A generic tip, try to plant a variety of cultivars. Often there can be a season or parasite that affects one cultivar more than another, so if you have some variety in your plot you don’t lose everything if it happens to be a bad year for one type.
Sprout inside:
Some plants are best started inside, most can be started in early April. Some just transplant well and starting them inside is manageable and gives you a head start.
Basil
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Leeks
Broccoli
Starting these inside just gives you a head start
Parsley
Kale
Potatoes:
Yukon
Gold, consistently grows large, some scab.
Superior,
a good early potato.
Red Pontiac (tends to have some scab and not grow very big).
Norland Red grows bigger.
Red
fingerling is reported to be excellent.
Banana,
small, but beautifully tasting, closer to original potato than others.
Blue,
tends to have lots of scab, and “floury” when boiled, not recommended.
Carrots:
Healthmaster,
high in beta carotene, grows consistently well, large and crisp
Atomic
Red, red colour, good tasting and grows to good size.
Sweetness
does not do as well.
Lettuce:
Mesclun
Mix, any Romaine will do well, from seed or seedling.
Beets: Any
regular round beet will do ok. Beets like well-fed soil, lots of space.
Peas: Regular
peas: an early pea such as Spring (with the least amount of days to maturity).
Green
Arrow is a bit later and grows really
well.
The
only one that has not done well for me is a Laxton.
Tall
Telephone is good, keeps producing, as is any snap pea and snow pea.
Broccoli: Plant
seedling in late May or early June. I just buy seedlings. Big feeder, will
tolerate liquid fish
fertilizer.
Kale: All Kale seems to do well here, it produces all summer and is frost tolerant. Some straIns are affected by a little green worm, but that doesn’t do much damage.
Cabbage: Does well, especially “Fast Vantage”. There is a moth larva that will get into the cabbage. The best protection for it is to tent the seeds/seedlings with row cover in the spring, to prevent the moth from laying eggs near the plants. Not sure when the covers can be removed.
Beans: Provider.
It’s simply the best, but it needs to be babied with floating row cover until
the temperature
gets hot.
Swiss Chard: Best
grown from seedling. Can be seeded directly, but takes a while.
Dill: Seed
directly and thickly, cut when 3 to 4 inches for baby dill.
Turnips: Do
well, but need good soil and space. Rutabaga is better for storing.