In This Article >  2009 Varieties >  2008 New Varieties >  2007 New Varieties >  2006 New Varieties >  2005 New Varieties >  2004 New Varieties     Related Articles >  Five Summer All-Stars >  Tomato Growing Tips >  Prevent Tomato Diseases Products >  Annuals for Every Purpose Discussions >  Over the Fence

Before you start planning your 2009 garden, check out the varieties that passed our nationwide test.

Sixteen tomato varieties. Nine lettuces and nine other salad greens. Eight peppers, five winter squashes, and handfuls of corn, melons, eggplants, and other vegetables. A dedicated crew of 13 experienced organic gardeners from the East, West, North, and South grew these new (or overlooked) varieties side-by-side with old standbys during the 2008 season and assessed their performance under a range of conditions. We learned much about the challenges gardeners face as we read their contributions to our Test Gardener Blog, and gained new respect for those of you tending your plots in the most extreme conditions. Of the dozens of varieties we tested, the favorites you are about to meet handled all the adversity Mother Nature threw at them and still produced a robust and delicious harvest. Add one or a few to your plan this year, and you are certain to get more food and satisfaction from your garden than ever.

The winners

'Smarty' Tomato
Source:
johnnyseeds.com

In late summer, most of the tomato varieties we tested began to succumb to disease, one by one. But not 'Smarty'. It remained healthy, and its fruit, just average in taste early on, got increasingly sweet as the season progressed. This is a truly gorgeous, disease-resistant plant. The grape tomato clusters ripen from branch to tip, so the appearance is something like the flowers of Spanish flag vine. And it's short, but not too short--about 4 feet. Last but not least, "absolutely no cracking," reports Jackie Smith of Minnesota. Next year, we'll try it in a pot. In the middle of a flowerbed.

'Ramapo' Tomato
Source: njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu

Hats off to the breeders at Rutgers University for putting their energy and resources into a tomato just because it tastes good. Jack Rabin, associate director of farm programs at Rutgers, admits that 'Ramapo' matures too late and is too soft for commercial use. But, he says, "people are passionate about the way 'Ramapo' tastes." In our Pennsylvania garden, the manageable-sized, healthy plants yielded medium-large, flawless red fruits. And yes, the taste was superb. "Only thing--the tomatoes spoil fast," reports Don Boekelheide of North Carolina. "Quick pleasure." Seeds are available only from Rutgers.

'Yaya' Carrot
Source: highmowingseeds.com

Carrot lovers with less-than-perfect-soil, listen up. We've got the carrot for you. 'Yaya' grows 4 to 6 inches long and is just right in every way. Michelle Zettel of Idaho reported in mid-August, "The 'Yaya' carrots are great. Good taste, uniform size, and still going strong." Yaya, in case you were wondering, means "grandmother" in Greece. A short, sweet grandmother, no doubt.

'Honey Nut' Winter Squash
Source: highmowingseeds.com

Cornell University's vegetable breeding program focuses on developing disease-resistant varieties for organic growers, so we're always eager to get its seeds into our test gardens. 'Honey Nut', a single-serving-sized butternut, impressed us with its sweetness and yield, and was the favorite of the winter squash varieties we grew. Give this squash plenty of space (we let ours ramble under and around the corn); the vines are in no way compact. Sliced and baked, 'Honey Nut' is a real taste treat. If you often cook for a crowd, you might prefer 'Canesi' (jungseed.com), a new high-yielding, trouble-free, and tasty family-sized butternut.

'Dancer' Eggplant
Source: johnnyseeds.com

Compact eggplant varieties have became popular with breeders and seed catalogs, but in our experience, eggplants need some size and vigor to withstand flea beetle pressure and still produce well. 'Dancer' does this, and with style.

Boekelheide dubbed it "the neon wonder," and noted that the plants were not just robust and healthy all summer in the humid South, but even got a second wind in October. 'Dancer' proved to be an easy grower in Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. In California, 'Dancer' waltzed right into late fall, prompting Bill Nunes to proclaim it the "winner on late production in cool weather." To be fair, 'Gretel' (johnnyseeds.com), a productive variety with slender white fruits, got the prize for "best baba ghanoush" and "prettiest at night." Habitwise, the two are similar--midheight, with smallish fruits.

'Mustard Lime Streaked' Mizuna
Source: kitchengardenseeds.com

If your mustards typically become dotted with tiny holes, this spicy green--our favorite of the nine miscellaneous greens we tried--is a winner. "We had flea beetle troubles, but not with the mizuna," noted Caleb Melchoir from Missouri. It isn't exactly "streaked," but it is attractive, fast-growing, and a pleasing lime color. Just a small row provides plenty to spice salads; it regrows rapidly after each shearing. Almost as flea beetle-proof is 'Chidori Red', an ornamental and highly edible kale (territorialseed.com). "The season's best surprise," raved Ann Caffey from Colorado. The small inner leaves are a beautiful purple, a stunning addition to summer salads.

'Lambkin' Melon
Source: territorialseed.com

What was the best melon we grew in 2008? Depends who you ask. In central California, 'Ein Dor' (highmowingseeds.com) got top marks for taste and production. 'Hannah's Choice' (fedcoseeds.com) created a tasty edible groundcover in Las Vegas. In Pennsylvania, we fell for the slightly fuzzy, mottled green All-America Selections winner 'Lambkin', a "Christmas" type melon. 'Lambkin' ripened fast and delivered a winning, melt-in-your-mouth, honeydew flavor.

