New in 2002
I should take a moment here to introduce myself as the new Vegetable editor. I garden in New York's mid-Hudson Valley. That's anywhere from a zone 4 to almost a 6. I've been vegetable gardening most of my life, with varying degrees of success. Prior to becoming the Vegetable Garden editor, I was the Heirloom Fruits and Vegetable editor. I have a small heirloom seedling business called "Yore Vegetables". I am also the Community Horticulture Program Coordinator for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. I was offered that position after a decade of being a Master Gardener volunteer in both Dutchess and Ulster Counties in New York. While I enjoy gardening in general, vegetable gardening has always been my first love and I'm delighted to have the chance to share my enthusiasm with you. I hope we can all pick up some tips and tricks from each other.
Here in eastern New York State we have barely had winter this year - until February. Ever since the calendar hit February the thermometer hit zero. When it gets and stays this cold, there's nothing to do put dream and plan for next year. Even my seedlings are still only a vision.
While the seed catalogs provide beautifully illustrated, tempting promises, I like to go to the Cooperative Extension sites to see what's new and recommended. Extension is not usually on the cutting edge, but it is a good gauge for what's hitting the mainstream. So I was surprised and delighted to see edible soy bean varieties listed on the Cornell site . I have never grown soy in my home garden, but we did try some last year in a historical vegetable garden where I volunteer. One of the other volunteers is originally from China and also an excellent cook. She brought a portable stove right out into the garden and boiled the freshly picked soy beans for us. They were surprisingly good, just plain and in their shells. I can understand why they are treated as a bar snack in other parts of the world. Territorial Seed Company has a new open pollinated soy bean listing for Beer Friend.
If you are interested in trying soy beans, the recommended varieties for the northeast are : "Butterbean", "Fiskeby V", "Altona" and "Envy". Clemson University , in South Carolina, lists "Disoy", "Emerald", "Kanrich", "Verde" as good choices for their commercial farmers, which also means they should do well
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