Does organic veg really taste better ?

[Peggy Sue]

Welcome back to earth Cheezy, teh boz was about to give way
I reckon we need an ish list of really good tasting varieties and where to get them

[Odsox]

I wonder if this original experiment with hydroponics is much the same for all veg or whether tomatoes are particularly suited- would chillis for example be as strong?

I'll let you know next year as I intend to try all different sorts of veg hydroponically, except chillies as I can't stand 'em

I agree with everything you said Cheezy, it has been slowly evolving over the last 30 years or so, and of course the EC didn't help with their insistence on uniform fruit and veg.
They have now backed down a bit, but far too late as the varieties that produce uniform fruit and veg have all been bred.
I find it it is a good idea when choosing what to grow to look how old the variety is, some seed merchants actually tell you that 'x' variety was bred in eighteen hundred and whatever or are "heirloom".
The point being that they are still around for a very good reason, usually a far superior taste.

Strawberries now, I think I prefer Royal Sovereign over Cambridge Favourite, but they are a hellova job to get hold of.

[Millymollymandy]

My big tomatoes (Premio) are revolting and even supermarket bog standard ones are better.

[Peggy Sue]

My big tomatoes (Premio) are revolting and even supermarket bog standard ones are better.

I've made the mistake last two years of buying cheap seeds from main stream suppliers, mostly the germination rates were rubbish and often they tasted of nothing. The seeds I did buy that were heirloom (mostly from realseed) were great tasting, great germination rates, you can seed save from them and seemed to be staggered in maturity a bit rather than it all being ready together.
They are more expensive but for example the carrots- I got Amst. Forcg cheap ones to start early under a clotche, and realseed Giant Reds were planted a month later- both ready together but the AF's were tiny and remained tiny with less germinating. Another variety sewn after GR's were also small, less tasty and had more carrot fly problems.
We all have limited space as well as money, so no more AF's for me!
...wonder if hydroponics resolve carrot fly?....

[Odsox]

...wonder if hydroponics resolve carrot fly?....

Polytunnels do.
I cannot grow carrots outside here, every time they are totally 100% infected with root fly, even when I put barriers all round.
But now I have a polytunnel I grow them right in the middle, as far from the doors as possible, and so far have not had one carrot infected.
I only grow carrots to eat young though, no maincrop.

[ina]

...wonder if hydroponics resolve carrot fly?....

Polytunnels do.
I cannot grow carrots outside here, every time they are totally 100% infected with root fly, even when I put barriers all round.

Have you tried the resistant varieties? They've been very successful around here.

[Odsox]

Have you tried the resistant varieties? They've been very successful around here.

No I haven't Ina, I only like finger carrots and either Am Forcing or Early Nantes.
I've tried other varieties now and again and found them tasteless, or at least not as tasty as the two above.
I figure that resistant ones are resistant because they are low in carotene, which to my mind is what makes them carrots in the first place.

[Peggy Sue]

Poly tunnel is a bit out of my league I'm afraid, so I'll have to keep cutting the black bits out and grow a few resistent sorts to give me a break! The Maestro ones I grew weren't tasteless, they did get a bit of carrot fly not much. The rest I grow between onion rows which works quite well so I can't complain.

I really can't be doing with rows of fleece, thats just hard work

[Millymollymandy]

I'm growing carrots in tubs this year to see whether the carrot fly still gets to them or not. Obviously I won't get much of a harvest but it's just an experiment and I only want to eat them small and young. Supermarket ones taste just as good as my home grown ones and don't take up any space in my veg patch - and are a lot easier to prepare - just peel and no time wasted cutting out manky bits!

[ina]

Have you tried the resistant varieties? They've been very successful around here.

No I haven't Ina, I only like finger carrots and either Am Forcing or Early Nantes.

I think it was Fly away my friend had, and they were very good. But as I said, a lot depends on the soil, too; so some might be suitable for some soils and not for others.

[Peggy Sue]

I've grown flyaway and they seemed nice, haven't tried them side by side with Giant Red but I suspect the Giant Red will be stronger. I would say they were as good as Autumn King and better than Rainbow at a guess. (I can see an experiement coming on here for next year!)

I've also grown in barrels and yes it works- no carrot fly at all- but I LLOOVVEE carrots and there are not enough barrels in the whiskey industry to fulfill my requirements!
Also it's more expensive since you have to fill the barrells with something, home made compost is too muck rich and bagged compost is only good for one year then the carrots grow very very small.

[grahamhobbs]

Taste depends on many factors but most important I think is picking the thing at the right time. Commercial growers obviously know when to do this. But do we and even if we do, do we want or are able to pick it that day? When is the best time to pick a carrot for maximum flavour and freshness? I've been dissapointed by the flavour of somethings, one day they are great and the next it is too late and they taste old and tired - sweetcorn is an extreme, calabrese also seems to get an earthy flavour quite quickly.
I grapple with the problem of growing a succession of crops, so that we get a reasonable chance of eating things when they are fresh and at their peak, but if 4 calabrese come up together then they are not all going to get eaten at their peak.
I grow organically but for those of us growing for ourselves this is more likely to be the problem than whether it is organic or not.

[Peggy Sue]

I grapple with the problem of growing a succession of crops, so that we get a reasonable chance of eating things when they are fresh and at their peak, but if 4 calabrese come up together then they are not all going to get eaten at their peak.
I grow organically but for those of us growing for ourselves this is more likely to be the problem than whether it is organic or not.

I have read alot about the commerical growers developing seed types deliberately to all come toether for ease of harvest, some of the heritage varieties say this will not happen with thhes old fashioned seeds and should be better for us gardeners.
I was trying it this year with cauli as an experiment but the caterpillars seem to have beaten me

[grahamhobbs]

I have read alot about the commerical growers developing seed types deliberately to all come toether for ease of harvest, some of the heritage varieties say this will not happen with thhes old fashioned seeds and should be better for us gardeners.
I was trying it this year with cauli as an experiment but the caterpillars seem to have beaten me

In theory this is true, although I sowed a heritage and a F1 calabrese together in a couple of sowings spaced 6 weeks apart, but they all (about 20) matured within 2 weeks of each other with no difference in spread between the heritage and the F1, although from the seed packets they should have matured at quite different times.