Q: I am tackling a large new vegetable and herb garden. I want your opinion on the different varieties of seeds available, particularly heirloom seeds.

A: You can find heirloom vegetable seed locally and online, but remember that there are sometimes good reasons why heirloom varieties were bypassed for improved cultivars. Although tasty, they may be more susceptible to disease or insects. Keeping that in mind, try growing whatever catches your eye. With a large garden, you’ll have plenty of room to find both success and failure. If your produce overwhelms you, get canning and freezing information at http://xrl.us/PRESERVEFOOD