Virginia home gardeners help shape new planting recommendations through trial
A community-engaged science project led by Virginia Cooperative Extension combines yield data and everyday garden observations to identify top-performing cultivars across the state.
Rebecca Knutson has grown vegetables in her Northern Virginia garden for 20 years. She usually plants a small selection of tried-and-true varieties that she trusts will perform well in her conditions and that she knows her family will eat.
Last summer, Knutson participated in Virginia Cooperative Extension’s first-ever home vegetable variety trial, where she had the opportunity to test new vegetable seeds and contribute to a growing body of knowledge that will benefit gardeners across the commonwealth.
“Getting good local gardening information can be very helpful in Virginia because our climates and growing conditions vary across the state,” said Knutson. “I was really excited to participate in this trial because these recommendations are going to be so useful for new Virginia gardeners.”
Home vegetable gardens are part of a diverse, resilient food system, but according to the 2023 National Gardening Survey, the number of new gardeners is slowing with time constraints and financial barriers among the reasons many people struggle to grow food at home.
To address this challenge, Virginia Cooperative Extension launched a community-engaged science initiative to recommend vegetable cultivars for Virginia gardens. The project evaluates common crops for performance, plant vigor, and taste and identifies varieties most suited to Virginia’s growing conditions.
“Over time, we will build a statewide dataset that can be used to recommend the best varieties for different regions of Virginia and different growing conditions,” said Ed Olsen, Virginia Cooperative Extension consumer horticulture specialist and Extension Master Gardener program director.
By gathering feedback directly from people growing crops in backyards, community gardens, and small plots across Virginia, this project leverages both hard scientific data and practical, experience-based insight. Home gardeners can then use this qualitative and quantitative information to make informed choices about what to plant based on their unique needs, conditions, and values.
How did the trial work?
Knutson, along with more than 400 home gardeners across Virginia, received seeds for multiple varieties of vegetables and grew them side by side, taking notes throughout the growing season. Participants recorded when plants first began flowering, their total yields, and whether plants showed signs of disease or pest pressure. They also shared qualitative observations such as flavor, appearance, and overall eating quality.
At the end of the growing season, participants submitted their findings to Olsen. The results were published this spring by Virginia Cooperative Extension in “Virginia Home Vegetable Variety Trials: 2025 Results.”
“Based on the data submitted by Virginia home gardeners, we can make research-based planting recommendations,” Olsen said. “For example, our trial participants preferred Genovese basil to sweet basil, and they were more likely to recommend Dunja zucchini, even though Black Beauty performed better. Other Virginia home gardeners can use this feedback to make choices for their own crops.”
The trial also gave participants a chance to grow something new they might not have tried otherwise.
“I found the side-by-side comparison of cultivars in my own garden an interesting and educational exercise,” said Knutson. “I always grow Blue Lake green beans, but it’s good to know that I also liked the provider variety. In the future, I’d consider planting them too.”
Why community-engaged science matters
“There are a lot of factors that go into what crops home gardeners grow – it’s not all about the amount of produce you harvest,” said Olsen.
Maintenance time required for weeding or pruning, the cost and availability of certain plants, and personal eating preference shape the choices gardeners make and how satisfied they feel at the end of the season.
“People care about more than the total yield of their crops,” Olsen said. "They want to know how plants look in the garden, if the fruit is attractive for their culinary use, and how well it stores in the fridge. Extension Master Gardeners have always been a great source of this kind of information in their communities, and now we have the data and feedback of community-engaged scientists as well.”
In controlled research at institutions such as Virginia Tech and its Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, scientists focus on variables such as yield, disease resistance, and plant performance for an intended commercial use and under a specific set of growing conditions. For example, they regularly test the performance of different soybean varieties and make recommendations for Virginia’s soybean industry. This information is critical for food security and for commercial growers who see small reductions in yield or an increased need for disease management in their bottom line. But practices that work well in a controlled trial under optimal conditions might not translate easily to home gardeners with limited time and resources.
Knutson said even though the recommended way to start basil is indoors before the last frost, followed by a spring transplant, she prefers to direct-sow basil in her garden plot at the beginning of summer and harvest a little later. This method works for her busy schedule, but it would not be accounted for in a standard commercial or research trial.
“The long-term goal is to repeat these trials each year and expand the number of crops and cultivars included,” said Olsen. “We’re interested in capturing insights like if basil succeeded under suboptimal conditions because eventually all this data will get more Virginians growing successful gardens.”
For additional help gardening in Virginia, contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension Office or Extension Master Gardeners.
