There are several old standbys that I plant in my garden every year.  One of my favorites is the Sugar Snap Pea – it’s a great producer throughout the entire gardening season.

Sugar Snap Pea Blossom

The Sugar Snap Pea is easy to grow and produces sweet, tender pods that are great to eat right out of the garden.  I plant my peas on a simple trellis made with wooden stakes and chicken wire.

Pea Trellis

In the bean department, my go-to bean is always the Blue Lake Bush Bean, which produces long, tender, crunchy beans that are great for making Dilly Beans.  This year, I also planted the Contender Valentine Bush Bean, which produces earlier than the Blue Lake.  Both varieties are bush beans, which need no trellising.

Contender Valentine Bean Blossom

Boston Picking cucumbers are my favorite cucumbers – they’re great right out of the garden, but even better for pickling.  They hold up to the pickling process and make crispy, crunchy pickles.  This year I also planted Delikatesse cucumbers, which is a rare variety from Germany.  These are actually producing better then the Boston Pickling and may take the coveted spot of favorite cucumber.

Delikatesse Cucumber Blossom

I plant approximately 35-40 cucumber plants, so I also trellis the cucumbers.  Trellising takes up much less room in the garden and keeps the cucumbers off the ground, giving the fruit a more uniform color.

Trellised cucumbers (bush beans in foreground)

I trellis the cucumbers just like I do the peas, with wooden stakes and chicken wire.  I start my cucumbers indoors several weeks ahead and transplant them to the trellis.  As they grow, they naturally start to climb.  Some vines will go astray, so I gently weave a few of the leaves through the holes in the chicken wire, and in a few days, they’re trained as well.

I purchase all my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds which are all non-hybrid, non-GMO, non-treated and non-patented.  They have over 1,600 varieties and a great selection of hard-to-find heirloom seeds.