In just a few months, vegetable seed display racks will be going up in garden centers, hardware stores, and supermarkets. So many inviting varieties vying for your attention! Or maybe you’ve already gotten a mailbox-full of seed catalogues from Burpee, Parks, Johnny’s, and other seed purveyors. It’s not just last year’s varieties to consider. Seed companies work continuously to come out with new and better varieties of old standards. The choices can be mind-boggling. How to decide?
Fortunately, just as for flowers (“From the Ground Up,” Jan. 5, 2017)), the All-America Selections (AAS) judges evaluate new vegetable varieties each year. Trialed in gardens in the United States and Canada, AAS winners are varieties that have proven to grow well in a wide range of climates, soils, and growing conditions. This puts them in a general category of “easy to grow,” making them perfect for beginning gardeners, though they are outstanding in their own right. Vegetables are also evaluated based on taste, quality, earliness of harvest, total yield, ease of harvesting, plant habit, disease and pest resistance, and seed production.
In 2016, the AAS “pre-announced” four new vegetable winners: Okra “Candle Fire,” Pea “Patio Pride,” Squash “Winter Honeybaby,” and Watermelon, “Mini Love.” (“From the Ground Up,” August 11, 2016)
The rest of the AAS picks for 2017 were recently announced:
Fennel “Antares” (F1 hybrid) – Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio, clearly visible in the night sky, and this new fennel-the first fennel ever picked as an AAS winner – definitely stands out. The AAS judges described it as “very uniform, pure white.” The judges praised its “much improved, almost sweet, licorice/anise flavor.” It was also 7-10 days slower to bolt than comparison varieties. The beautiful, edible, white bulbs grow from 4 to 5 inches in diameter below ground, while feathery, ornamental stalks grow to two feet. Fennel leaves are a favorite food of pollinators, in particular the caterpillar of the Swallowtail butterfly.
Pepper “Mad Hatter” (F1 hybrid) – Every time I look at the photos of this stunning new pepper, I have to remind myself that it’s not actually a bright red pattypan squash. The fruits are a sort of flattened disc-shape with lobes or “wings,” borne on plants that grow from three to four feet tall. The fruits are smallish – about 2 by 3 inches – but are prolific, with about 40 to 50 per plant. Judges described the fruits as having “a delicate floral scent and rich flavor that intensifies and sweetens as it matures.” Suggestions for eating include raw in salads, pickled, or stuffed with cheese.
Tomato “Chef’s Choice Yellow” (F1 hybrid) – If you love beefsteak tomatoes, this definitely sounds like one to try. The large, meaty tomato is described as having a “sweet, citrus-like flavor with just the right amount of acid and the perfect tomato texture.” Each 4 to 5-foot tall plant produces 30 or more 10-ounce fruits throughout the season. Plants are bred to be resistant to Fusarium Wilt, Verticillium Wilt, Tomato Mosaic Virus, Crack, and Scab. Direct seeding is not recommended. Instead, start indoors in mid to late March.
Tomato “Patio Choice” (F1 hybrid) – This mild-flavored cherry tomato is a compact (15-18 inches tall), determinate hybrid developed specifically for containers, hanging baskets, and small spaces. (“Determinate” means that a plant stops growing at a certain height. The vines of “intederminate” tomatoes will continue to grow through the season, sometimes reaching ten feet or more unless pinched back.) Despite the plant’s diminutive size, the yields are huge – over 100 fruits per plant. Patio Choice’s taste was described as “mild sweet, with a touch of acid.” Plants are resistant to Fusarium Wilt, Verticillium Wilt, and Tomato Mosaic Virus. Start seeds indoors in early April.
Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pcbaxter@verizon.net, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442. Join the conversation at “Chester County Roots,” a Facebook page for gardeners in the Delaware Valley. Go to Facebook, search for Chester County Roots, and “like” the page. To receive notice of updates, click or hover on “Liked” to set your preferences.
