I've grown everything from seed-grown crowns dug from the wild in roadside ditches to the all-male "Jersey" type cultivars, and to me, they all taste pretty much the same. The all-male cultivars do have the advantage of having thicker spears, but they have the disadvantage, in my opinion, of NOT forming berries and self-sowing. Over the years, I've dug up a whole lot of asparagus seedlings which the birds sowed in wierd places, like flowerbeds or cracks in the sidewalk, and moved them into my patch to add to it.

I am new to planting and growing pawpaws. I will be planting my first ones this Spring. I ordered 4 KSU Atwoods (SKU 2710) and 4 KSU Benson (SKU 2711) trees today for April delivery in Petoskey, Michigan. Like Matt, I would like to know more about these KSU varieties. Size?, Taste, rate of growth, productivity. I ordered them from One Green World in Portland - these were the only Peterson varieties they had available. I may call One Green World tomorrow to ask them these questions but I thought someone on this site might be willing to share their experience or to share what they have heard. I am opening up a standing 2 acre cedar tree lot and have room for more pawpaws ao, when available, I may add several other Peterson varieties this Fall. Any advice or comments would be appreciated. - Bob Wiley

We don't grow as much garden as we used to so I will only include what we grow Bean (Runner or climbers)---- We grow bush beans. Royal burgandy--a purple bean that turns bright green when cooked. It's tender and never stringy and Gold crop a good yellow bean Beet Cabbage Carrot Celery Corn ----------------sugar baby a bicolor early super sweet sweet 67 days great for northern climates and excellent flavor Cucumber (Slicing) --sweet slice, a burpless long european variety Cucumber (Pickling) hands down it has to be Cool Breeze hybrid--a small vine and leaves it's ideal for small gardens, all female flowers, grows to a maximum 4 to 6 inches. It has good flavor for eating and is great for pickling Garlic Green/Red Pepper (Sweet) We grow only green sweet peppers--our season is too short for the colored ones. I like big bertha. Jalapeno Lettuce (Loose Leaf, green, red) We grow red sails leaf lettuce-- nice flavor and never gets bitter even when it's old and either a baby leaf blend or muscilin mix Onion-- (Sweet) We grow dutch sets. Pea-- (climbing) My husband loves peas. We grow 2 kinds --green arrow 67 days and knight 57 days. That way we extend the season and don't have everything maturing at once Potato-- We grow lots of potatoes and 3 varieties with different growing conditions. Red chieftan who like it moist, Superior who like it dry and hot and Kenebecs who usually produce no matter what, some years better than others. Radish --I switch it up and grow several kinds during the summer. I only plant a few at a time. Spinach Strawberry --I like the everbearing ones--no special variety Swiss Chard --no special variety Tomato (Slicing, Canning, Salsa) -I usually have 3 different kinds. I find bush beefsteak a reliable producer, but the others I'm always changing. Tomato (Cherry)--If you can get a hold of Sunsugar you simply have to try them. At maturity they are a golden yellow and good tasting--my grandkids eat them like candy

Flfishie - You can not go wrong with the Brogdon avocado, it is a good choice. Here is a ripe Brogdon going to be part of my lunch today On the mangoes it gets difficult to choose, lol. After I went to the tasting at Fairchild, I was confused like when you smell too many perfumes. I do prefer fruits that are small size and have no fiber, so that leaves me with fewer options if it was for me, also I found that is best to sample 1 variety at the time. So everyday I do only 1 mango from the varieties that I took home and here are my new favorites: 1. Alphonso 2. Fairchild 3. Champagne 4. Pairi I still have to sample the others... Silvia