Cherry & Snacking

• Bumblebee Mix

  Great flavor and yield.

  +1
• Honey Drop

  Great flavor and yield.

  +1
• Juliet

  Outstanding producer — up to 50 lbs per plant.

  0
• Sun Gold

  Highly praised, universally loved must-plant cherry.

  0
• Sweet 100s

  Great flavor and yield.

  0

Early Season

• Celebrity

  Reliable early-to-mid season standard.

  0
• Early Girl

  Reliable early-to-mid season standard.

  0
• Fourth of July (Burpee)

  Small, tasty, and extremely early.

  0

Slicers & Heirlooms

• Brandywine

  Top performer for taste.

  0
• Cherokee Purple

  Outstanding harvest length and high yields.

  0
• Hot Streak (Johnny's)

  Noted for great flavor.

  0
• Moneymaker

  High yields.

  ⚠ One grower reports it lacks depth of flavor.

  0
• Mortgage Lifter

  Top performer for taste.

  0
• Moskvich

  High yields.

  ⚠ One grower reports it lacks depth of flavor.

  0
• Mountain Spirit

  Standout for superior, complex flavor.

  0
• Paul Robeson

  Top performer for taste.

  0
• Pineapple

  Standout for superior, complex flavor.

  0

Canning, Paste & Sauce

• Amish Paste

  Traditional favorite.

  ⚠ Mixed feedback — several growers report lower yields than Roma or San Marzano.

  0
• Roma VF

  Reliable heavy producer.

  0
• San Marzano (Tall Vine)

  Consistently recommended top paste tomato.

  0

Sweet & Snacking

• Ace

  Widely recommended for cold zones.

  ⚠ Flagged for lacking flavor.

  0
• Carmen

  Horn-shaped sweet pepper — outperforms standard bell types.

  0
• King of the North

  Reliable northern sweet bell.

  0
• Lunchbox

  Early ripening and prolific for snacking/grilling.

  0
• Revolution

  Massive, thick-walled peppers, ideal for stuffing.

  0
• Shishito

  Early ripening and prolific for snacking/grilling.

  0
• Sweet Banana

  Early ripening and prolific for snacking/grilling.

  0

Hot

• Cayenne

  Solid cold-zone performer.

  0
• Habanero

  Solid cold-zone performer.

  0
• Jalapeño / Early Jalapeño

  Reliable double harvests.

  0
• Serrano

  Solid cold-zone performer.

  0

Garlic

• Chesnok Red

  Exceptional flavor and vigor.

  0
• Music

  Top-performing hardneck — low input, large heads, 4–6 cloves each.

  0
• Unnamed Red Hardneck

  Exceptional flavor and vigor.

  0

Onions

• Ailsa Craig

  Large, sweet, fresh-eating onion. Start indoors in February; does not store well.

  0
• Candy

  Large, sweet, softball-sized onions.

  0
• Patterson

  Best-performing long-term yellow storage onion — can store over a year.

  0
• Redwing

  Excellent long-keeping red onion.

  0

Pole Beans

• Black Pole Beans

  Vigorous — reaches 7+ ft.

  0
• Blue Lake Pole

  Huge single-trellis yields.

  0
• Fortex

  Strong producer on a trellis.

  0
• Kentucky Wonder

  Strong producer on a trellis.

  0
• Northeastern

  Strong producer on a trellis.

  0
• Scarlet Runner

  Strong producer on a trellis.

  0

Bush Beans

• Jade

  Needs warm soil; sow mid-June.

  0
• Provider

  Reliable early bush bean.

  0

Peas

• Alaska Snow

  Reliable Maine performer.

  0
• Bistro

  Reliable Maine performer.

  0
• Pine Tree Garden Tall

  Reliable Maine performer.

  0
• Premium

  Reliable Maine performer.

  0

Potatoes

• Katahdin

  Reliable Maine standard.

  0
• Kennebec

  Top overall pick.

  0

Carrots — Early / Spring

• Mokum

  Good early spring carrot.

  0
• YaYa

  Good early spring carrot.

  0

Carrots — Main / Fall / Storage

• Bangor

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0
• Bolero

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0
• Nantes Fancy

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0
• New Kuroda

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0
• Rainbow

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0
• Scarlet Nantes

  Reliable storage carrot.

  0

Beets

• Detroit Dark Red

  Standard reliable beet.

  0

Winter Squash

• Burgess Buttercup

  Reliable Maine winter squash.

  0
• Butterbush

  Compact, early-ripening butternut.

  0
• Delicata

  Reliable Maine winter squash.