'Trombetta' Climbing Italian Summer Squash
Source: reneesgarden.com

This stretchy-necked heirloom fruit is our "Wow, what is that?!" pick of the year. But it turns out that it's not just a curiosity. If you have a big appetite for mild squash, set up a sturdy (and I mean extra-fortified) trellis, and sow a limited number of seeds. Harvest the pendulous fruits at 1 to 2 feet, and the vines will continue to bear. Visitors marveled at their "color, subtle striping, and shape," says Debbie Leung, our Olympia, Washington, tester. Unfortunately, squash bugs found them enticing, too. Cook the squash slightly longer than you would zucchini, and you'll be rewarded with sweetly mild go-with-anything flavor--and plenty of it.

'Oasis' Turnip
Source: fedcoseeds.com

If you'd like to convince a skeptical eater that turnips are tasty, grow 'Oasis'. This pure white baby turnip was so sweet and juicy (yes, juicy) that we planted it twice, in spring and fall. The seed germinates reliably and the roots fatten up almost as quickly as radishes. We pulled them when they reached Ping-Pong ball size, but our Washington tester found even tennis-ball-sized roots flavorful.

'Flexum' Hybrid Sweet Pepper
Source: jungseed.com

Two traits made this pale yellow pepper rise above the half-dozen other peppers we grew: thicker-than-expected flesh and nonstop production. It didn't hurt that the plant was as pretty as it was prolific. The yellow peppers stand upright at first. As the season progresses, some, but not all, turn downward. They reportedly turn red, but as of late September in Pennsylvania, none had. No matter, says Las Vegas tester Leslie Doyle. "I am eating these only as a TV snack. They look great in the bowl."

'Multy' Lettuce
Source: kitchengardenseeds.com

Fun, frilly, and tasty describes this new, crisp lettuce. Of all the lettuces we tried, 'Multy' topped the list for a simple reason: For a green lettuce, it is surprisingly ornamental. Plus, it's tasty. From Pennsylvania south to Missouri and west to Washington, this looseleaf lettuce received raves for being ultra salad-worthy. "It adds frills and a little crunch to salad mixes," remarked Debbie Leung in Washington. Plant a spring border of this consistently perky green and replace it with heat-loving annual flowers when the lettuce heads reach salad size.

Find tester tips and garden stories at the Test Gardener Blog.

2008 New Varieties

The new seed catalogs began appearing in your mailbox just minutes (it seems) after you'd flipped the calendar to 2008. Just a few weeks from now, garden centers will fill up with flats of transplants ready for your garden. Wherever you buy plants and seeds, you'll be hearing about the many "new and improved" varieties they are offering this year. They tempt you with promises of bigger yields, tastier fruit, more brilliant and longer-lasting colors, and less care. But are the new varieties truly an improvement over those you've grown and loved in your garden? Will they perform as touted in your conditions?

To get you answers to those questions, last spring we planted 16 tomato varieties--some newly hybridized, others rediscovered--8 peppers, 10 types of greens, cucurbits, brassicas, and a full border of colorful flowers in 12 test gardens across North America. Then came scorching heat, wilting humidity, drenching floods, and hail. Yes, Mother Nature challenged the varieties in every location, giving us--and you--a true test of how they perform under duress. On the following pages, you'll see 13 of them that we consider real winners, and you'll find out how our 12 intrepid test gardeners overcame the challenges they faced.

Top Performers

We tested more than 70 varieties this season, and when we tasted and assessed all of them, we identified these 13 as winners. We start (as always) with tomatoes, and recommend three unique varieties: smoky-flavored 'Japanese Trifele', prolific 'Una Hartsock', with tiny plums that are less sugary than most cherries, and 'Polbig', which earned its spot by filling its petite frame with a heavy load of fruit while remaining front-yard presentable. 'Orange Chiffon' chard, another edible beauty, was (almost) too pretty to pick. 'Flavorburst' pepper pumped out thick-walled, mild, BIG peppers from midsummer on. Our bean champ was pole bean 'Garrafol Oro', which bore flat, sweet pods for weeks. 'Sunbeam' squash earned a bug-beater reputation, producing consistently in spite of marauding squash bugs. Pick them young and stew with tomatoes. Lovely 'Danyelle' combined looks with a sturdy disposition. We like that in a lettuce. The come-from-behind winner of 2007, 'Purple Peacock' broccoli/kale, looks like kale but acts more like broccoli. Braise the tender buds lightly in olive oil.

Our favorite new flower was 'Northern Lights' pentas, with its twinkly, lavender blooms atop 2-foot plants that never needed watering. 'Apricot Blush' zinnia won raves for the dusky blush color it turns just past its prime. Variegated 'Cameo Elegance' morning glory (12) will adorn your arbor, not engulf it. Finally, either the weather was perfect for heliotropes, or 'Marino 2000' is the perfect heliotrope.

By The Numbers

The 2007 gardening season was nearly ideal at the headquarters for the OG Test Garden project near Emmaus, Pennsylvania. We had just the right amount of rain to get plants growing through most of the summer, and a late-season drought to test their mettle. Other regions, you'll see when you turn the page, were not so lucky. Here we rate 21 strong performers, with grades measuring how they fared in each situation, whether it be broiling desert sun in Nevada, cool nighttime temperatures in Washington State, or sticky North Carolina heat. Interpret a [check] as a passing grade under tough circumstances; an X means it did not perform as well under the specific conditions. We assigned varieties to each of our testers to grow; we grew them all in the garden near our home office in Pennsylvania.

