Jacksonville, IL January 14, 2020: The garden catalogs are coming thick and fast this time of year. If you’re in the market for something new this year, some plants to consider would be the All-American Selections Winners. All-American Selections (AAS) is an independent, non-profit organization that trials new, unreleased plant varieties at different trial sites across the U.S. and Canada. Independent judges compare entries to plants that have already been introduced and evaluate these new plants on a number of different qualities. After the trials, the top garden performers are given the AAS Winner award designation for their superior performance. For 2020 there were nine national winners (six vegetable and three flower):
Cucumber Green Light F1 is a great tasting mini cucumber that will produce 40 or more 3-5 inch spineless fruits that mature earlier than comparison varieties. These plants trellis well so they can be grown on stakes or poles for easy harvest.
Pumpkin Blue Prince F1 is an early maturing edible pumpkin that can also be used as an ornamental. Plants will produce seven to nine blue flattened pumpkins on vigorous vines. The flesh of these pumpkins is non-stringy, deep orange with a smooth, creamy texture.
Tomato Apple Yellow F1 is a prolific plant, producing up to 1,000 bright yellow apple-shaped fruit. The plants are indeterminate, reaching up to six feet tall. The fruit are long-holding on the vine and are delicious with a good sweet/acid ratio and firm flesh.
Tomato Celano F1 is a patio type grape tomato with a strong bushy habit that produces sweet oblong fruits. These plants have excellent late blight resistant and are ideal for growing in pots due to their smaller size, although they do best with some support.
Tomato Early Resilience F1 is a Roma tomato that is ideal for canning and cooking. These determinate, bushy plants grow to about two feet tall. They have good resistance to blossom end rot as well as several other diseases.
Watermelon Mambo F1 produces three to four round melons with dark green rinds and deep red flesh per plant. Fruit weigh about 11 pounds and hold well, meaning they won’t overripen if you can’t harvest them right away.
*Courtesy of Good Growing*
