Last week we featured some of the AAS winners and this week the focus of this article will be on the other winners.
All America Selections is the place to go for the next best thing to guaranteed success in your garden. AAS has celebrated more than75 years of providing those plants to gardeners that are tested nationally and proven locally. Each year AAS tests a number of plants that are tested by a network of independent judges who determine which plants exhibit superior garden performance. For gardeners, this is a great bit of advice to help us in achieving success in our gardens.
Bean Mascotte is the first winning bean for the past 23 years and is perfect for gardeners today who are busy and garden in small spaces. This compact bush bean has showy white flowers and is a plentiful producer of long slender pods that make for easy harvesting as the beans stay well above the foliage.
There are two cucumber winners for 2014. Cucumber Pick a Bushel F1 is an excellent heat tolerant cucumber that is perfect for pickling either gherkins or larger. These semi-bush plants are also have delectable fresh. Cucumber Saladmore Bush F1 is mature only 55 days after sowing. They are crisp and sweet as long as you keep up with the picking and are also versatile as small or large pickles.
Eggplant Patio Baby F1 is an early but very productive eggplant with a gardener-friendly compact habit. The leaves and calyx are thorn less so are perfect for your little helpers in the garden. Harvest at two to three inches for the best flavour.
Pepper Giant Ristra F1 is a bright red, super hot chili pepper that looks great in the garden and even better dried on a string for cooking throughout the winter. Fresh, roasted or dried, this is a great pepper to grow.
If you have children or grandchildren, try Pumpkin Cinderella's Carriage F1 for a fairy tale type pumpkin. They are bright reddish-orange, robust and vigorous. The pumpkin shape resembles the carriage from the fairy tale and some lucky gardens will also experience pale blue pumpkins in their patch.
Radish Rivoli is an upright uniform radish which is perfect to harvest at about 1.5 inches in diameter. The outside is a bright red with an interior is smooth and has great taste as long as it is picked before it gets too large.
Three tomatoes made the list this year with Tomato Chef's Choice Orange F1 is a hybrid derived from the popular heirloom Amana Orange. Only this tomato is ready in 75 days from transplanting.
Tomato Fantastico F1 is a must for anyone wishing an early-maturing, high-yielding grape tomato. The fruit is also easy to pick as the fruit is held to the outside of the plant.
Last but definately not least is Tomato Mountain Merit F1 is a superior tomato as it is the perfect tomato for slicing and sandwiches grown on a compact, uniform plant.
— Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at [email protected] or check out our website at saskhort.com.
