Meet our writers

 







Advice & More March 2016

The Midnight Gardener

Sample New Vegetable Varieties

By Lori Rose

Candyland Red is the only AAS Award winning currant-type tomato. Currant tomatoes are smaller than cherry or grape tomatoes, about a half-inch in diameter. Hundreds of these sweet little gems form on the outside of the plant, making them easy to harvest.

It's that time of year again. New vegetable varieties have been announced for 2016. Many of them have won the coveted All-America Selections Vegetable Award that judges and awards only the tastiest, easiest to grow vegetables. This year's crop looks outstanding.

One judge’s response to AAS Award winning pepper Cornito Giallo was "DOUBLE YUM. The flavor on this one is totally a winner"! The fruits start out small and green, then grow to about six inches long, turning bright yellow with a delicious sweet and fruity flavor.  Expect up to 35 peppers per plant, starting about 75 days from transplant, throughout the summer and into the fall.  Plant Cornito Giallo in full sun about 18 inches apart.

The wonderful sweet taste of Pepper Escamillo as well as its golden yellow color contributed to it becoming one of the AAS Award winners for 2016.  It has an excellent flavor either raw, cooked or roasted. An early-bearing pepper plant with a compact habit makes it an ideal choice for the home garden. The eight-inch long fruits are held high off the ground for easy picking, starting about 77 days from transplant. As with Cornito Giallo, grow Pepper Escamillo in full sun about 18 inches apart.

Candyland Red is the only AAS Award winning currant-type tomato. Currant tomatoes are smaller than cherry or grape tomatoes, about a half-inch in diameter. Hundreds of these sweet little gems form on the outside of the plant, making them easy to harvest. Transplant seedlings outdoors in full sun, three feet apart. The indeterminate plants will need to be staked. Expect to be eating Candyland Red right off the plant about 55 days from transplant.

Although Chocolate Sprinkles is not an AAS Award winner (yet), it is still worthy of a place in this year's garden. This new hybrid grape tomato is a glossy brick-red color with dark green striping. Highly productive plants form clusters of large (one-and-a-half-inch) grape tomatoes with rich, sweet-tart flavor, and start bearing fruit about 55 days from transplant. This tomato has it all: good looks, rich flavor, heavy yields, and disease and crack resistance. Plant Chocolate Sprinkles in full sun, about three feet apart, supported by stakes.

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. 

These three 2016 AAS Vegetable Award winners will jazz up the look and flavor of even the blandest of salads:

Easy-to-grow bunching (green) onion Warrior grows quickly and matures early, producing a uniform crop of slender, crisp onion stalks. Warrior holds up in the garden longer than similar varieties that were grown as comparisons in the trials. Warrior can be used raw to add texture, flavor and color to all kinds of dishes or try them grilled whole as part of a vegetable platter or side dish. Grow this pungent white and green onion in full sun about four inches apart. Expect to harvest it 60 days from seed, 30 days from transplant.

Mizuna Red Kingdom is the first mizuna (Japanese mustard) to receive an All-America Selections award. Judges liked how the color of this flavorful, mild-tasting green was a vibrant reddish-purple all through the season. Not only is Red Kingdom a delicious addition to salads and soups, the plant itself is lovely enough to be used as an ornamental in containers or in the landscape. Grow mizunas in full sun about 15 inches apart, and expect to harvest them 3-5 weeks from seed.

Crispy, crunchy, spicy and sweet. What more does an award-winning radish need? How about uniform size (about three inches long), crack resistance, and gorgeous colors in shades of violet and purple? Sweet Baby radish has it all. Sweet Baby grows quickly, 40 to 45 days from seed, which means we can have successive sowings for season-long radishes. Grow Sweet Baby and other radishes in full sun about eight inches apart.

 

Lori Rose, The Midnight Gardener, May all your weeds be dandelions from a child

Meet Lori