It's that time of year again. New varieties have been announced for 2019, and these have all won the coveted All-America Selections Award that judges and awards only the tastiest vegetables and easiest to grow flowers.

Just Sweet pepper is a unique snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, only smaller. Not only are the three-inch fruits deliciously sweet with nice thick walls but the plants are vigorous growers (up to three feet inches and fifteen inches wide) that don't need to be staked because of their strong bushy habit. The Just Sweet peppers are exceptionally bright, shiny and a vivid yellow color with a flavor described as sweet with aromatic accents. The judges raved about this pepper: "The entry grew larger plants than the comparisons, with higher yields, but did not require staking at all!" "This is the one taste test that excited the testers - everyone agreed the sweet yellow fruits were delicious."

The adorable Fire Fly tomato is not as small as a currant tomato and not as large as a cherry tomato, but is a "just right" in-between size. The round fruits are super sweet, pale white to pale yellow and less than one inch in size. Delicate, translucent skins offer a mild acid flavor that enhances the sweet taste. The small juicy fruits explode with flavor, perfect for snacking and in salads. Indeterminate plants have good disease resistance, and must be staked or caged as they grow up to six feet tall. "By far the best tasting yellow cherry we have had in any of our trials."

2018 winner Chef's Choice Red

2015 winner Chef's Choice Pink

2014 winner Chef's Choice Orange

"Good early fruit set. Soft, meaty interior flesh with good flavor."

In cold areas, start tomato and pepper seeds indoors six weeks before last frost. Keep the seedlings warm, give them as much light as possible, and water them from the bottom to prevent the fragile stems from rotting. Wait to transplant them outdoors until night temperatures are over 45 degrees and there is no threat of frost. Cold temperatures can cause severe damage to these heat-loving plants. 

How about a lovely flowering plant for the vegetable or container garden with edible flowers and leaves? Nasturtiums give a lovely peppery flavor to salads and sandwiches. Nasturtium Golden Gleam was the last nasturtium to win the AAS Gold Medal Award back in 1933. It has bright golden blossoms that add fragrance and color to hanging baskets, window boxes, containers, or when spilling over a low wall. It makes a good ground cover in beds and does well on a trellis or fence.

Now AAS introduces a wonderful rose colored nasturtium perfect for containers and small-space gardens. Baby Rose nasturtium is a petite-flowered, mounding variety with healthy, dark foliage. AAS' expert judges praised the uniformly compact plants that sported flowers with consistent coloration. Their compact habit means less "flower flopping" with their blooms remaining upright throughout the season. The rose color is uncommon in nasturtiums and contrasts beautifully with the dark-green foliage. Here's what the judges had to say: "Outstanding new compact form opens up many new possibilities for nasturtiums in small space plantings and containers." "The healthy dark green-blue foliage helped highlight the flower color."

Sow nasturtium seeds after the last frost, and cover seeds lightly with soil. Keep soil moist until seedlings appear. If the seeds are spaced three to four inches apart, there is no need to thin them out. Nasturtiums bloom all season long until the first frost.

Lori Rose, the Midnight Gardener, has gardened since childhood and is a Temple University Certified Master Home Gardener and member of the Association for Garden Communicators (GWA).

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