Key to the charts: [check] = Performed like a champ! X = Did not perform well Blank = Not graded

5 Outstanding Tomatoes

Variety: Japanese Trifele
Flavor: 8
Yield: 8
Heat: Check
Drought: Check
Cold: X
Wet: Blank
Comments: Open-pollinated heirloom with a smoky flavor
Sources: 8

Variety: Polbig
Flavor: 7
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: blank
Comments: Compact plant, big yield
Sources: 4

Variety: Sunkist
Flavor: 8
Yield: 8
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Perfect yellow fruits
Sources: 3

Variety: Tormenta
Flavor: 7
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: check
Comments: Meaty clusters of evenly ripening plums
Sources: 13

Variety: Una Hartsock
Flavor: 9
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: check
Comments: Plum/cherry tomatoes, no splitting!
Sources: 15

More Favorite Vegetables

Variety: Bean, pole "Garrafol Oro'
Flavor: 10
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: check
Comments: Tasty even when overmature
Sources: 9

Variety: Broccoli/Kale 'Purple Peacock'
Flavor: 9
Yield: 9
Heat: x
Drought: blank
Cold: check
Wet: blank
Comments: Unusual, attractive, tasty
Sources: 14

Variety: Carrot 'Juane du Doubs'
Flavor: 9
Yield: 9
Heat: x
Drought: blank
Cold: check
Wet: blank
Comments: Yellow roots are sweeter when cooked
Sources: 2

Variety: Eggplant 'Hansel'
Flavor: 7
Yield: 10
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: x
Wet: blank
Comments: Small fruits, very numerous
Sources: 5, 12

Variety: Lettuce 'Danyelle'
Flavor: 8
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: check
Comments: Stands up to heat
Sources: 7

Variety: Pepper 'Flavorburst'
Flavor: 8
Yield: 10
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: x
Wet: x
Comments: Gorgeous and prolific
Sources: 1, 13

Variety: Pepper 'Pritavit'
Flavor: 9
Yield: 7
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Small, squat peppers; very sweet when ripe
Sources: 12

Variety: Squash 'Sunbeam'
Flavor: 9
Yield: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Pattypan; resists squash bugs
Sources: 1

Variety: Zucchini 'Portofino'
Flavor: 8
Yield: 8
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: blank
Comments: Ribbed fruits resist powdery mildew
Sources: 5

Border Beauties

Variety: Calendula 'Solar Flashback' Mix
Good looks: 8
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: check
Comments: Blooms profusely, self-sows readily
Sources: 2

Variety: Celosia 'Orange Peach'
Good looks: 8
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Unusual color, sturdy form
Sources: 10

Variety: Heliotrope 'Marine 2000'
Good looks: 10
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Dependable flowers on 2-foot plant
Sources: Retail

Variety: Morning glory 'Cameo Elegance'
Good looks: 8
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Variegated foliage, dwarf form
Sources: 11

Variety: Osteospermum 'Osti White'
Good looks: 6
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: check
Wet: check
Comments: First white osteospermum available in seed; drought-tolerant
Sources: 5

Variety: Pentas 'Northern Lights'
Good looks: 10
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Constant bloom on 2-foot plant
Sources: 1

Variety: Zinnia
Good looks: 9
Heat: check
Drought: check
Cold: blank
Wet: blank
Comments: Easy-care; prolific blooms
Sources: 6

Sources

1. Burpee, burpee.com
2. Fedco Seeds, fedcoseeds.com
3. High Mowing Seeds, highmowingseeds.com
4. Johnny's Selected Seeds, johnnyseeds.com
5. Jung Seed, jungseed.com
6. Renee's Garden, reneesgarden.com
7. Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, kitchengardenseeds.com
8. Seed Savers Exchange, seedsavers.org
9. Seeds from Italy, growitalian.com
10. Seeds of Change, seedsofchange.com
11. Territorial Seed Company, territorialseed.com
12. Tomato Growers Supply, tomatogrowers.com
13. Totally Tomatoes, totallytomato.com
14. Wild Garden Seed, wildgardenseed.com
15. Wood Prairie Farm, woodprairie.com



Major Challenges

Do we love gardening in spite of or because of the challenges? Here our test gardeners share answers to the predicaments that tested their skills. Readers: Tell us about your challenges from the 2007 season and we'll award prizes for the most daunting problem and the most ingenious solution. (See our contact info on page 10.)

Staying Organized

Plant markers. "Every year, I have problems with my variety markers dissolving in the sun and rain to the point that I can't make them out anymore when I need them most, in late summer," says North Carolina's Don Boekelheide. Organization is a constant challenge in the garden, where mischievous birds can pull out plant tags or blazing sun can erase them. Andrea Ray Chandler has a no-fail triple-check method of keeping it all straight: "I plant alphabetically; I make a map as I am planting, as nothing isn't so brilliant I can't forget it in 15 minutes. And I write on my labels with UV-resistant china-marking pens."

As for what to write on, ever-inventive Leslie Doyle of Las Vegas solves a waste problem while getting a free source of durable name tags. "I cut up plastic corrugated political signs after the elections and put a thick galvanized wire into one of the corrugations to stick it in the ground."

Linda Crago, from Wellandport, Ontario, buys up old window blinds from garage sales. Inscribed with a weatherproof marker, the repurposed blinds last for years "come rain, sleet, sun, and snow." Adds Stephanie Van Parys, of Decatur, Georgia, "The place where the string goes through is great for tying the label to a tomato cage using a twist tie."

Insects

Squash bugs. From shore to shore, squash bugs laid symmetrical little blocks of eggs on the undersides of squash leaves. In Pennsylvania, we sprayed the vulnerable nymphs liberally with organically approved Cedar Gard. It was effective, though we were less so--there are only so many leaves you can inspect daily. Californian Bill Nunes had success with a mixture of water and diatomaceous earth (sold on sweettomatotestgarden.com under the ominous name DieBug). Leslie Doyle instructed him to "spray the leaves, both sides, and the stems and then let it dry to a powdery coating. Be careful to only spray it where you have a real problem, because it will kill all bugs, the good guys, too." The useful lesson here is that some varieties survive the battering much more gracefully than others (check out 'Sunbeam' and 'Portofino').

