UBC Botanical Garden Blog

Tony Maniezzo, the horticulturist responsible for the excellent displays in the Food Garden, has compiled this list of recommended fruit and vegetable varieties for local gardens.

Vegetables

Bean ‘Painted Lady’ abundant beans and attractive flowers  

Broccoli ‘Gypsy’ reliable, many smaller side shoots into the winter after the main heads are harvested  

Cauliflower ‘Cheddar’ lovely orange colours  

Beet ‘Chioggia’ reliable performer at UBC  

Cabbage ‘Mellissa’ hardy variety, suitable for the winter garden, very reliable  

Cucumber ‘Salad Bush’ great in containers  

Tomato ‘Sweet Million’ cherry tomato, loads of fruit, resistant to late blight  

Pac Choi ‘Joi Choi’ very white stalks, grows quickly  

Kohlrabi ‘Kongo’ grows quickly  

Lettuce ‘Mesclun, Cooks Mild Mix’ big fan of leaf lettuce salad blends that can be harvested young, cut and cut again as they keep on growing  

Fruit

Strawberry ‘Totem’ most common for a reason, reliable  

Blueberry ‘November Glow’ good sized berry, a little later fruit and great fall colour  

Raspberry ‘Kitsilano’ large fruit, won our student taste-testing a couple of years ago  

Raspberry ‘Nootka’ very good, sweet, large fruit  

Fig ‘Brown Turkey’ grown all over the Lower Mainland  

Kiwi (Chinese gooseberry) ‘Annasnaja’ will ripen on vine, very sweet, less vigorous than large fuzzy fruit varieties  

Plum ‘Cannor Gold Plum’ delicious, golden-yellow fruit  

Pear ‘Aurora’ consistently good crops  

Apple ‘Melba’ softer than some varieties but great flavour, some disease resistance  

Apple ‘Gravenstein’ old variety, large fruit, crisp