  0
• North Georgia Candy Roaster

  Reliable Maine winter squash.

  0

Summer Squash & Zucchini

• Cocozelle

  Reliable summer producer.

  0
• Emerald Delight

  Reliable summer producer.

  0
• Green Lightening Patty Pan

  Prolific — ready in about 45 days.

  0
• Success PM (straightneck yellow)

  Reliable summer producer.

  0

Mildew-Resistant Options

• Green Machine

  Intermediate powdery/downy mildew resistance.

  0
• Pascol

  High powdery/downy mildew resistance.

  0

Cucumbers

• Boston Pickling

  Reliable performer.

  0
• Ichiban

  Reliable performer.

  0
• Straight Eight

  Reliable performer.

  0
• Suyo Long

  Japanese heirloom, reliable performer.

  0

Broccoli

• Arcadia

  Reliable performer.

  0
• Eastern Magic

  Top recommendation.

  0

Greens

• Dwarf Siberian Kale

  Reliable Maine kale.

  0
• Paris Island Cos Romaine

  Reliable Maine lettuce.

  0
• Rainbow Swiss Chard

  Prolific from spring through hard frost.

  0
• Snowball Cauliflower

  Reliable Maine cauliflower.

  0

Sweet Corn

• Silver Queen

  8–10 ears per stand.

  0

Eggplant

• Kamo

  Early flowering, fruit sets fast, dense with few seeds/bitterness.

  0

Spinach

• Renegade

  Bolt-resistant and heat-tolerant, good for extending the spring harvest.

  0
• Space

  Fast, smooth-leaf type, a reliable early-season choice.

  0
• Tyee

  Cold-hardy; overwinters well under a low tunnel.

  0

Lettuce

• Black-Seeded Simpson

  Classic loose-leaf, fast and very reliable.

  0
• Buttercrunch

  Heat-tolerant butterhead, holds up well into summer.

  0
• Red Sails

  Slow to bolt, good color for mixed salads.

  0
• Winter Density

  Romaine-bibb cross, notably cold-hardy for a Maine spring or fall crop.

  0

Arugula & Asian Greens

• Astro Arugula

  Fast, mild flavor, slower to bolt than standard arugula.

  0
• Mizuna

  Fast-growing, good for cut-and-come-again harvesting.

  0
• Tokyo Bekana

  Mild flavor, more heat-tolerant than most Asian greens.

  0

Cabbage

• Danish Ballhead

  Dense storage cabbage, very cold-hardy.

  0
• Early Jersey Wakefield

  Early, compact heads — a Northeast standard for a reason.

  0
• Red Express

  Fast-maturing red cabbage for a short season.

  0

Brussels Sprouts

• Diablo

  Good cold tolerance; flavor sweetens after a frost.

  0
• Long Island Improved

  Classic, reliable Northeast variety.

  0

Kohlrabi

• Winner

  Fast and mild — a good short-season pick.

  0

Radishes

• Cherry Belle

  Classic fast, round radish.

  0
• French Breakfast

  Mild flavor, quick to mature.

  0

Turnips & Rutabaga

• Hakurei

  Sweet Japanese salad turnip, popular at Northeast farmers markets.

  0
• Laurentian Rutabaga

  Classic Northeast storage rutabaga.

  0
• Purple Top White Globe

  Dual-purpose — good roots and good greens.

  0

Parsnips

• Harris Model

  Reliable, and sweetens noticeably after the first frost.

  0

Melons

• Minnesota Midget

  Very early and compact — bred specifically for short seasons.

  0
• Sugar Cube

  Early cantaloupe, good sugar content for a short season.

  0

Watermelon

• Blacktail Mountain

  Bred for cold climates, one of the earliest watermelons available.

  0
• Sugar Baby

  Classic short-season icebox watermelon.

  0

Pumpkins

• Connecticut Field

  Classic Jack-o'-lantern type that reliably matures in time for fall.

  0
• New England Pie

  Reliable pie pumpkin, matures well within a Maine season.

  0
• Small Sugar

  Early, good flavor, dependable pie pumpkin.

  0

Culinary Herbs

• Bouquet Dill

  Good for both fresh use and pickling, produces reliable seed heads.

  0
• Calypso Cilantro

  Slow to bolt, which matters since cilantro bolts fast in heat.

  0
• Common Chives

  Perennial and very low-maintenance once established.

  0
• Genovese Basil

  The standard sweet basil for pesto.

  0
• Giant of Italy Parsley

  Flat-leaf type, more flavorful than curly parsley.

  0
• Prospera Basil

  Downy-mildew resistant — worth it given Maine's humid summers.

  0