Hornworms. These hungry caterpillars are kept in check in northeastern organic gardens by parasitic wasps. Not so in Nevada. Leslie recommends this brutal solution: "I leave the porch light on, and when the sphinx moths come up to the light, I knock them to the ground with a flyswatter, step on them (trying not to make a mess on my shoe), then kick them into the garden for some other bug to feast on." Her more genteel suggestion: "Pour about 6 ounces of wine in a glass--this is enough for about 10 plants--then go hunting when the sun starts to set."

Weather

Hail. When Michelle sent us photos of her devastated Idaho garden after a July hailstorm, we had only condolences. Battered leaves and exposed roots lay in puddles of water and little balls of ice. "Next year, I am thinking about putting up a screen that I can attach to the fence around the garden and pull over the garden if a hail storm is predicted," says a wiser Michelle.

Extreme heat and drought. We learned from Leslie (also known as the Tomato Lady) that searing heat here in the East is a mild day in the Nevada desert. She sewed long pockets at the ends of shade-cloth blankets and inserted 1/2-inch-diameter electric conduit pipes through them to weight them down. The shades could be adjusted up and down by using nails at various heights on posts dug into the corners of the beds. In Georgia, Stephanie kept her test plants growing despite drought and record-breaking heat by good planning. "Each bed received an inch of compost in spring after coming out of its winter rye cover crop. On top of the compost, I spread 12 sheets of newspaper to keep weeds down and moisture in the soil, then set my plants in holes poked in the newspaper. On top of this I spread straw." Stephanie also "saved sink water and gave it to the lucky plant of the day."

And if it's just too hot, take this tip from our desert gardener: "Gardening is much nicer at night than in the heat of the day."

Animals

Eastern gardens are plagued by pesky squirrels and hungry deer, but in Bill Nunes's plot in Gustine, California, the pocket gopher is a constant problem. "If a gopher ate half a head of cabbage last night, you can bet he'll be back again tonight." His tried-and-true methods: "I use an array of traps. Easiest to set is the wooden Victor rat trap that simply looks like a giant mousetrap. These work best in winter when the ground is fairly wet and dirt has less of a tendency to fall back into the holes. But the best gopher getter of all is a really good gopher dog. Dogs aren't the neatest method, and will likely dig up a plant or two in the process. I figure if the dog gets two plants and a gopher, I'm ahead on plants and one less gopher. Good trade."

Quotes:

I found a couple of eeeevil squash bugs on the cucumber vines, so I grabbed them, dropped them onto the patio pavers, and used my red clogs to turn them into squashed bugs. --Andrea Ray Chandler

I think I'll go to Costco and hang out near the veggie cooler. --Leslie Doyle

Hopefully some things will pull through, and if they do, they will certainly get a star rating from me! --Michelle Zettel

Yuck! Squash bug nymphs and melting chunks of ice are not welcome garden sights. Only the best-performing varieties stand up to these unavoidable threats.

Read more about the OG Test Gardeners here.

2007 New Varieties

The new seed catalogs began appearing in your mailbox just minutes (it seems) after you'd flipped the calendar to 2008. Just a few weeks from now, garden centers will fill up with flats of transplants ready for your garden. Wherever you buy plants and seeds, you'll be hearing about the many "new and improved" varieties they are offering this year.
They tempt you with promises of bigger yields, tastier fruit, more brilliant and longer-lasting colors, and less care. But are the new varieties truly an improvement over those you've grown and loved in your garden? Will they perform as touted in your conditions?
No need to worry: We tested them out for you. Check out the varieties that stood up to our tests in 2007.


Top Performers

We tested more than 70 varieties this season, and when we tasted and assessed all of them, we identified these 13 as winners.

Tomatoes
We recommend three unique varieties:

1. Smoky-flavored 'Japanese Trifele'

2. Prolific 'Una Hartsock',with tiny plums that are less sugary than most cherries.

3. 'Polbig', which earned its spot by filling its petite frame with a heavy load of fruit while remaining front-yard presentable.

More Favorites:

1.'Orange Chiffon' chard, another edible beauty, was (almost) too pretty to pick.

2.'Flavorburst' pepper pumped out thick-walled, mild, BIG peppers from midsummer on.

3. Our bean champ was pole bean 'Garrafol Oro' , which bore flat, sweet pods for weeks.

4. 'Sunbeam' squash earned a bug-beater reputation, producing consistently in spite of marauding squash bugs. Pick them young and stew with tomatoes.

5. Lovely 'Danyelle' combined looks with a sturdy disposition. We like that in a lettuce.

6. The come-from-behind winner of 2007, 'Purple Peacock' broccoli/kale, looks like kale but acts more like broccoli. Braise the tender buds lightly in olive oil.

Border Beauties:

1. Our favorite new flower was 'Northern Lights' pentas, with its twinkly, lavender blooms atop 2-foot plants that never needed watering.

2. 'Apricot Blush' zinnia won raves for the dusky blush color it turns just past its prime.

3. Variegated 'Cameo Elegance' morning glory will adorn your arbor, not engulf it.

4. Finally, either the weather was perfect for heliotropes, or 'Marino 2000' is the perfect heliotrope.

*Want more? Get the results from the past 3 summers from the section "In This Article".

2006 New Varieties

Key:

(AAS): denotes an All-America Selections 2006 winner, chosen for adaptability and great garden performance

: denotes an OG favorite, meaning it got raves for taste and/or looks from our testers.

