I'd also like to try potatoes. I see on the UF chart that Yukon golds are a good FL variety, but it says not to use store bought potatoes for seeds, so where do I get the seed potatoes?

My favorite bush green beans are Derby and Jade. You can order them from Parks or Johnny's or other seed houses. This year WalMart had seed potatos in January. As I remember, they had Yukon gold and purple fingers and another variety. I hope they have them again next January. They also had sweet potato plants.

Are you growing the Super Sugar Snaps? They are much taller than regular sugar snaps so you get a lot more peas! My favs of the sugar snaps.

My favorite pole bean is the purple podded pole, I think they are more prolific than Kentucky Wonder and because of their color are easy to pick and really pretty too. And, they cook up green, not purple.

No potatoes here, others will have to give you pointers on that question.

Tom

And the purple podded pole is really, really yummy. My first round is up already. In fact, last week we had a few early teasers from a purple podded that somehow overwintered and/or self-seeded.

~dianne

If you want to try pole beans, Dade is excellent in this area. I don't know where to find the seeds, though.

I love snow peas, great in stir fries and you don't have to take strings off or anything. :o)

Best tasting & most vigorous IMPE are Rattlesnake pole beans - pretty purple blossoms & nice long purple streaked & speckled pods that turn green when cooked. They're basically the only pole beans I grow anymore.

I get mine from Pinetree (www.superseeds.com)

Chinese noodle beans.

Hmmm, I like red noodle bean and yard long beans too. :o)

Thanks for all the suggestions! Went to Lowe's and WM last night and they didn't have much selection of seeds at all. I was really surprised! I was going to take a ride out to ECHO in the next day or so, thinking they may have more. Thank you for the website Carol!

@Tom - the pkg I used just said Burpee sugar snap, didn't specify anything else, BUT the vines were about 8 ft. tall!! Had to get on a ladder to harvest the top ones! My dog loves them too. He sits there just waiting for me to throw him some LOL

I have to find more seed websites.

Tom - the pkg I used just said Burpee sugar snap, didn't specify anything else, BUT the vines were about 8 ft. tall!

Then I'd say you did well :-) Most are only about 30-36" so you really need to know what your getting.

I love color in the garden so that's why I prefer the purple pole beans, while the leaves are green the vines, flowers, and pods are purple...I have four different varieties but like the PPP the best for taste, production and disease resistance. If you don't find them reasonably drop me a line and I'll send you some for cost and postage, they'd have to be send in a padded envelop, and I keep them frozen so you really don't want them until it time to plant.

Tom

Baker Creek Seed has the purple podded pole, as does Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

~dianne

Here is a link that might be useful: Baker Creek

Hi Mrs Tlc

All the beans do well for me and I have a lot of favorites. My local feed store carries beans that do well in the area and are very affordable prices, no shipping. They also carry seed potatoes. Check your local feed store.
I bought in previous seasons potatoes from Ronnigens now is a different name and have less varieties if you want to look there. In our climate sweet potatoes do much better than regular potatoes and you can multiply them and save for next seasons. Echo has very good varieties, I bought some when I went there.

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: seed potatoes

Mrs TLC,

I think if you shop at an organic veggie store you could use the potatoes there for seed. That's my plan.

BTW, others here say to plant the taters in November!

Veronica in Thonotosassa

Tom,

In your pic in the left hand corner, what pepper variety is that and does it have some heat?

Cliff

Tom,

In your pic in the left hand corner, what pepper variety is that and does it have some heat?

Hi Cliff, I honestly don't remember, but we only grow sweets.

Tom

I have quite a few beans i love:

Dry Beans: Trail of Tears and Mayflower

Green: Kentucky Wonder and Purple Royalty

Long: Chinese Green Noodle (these can get up to a yard long but are better picked young and tender about 8-12 inch)

These are heirloom types and can be found at rareseeds.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunny Spot Gardens Blog

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions!!! I haven't been back on here in over a week and haven't gone to look anywhere else, but am going to do my best to get to ECHO this weekend. Have to finish my drip system too!

I see our local produce place has blue lake seedlings in now. Any thoughts on those?