Regional crops
Vegetables and fruit should grow quickly, look immaculate, yield a lot, be storable and easy to transport. Only a few of the old regional crop varieties meet these standards. They are still regularly grown in the Garden of Useful Plants, where you can also buy seeds and young plants.
Bonner Beste
The tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is native to the Andes. It was cultivated as a tomatl by the Aztecs. Columbus brought it to Europe in 1498. Here the tomato was considered only as an ornamental plant. Only after the 1st World War, the tomato was also cultivated in Germany for its edible fruits. Since the 1930s, the indeterminate tomato "Bonner Beste" ("The best of Bonn") was planted. This is a tasty variety that bears fruit well into the fall.
As an improvement, "Rheinlands Ruhm" ("Rhineland’s fame") was bred. Its fruits remain longer firm. Unlike today’s hybrid varieties, where the varietal identity is not respected, both varieties can be resown.
In the USA, the "Bonny Best" is very popular. It is related to "Bonner Beste", which was brought to the USA by German immigrants.
Bonner Advent
"Bonner Advent" (Brassica oleracea cv. Bonner Advent) is the name of a variety of Savoy cabbage. The name is due to its cultivation timing: the vegetable must be sown at the end of August and planted in the field no later than the beginning of Advent. It can then be harvested in May. Some plants are left on the fields to harvest the seeds in the summer.
This Savoy cabbage is still grown today.
Kleine Rheinländerin
The "Kleine Rheinländerin" ("Small one from the Rhineland") is a low-growing round pea (Pisum sativum). This variety is still on the market, but unlike in the past, it is hardly grown. The "Kleine Rheinländerin" was particularly popular in the past because the plant does not require climbing lattices.
Vorgebirgstrauben
The cultivation of the cucumber "Vorgebirgstrauben" ("Foothills-Cluster") (Cucumis sativus) played a major role in the Rhineland. It is a high-yielding variety that bears many small fruits. This is probably the origin of name. Nowadays this variety is still very appreciated by amateur gardeners for pickling.
Möschebonne
"Möschebonne" (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a variety of climbing beans. The colorful beans are slightly speckled and resemble sparrow eggs (Mösch = sparrow). They are used as dry beans, because they can be stored for a long time. They were mostly cooked in bean soups.