Ornamentals

'Black Pearl'
Ornamental pepper
Capsicum annuum
*AAS winner
Time of fruiting: mid-summer to frost
Description: 18-inch plant sports black leaves and clusters of shiny round black peppers that turn red at maturity.
Seed sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, Park's Seeds




'Hulk' China aster

Callstephus chinensis

Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds, Underwood Gardens




'Evolution' Salvia

Salvia farinacea
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds




'Supra Purple' pinks

Dianthus hybrid
*AAS
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds




'Diamonte Coral Rose' Diascia

Diascia hybrid
*AAS
Seed sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds




'Perfume Deep Purple' Flowering tobacco
Nicotiana hybrid 'Perfume Deep Purple'
Time of bloom:early to mid summer
Description: 18-inch plants were filled with lightly fragrant blooms, but only though mid-summer. AAS winner
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Nichols Garden Nursery, Park's Seeds




African Foxglove

Ceratotheca triloba
Time of bloom: summer
Description: Elegant spikes of light purple flowers grow to 4 feet tall.
Seed source: Select Seed




'Jester' Ornamental millet
Time of bloom: Mid summer to fall
Description: Red-green grass with spiky, erect seedheads grows to 4 feet.
Seed sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, J. W. Jung Seed Company, Nichols Garden Nursery, Park's Seeds




'Petit Bouquet' Sunflower

Time of bloom: summer
Description: Compact, pollen free, multi-toned, branching sunflower that grows to 16 inches
Seed source: Nichols Garden Nursery




TOP TOMATOES VARIETIES
'Ceylon'

Days to maturity: 75 days from transplant
Description: Small, ruffled tomatoes are very tender and easily bruised. Flavorful and long-producing. Indeterminate.
Seed sources: High Mowing Seeds, Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Cupid'

Days to maturity: 75 days from transplant
Description: Produces clusters of medium-size grape tomatoes that resist cracking. Indeterminate
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds




'Dafel'

Days to maturity: 75 days from transplant
Description: Small round fruits are early, crack-resistant and tasty. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Johnny's Selected Seeds




'Tiffany'

Days to maturity: 80 days
Description: Very vigorous indeterminate plants. Medium-small round, juicy fruit.
Seed source: Tomato Grower Supply Company




'Valencia'

Days to maturity: 85 days
Description: Large, round, golden fruits are mild in taste. Vigorous indeterminate plant.
Seed source: Seeds of Change




'Copia'
Days to maturity: 90 days
Description: Highly decorative tomato with red, yellow and green stripes. Indeterminate.
Seed sources: Natural Gardening Company, Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Maremmeno'
Days to maturity: 75 days
Description: Small tasty fruits are among the first of the season. Determinate.
Seed source: Seeds from Italy




'Rhodia F1'
Days to maturity: 90 days
Description: Indeterminate hybrid beefsteak, slightly ribbed and very flavorful
Seed source: Harvest Moon Farms




'Sun King'
Days to maturity: 85 days
Description: Firm, medium-large fruit on vigorous plants. Determinate.
Seed source: Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Dawson's Black Zebra'
Days to maturity: 90 days
Description: Small fruit with striped, purple-brown skin and dark flesh. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Underwood Gardens




'Gigante Liscia'
Days to maturity: 90 days
Description: Flavorful, medium-large red slicer. Classic tomato taste and long-lasting in the garden. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Seeds from Italy




'Mayo's Delight'
Days to maturity: 85 days
Description: Large, late tomato. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Underwood Gardens




'Pink Plum Rosa'
Days to maturity: 90 days
Description: Pink, pointy-ended fruits are medium-large, and meaty. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Underwood Gardens




'Variegated'
Days to maturity: 80 days
Description: Variegated leaves make this an interesting choice for a front-yard garden. Indeterminate.
Seed source: Seed Savers Exchange



Peppers

'Carmen'
*AAS
Days to maturity: 75 days to red, from transplant time
Description: 6-inch long, tapered, peppers are very sweet when allowed to ripen. Plants are over 2 feet tall and should be lightly staked.
Seed sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, J. W. Jung Seed Company, Park's Seeds, Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Mariachi'
*AAS
Days to maturity: 65 days from transplanting
Description: Medium hot, 3 to 4-inch cone-shaped peppers are pale yellow blushing to orange, then red.
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Nichols Garden Nursery, Park's Seeds, Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Socrates'

Days to maturity: 65 days to green, 80 or more to red, from transplant
Description: Thick-walled blocky bell pepper, early. Satisfying to grow and eat!
Seed source: Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Sweet Spot' banana pepper

Days to maturity: 65 to 75 days from transplant
Description: Good producer of 6 to 8-inch, slender, mild-tasting fruits of creamy yellow, maturing to red. Bred for resistance to bacterial spot.
Seed sources: J. W. Jung Seed Company, Nichols Garden Nursery, Park's Seeds, Tomato Growers Supply Company




'Padron'
Days to maturity: 60 from transplant
Description: Three-foot tall plants yielded large numbers of tiny tangy-mild peppers.
Seed sources: Harvest Moon Farms, Nichols Garden Nursery, Tomato Growers Supply Company, Underwood Gardens

Beans

Pretzel Bean (cowpea)
Description: Twining vine with pairs of small beans that curl like a pair of goats' horns!
Seed source: Underwood Gardens

Cucumbers

Pepinex Dutch Type Cucumber
Days to maturity: 65+ days
Description: Distinctive look (long, light and ribbed); mild taste.
Seed source: Kitchen Garden Seeds




Cucumber 'Improved Bourbonne' Cornichon
Cucumis sativus
Days to maturity: 60+
Description: Small to medium prickly fruits.
Seed source: Kitchen Garden Seeds




Cucumber 'Richmond Green Apple'
Cucumis sativus
Days to maturity: 70
Description: Small oval light green fruits with lots of crunch.
Seed source: Seeds of Change

Squash

Floridor Round zucchini
Cucurbita pepo

Days to maturity: 50 to 60 days from seed
Description: bush plant produces yellow, round fruits over a long period
Seed sources: Harvest Moon Farms (sold as 'One Ball'), Johnny's Selected Seeds




Success PM Yellow Straightneck
Cucurbita pepo
Days to maturity: 50 to 60 days from seed
Description: High-yielding, powdery mildew resistant, bush plants yield uniform smooth, pale yellow fruits.
Seed sources: High Mowing Seeds, Territorial Seed Company




Greens
Chard 'Rhubarb Supreme' (not available)
Days to maturity: 60 to 70
Description: Red-ribbed chard with leaves also tinted dark red.
Seed source: At the time this was written, seeds were not available.




