieties like Eight Ball or scallopini types for added interest and flavor.
The Cherokee Purple tomato is said have originated more than 100 years ago with the Cherokee people. This beefsteak-type fruit is deep purple with green shoulders, is densely textured and has a mild, sweet tomato flavor. Because it is an open-pollinated heirloom variety, seeds are easily saved from year to year and return true to type.
The fruits of Kellogg’s Breakfast are a brilliant orange and have a tangy flavor. They are thin-skinned and meaty with very few seeds. This tomato variety is the favorite of many gardeners. An open-pollinated heirloom, it hails originally from West Virginia, but was acquired by a Michigan breeder named Darrell Kellogg. Plants must be properly trellised or staked as the fruits are very heavy and the vines alone cannot support them.
The Sweet 100 cherry tomato is a hybrid variety that bears hundreds of super-sweet bright-red fruits all season long. Because the plant can grow quite large, a good staking system or tomato cage is necessary.
Known as a sauce tomato, this productive, egg-shaped heirloom is one of the largest paste tomatoes.
Hailing from Italy, these thin and pointy plum heirloom tomatoes are preferred by many for its saucing and canning qualities. Prized for its sweet flavor and low acidity, the San Marzano is the only tomato that can be used for Neapolitan pizza.