'Oaky Red Splash' lettuce
Days to maturity: 50 to 60
Description: Vigorous, red-flecked green leaf lettuce. wildgardenseed.com.
Seed source: High Mowing Seeds




'Eiffel Tower' Romaine lettuce (no photo — eaten by deer)
Days to maturity: 65 days from seed
Description: Sweet, vase-shaped, productive romaine-type lettuce
Seed source: Territorial Seed Company

Herbs and More

Cilantro 'Delfino' *AAS
Coriandrum sativum
*AAS
Days to maturity: 20 to 30 days from seed.
Description: flavorful cilantro leaves have an unusual lacy texture
Seed sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, Nichols Garden Nursery, Park's Seeds, Territorial Seed Company

Darki Triple Curled Parsley
Description: Lush, green parsley is excellent for edging and eating
Seed source: High Mowing Seeds

'King Sieg' leek
Allium ampeloprasum
Days to maturity: 85 days (for baby leeks) to 125 days (larger leeks) from seed
Description: cross between 'King Richard' and 'Siegfried Frost' leeks
Seed source: look for this seed in future years. As of this date, the seed is not available.

Basil 'Napolitano'
Ocimum basilicum (no photo—chewed up by Japanese beetles)
Description: Plant stays relatively small (18 inches) but leaves are large and lettuce-like.
Seed sources: Harvest Moon Farms, Johnny's Selected Seeds, Kitchen Garden Seeds, Nichols garden Nursery, Seeds from Italy

Basil, Sicilian
Ocimum basilicum (no photo—chewed up by Japanese beetles)
Description: Classic basil taste. This 2-foot basil was late to bolt.
Seed sources: Harvest Moon Farms, Nichols Garden Nursery, Seeds from Italy, Underwood Gardens

SOURCES

Fedco Seeds
P.O. Box 520
Waterville, ME 04903
207-873-7333
www.fedcoseeds.com

Harvest Moon Farms & Seed Company
HC12 Box 510
Tatum, NM 88267
505-398-6111
www.gourmetseed.com

High Mowing Seeds
813 Brook Road
Wolcott, VT 05680
802-888-1800
www.highmowingseeds.com

Johnny's Selected Seeds
955 Benton Ave.
Winslow, ME 04901-2601
877-564-6697
www.johnnyseeds.com

J. W. Jung Seed Company
335 S. High Street
Randolph, WI 53957-0001
800-247-5864
www.jungseed.com

Kitchen Garden Seeds
23 Tulip Drive
P.O. Box 638
Bantam, CT 06750
860-567-5323
www.kitchengardenseeds.com

Natural Gardening Company
P.O. Box 750776
Petaluma CA 94975-0776
707-766-9303
www.naturalgardening.com

Nichols Garden Nursery
1190 Old Salem Road NE
Albany, OR 97321
541-928-9280
www.nicholsgardennursery.com

Park's Seeds
I Parkton Ave.
Greenwood, SC 29647
800-845-3369
www.parkseed.com

Seed Savers Exchange
3094 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
563-382-5990
http://www.seedsavers.org

Seeds from Italy
PO Box 149
Winchester, MA 01890
781-721-5904
www.growitalian.com

Select Seed
180 Stickney Hill Road
Union, CT 06076
800-684-0395
www.selectseeds.com

Territorial Seed Company
PO Box 158
20 Palmer Avenue
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
800-626-0866
www.territorial-seed.com

Tomato Growers Supply Co.
PO Box 60015
Ft. Meyers, FL 33906
888-478-7333
www.tomatogrowers.com

Underwood Gardens, Ltd (U)
1414 Zimmerman Road
Woodstock, IL 60098
815-338-6279
www.grandmasgarden.com

2005 New Varieties

Every season, seed companies introduce new vegetable varieties, each with the promise that it will offer gardeners something fresh and valuable. Hardiness, disease-resistance, early ripening time, compact size-these are some of the qualities that organic gardeners look for. The superior flavors and unique look of heirlooms continue to appeal to discerning gardeners. Last summer, we grew many of the new hybrids and reintroduced heirlooms that will be available in 2005. We assessed these varieties under diverse conditions, in the test garden near our Pennsylvania office as well as in plots in North Carolina, Kansas, California, and Washington. You can use our results to help you decide which ones will be winners in your garden this season.


Broccoli
'Coronado Crown' (60 days)
Heralded as heat-resistant, this hybrid broccoli was a winner in our Pennsylvania garden yet went "from button to bolt" after a sudden blast of Kansas summer. Sixty days after transplanting in Pennsylvania, we had very beautiful and very large heads-up to 10 inches across-and they continued to produce harvest-size sideshoots into mid-October. In Washington, Debbie reported "not the hugest heads but quite nice sideshoots." SOURCE: 5


Corn
'Obsession' (79 days)
"Very sweet; did not even need cooking-just snap, shuck, and snack!" enthuses Andrea, who sees her share of corn in Kansas. Don, in North Carolina, also raves about the spectacular taste of this bicolor corn. He harvested two ears from most stalks. At 5 to 6 feet, 'Obsession' held up well all summer and resisted lodging (stalk breakage below the ear). A breeding breakthrough created this gourmet sweet hybrid-it is a combination of two corn types: supersweets (labeled "su" on seed packets) and sugar-enhanced (labeled "se"). SOURCE: 10


Cucumber
'Eureka' hybrid (55 days)
Touted as both a pickler and a slicer, 'Eureka' has been bred for disease-resistance. In our Pennsylvania garden, we harvested almost 400 cukes from four hills! We picked our first fruits 53 days after direct-sowing the seeds, and the vines continued producing heavily for the next 40 days. The plants were disease free, and the fruit was of a consistent shape, crisp, and tasty. SOURCE: 5

Eggplant
'Fairy Tale' hybrid (50 to 90 days)
The first eggplant to win an AAS (All-America Selections) award since 1939, 'Fairy Tale' is an attractive baby plant with pretty striped fruits. In Pennsylvania, we grew it in the garden (not in a container), where it bore clusters of 3- to 5-inch fruits beginning in early July. It did not produce as plentifully as our larger Asian eggplants and was less able to spring back from the inevitable flea beetle raid, but we found it worth the effort because...well, because it was cute. We harvested our first eggplant only 49 days after transplanting; our test gardeners in other areas reported waiting 85 days or more. SOURCES:2, 3, 4, 5


Hot Peppers
'Mustard' and 'Peach' (100 days)
These habaneros are differing pod types of the species Capsicum chinense. Don't be fooled by the soft pastel colors-either of these would burn a hole in your tablecloth. We had better-quality fruit on the more elongated 'Peach' (the wrinkly fruits of 'Mustard' had a tendency to rot on the plants). Both grew vigorously once hot weather arrived, topping off at about 2 feet and yielding heavily in late September. Nan, in California, grew them in containers, where they were "nicely shaped, 12 inches tall, and surprisingly productive." SOURCE: 6


Lettuce
'Baby Star' (68 days)
It looks like a butterhead, but it's actually a miniromaine. 'Baby Star' performed well for us, making dense, dark green heads with substance and crunch. An August direct sowing gave us a second harvest in mid-October. Bonus: The dark green means a higher nutritional value than most other lettuces. SOURCE:5


Tomatoes
'Amana Orange' (79 days from transplant)
A large, rambling indeterminate (bears fruit all season) plant bearing monster fruits with the occasional strange lobe, this tomato is not for the timid. "The strongest point," says Don, in North Carolina, "is the color: a true, bright orange." An heirloom from Amana, Iowa, this variety has been on the market prior to 2005. In the South, it was less than satisfactory, with a tendency to go "woody" inside. Elsewhere, tasters found 'Amana Orange' mild and extremely juicy. SOURCE: 8


'Old Flame' (86 days)
This vigorous indeterminate heirloom held up to the blight better than most but did eventually succumb. Fruits were large and beautiful with yellow-orange coloring streaked with red-gorgeous sliced and arranged on a platter. In Don's sultry North Carolina test garden, 'Old Flame' rotted very quickly. But for those beguiled by beauty (and who isn't), this is a winner. And it's "great on toast with unsweetened peanut butter," claims Andrea, in Kansas. SOURCE: 11


'Palla di Fuoco' (73 days)
This traditional Italian tomato is an indeterminate, open-pollinated variety with medium-size, round, red fruits. The shapely little "balls of fire" were "not the best-tasting but plenty good, and with outstanding production and fruit quality," Don says. "It's the only tomato I ever grew that nearly refused to pull off the vine-which kept the crop from dropping and rotting," Andrea states. We found it a joy to harvest, and tasty, with a pleasant texture. SOURCES: 7, 11


'Spears Tennessee Green' (85 days)
The hard part about growing green tomatoes is knowing when they're ripe. The vigorous indeterminate heirloom vine produced a modest amount of large fruits. Pick them when they're still firm, and just as the green color begins to lighten. Both the color and the texture, strangely, reminded us of honeydew melon. "Crisp," "light," and "balanced," tasters said. "One of the best green tomatoes I've grown," raves Nan, in Southern California. This was the favorite in our home office taste test-and makes a great addition to a multicolor tomato salad. SOURCE: 1


'Sugary' (56 days)
A new hybrid and an AAS Winner, this semideterminate (small, vining) plant produced clusters of blimp-shaped, pinkish cherry tomatoes. With a name like 'Sugary', we expected supersweet fruit. While all of our growers found it to be an excellent producer, starting early and continuing all summer, not everyone agreed that it was aptly named. The fruit got more "sugary" later in the season. The vine's modest stature makes this a good container possibility. SOURCES: 4, 5


'Tomande' (63 days)
If you want a tomato that ripens early, has that "classic tomato flavor," and is disease-resistant, plant this one. 'Tomande' hybrid is indeterminate in habit but more compact than most other all-season producers-and it's a good producer. Don reports that his plants "kept cranking out tomatoes" all season in North Carolina. "The best for BLTs," says Debbie from Washington. SOURCE: 2


What's in Bloom: Fresh Flowers for 2005
How do you define the value of a flower? It might be a compatible garden partner, attract all the right beneficials, look great dried. Or maybe it's just quirky and different...and suits your garden mood. Last winter, we considered all of those reasons and then decided to plant these seven flower varieties in our 2004 test gardens. Here's how they fared in a wide range of conditions.

Asclepias physocarpus 'Oscar'
Native to South Africa, this species (also called Gomphocarpus physocarpus) is known by some as "hairy balls." Had we been aware of that, we might have been more prepared. Dainty dangling white flowers on towering, gangly 5-foot stems had us scratching our heads over why this plant might be considered gardenworthy (even if it is a host plant for monarch butterflies). But in September, the tangerine-size puffy green pods were the talk of the test garden, inspiring the more creative among us to produce some very off-beat dried arrangements. Mostly, we just gawked and pointed them out to every visitor. This plant requires, shall we say, careful siting-and careful handling as well. The milky sap can be an irritant. SOURCE: 3

Cosmos 'Cosmic Red'
It took half the summer for us to be convinced of the value of this bright orange-red cosmos. We were rewarded in midsummer with healthy 15-inch mounds of dark green foliage and bright color that stayed attractive into September. Andrea, our tester in Kansas, described it as "very eye-catching!" It lacked longevity in the humid South, and even in cooler Pennsylvania, marigolds outbloomed it by a full month. Still, it's a nice, dense bedding annual. A tip from Debbie, our Washington tester: "Just don't grow it next to 'Magellan Coral' zinnia." SOURCE: 5

Gaillardia aristata 'Arizona Sun'
This dwarf blanket flower, a perennial, won its AAS (All-America Selections) award based on its first summer performance. It bloomed for us approximately 90 days after sowing, as promised. Mahogany and red flowers were still appearing on some plants well into the fall. At less than 1 foot tall, it is definitely a front-of-the-border plant. We'll be keeping our eyes on this one to see if next season brings a repeat performance. SOURCES: 2, 4, 5

Orlaya grandiflora 'White Lace'
This is a lovely early-season annual native to the Mediterranean area. It grew easily in Pennsylvania, producing a beautiful 2-foot-tall stand of billowy white blooms similar to Queen Anne's lace, only tamer and more "lacecappy." When finished, it did not slowly fade away; it went to seed and turned brown practically overnight. Still, it is certainly worth growing-just plan to replace it in late July. (A late-season sowing of 'Merlot' lettuce would be perfect. See "Red Greens" on page 31.) Reports are that it self-sows. We hope so. SOURCE: 9

Salvia splendens 'Salvatore'
By summer's end, and well into this fall, 'Salvatore' was a patch of fiery red. We didn't plant it side by side with other red salvias, so we can't say for sure if it has an edge. Compact, about 1 foot tall, and bushy, this salvia is a good choice for blanket bedding schemes-if you like red blankets. A seed source was not available as we went to print, but nurseries will have transplants in the spring.


Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Lime'
Now, this is the zinnia we have been waiting for. The flowers are a little inconsistent-at their best, beautiful and full with row upon row of petals; at worst, just double. But fashionable lime is the perfect complement-to anything. In our Pennsylvania garden, the strong stems stood more than 3 feet tall and the foliage stayed darn near clean through August and into September. We loved it combined with purple salvia, Verbena bonariensis, orange lantana..."A real winner, both for home gardeners and organic cut flower growers," says Don from North Carolina. Move over, 'Envy'. SOURCE: 3



Zinnia 'Magellan Coral'
This AAS winner comes with a claim that it will be continually covered with fresh new flowers and foliage. This was true in Pennsylvania-for the first half of the summer. By mid-August, instead of the promised "standout" coral blooms, we had browning flowers and diseased foliage. At 15 inches, the new growth just did not rise enough above the old to sustain the plants' healthy good looks. All of our other zinnias, including the mildew-prone heirlooms, outperformed 'Magellan Coral'. Our West Coast testers had a different experience. "They were still blooming in September and were quite stunning," says Debbie from Washington. They thrived in Encinitas, California, too. "These have produced so well and added such beauty to the garden," Nan reports. SOURCES: 4, 5



SOURCES
1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Mansfield, MO; 417-924-8917, rareseeds.com
2. W. Atlee Burpee, Warminster, PA; 800-888-1447, burpee.com
3. Johnny's Selected Seeds, Winslow, ME; 800-879-2258, johnnyseeds.com
4. Nichols Garden Nursery, Albany, OR; 800-422-3985, nicholsgardennursery.com
5. Park Seed Co., Greenwood, SC; 800-213-0076, parkseed.com
6. Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah, IA; 563-382-5990, seedsavers.org
7. Seeds from Italy, Winchester, MA; 781-721-5904, growitalian.com
8. Seeds of Change, Santa Fe, NM; 888-762-7333, seedsofchange.com
9. Select Seeds, Union, CT; 800-684-0395, selectseeds.com
10. Territorial Seed Co., Cottage Grove, OR; 541-942-9547, territorial-seed.com
11. Underwood Gardens, Woodstock, IL; 815-338-6279, underwoodgardens.com

2004 New Varieties

Each year, Organic Gardening asks seed companies to send us their most promising new introductions before they are available to the average gardener. Then our staff and dedicated test gardeners start the seeds, transplant the seedlings, and grow the varieties in gardens across the country. This year we found out how the plants did in extreme heat, torrential rain, and otherwise unpredictable weather conditions. Read up on our favorites, and find out what's worth trying in your garden before you head to the nursery.

'Profusion Violet' Verbena (Verbena tenuisecta)

This moss verbena looked perfect wherever we planted it, but we especially liked combining it with the 'Tangerine Gem' signet marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia). The verbena spread quickly (up to 2 feet) and was easy to start from seed. It's perfect for trailing over the edge of a container, but its upright habit (12 inches) also suits it to the front of a border, or to fill gaps left by spent spring annuals. Trim the plants back in midsummer to encourage a second flush of blooms, but don't let this lag time between flowering periods stop you from growing 'Profusion Violet'. The plant is worth growing for its fresh, ferny foliage alone.

'Queeny Purple' Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)

Hollyhocks are traditionally tall, so we were a bit skeptical about the merits of a "dwarf" hollyhock. Our doubts were erased when the gorgeous, fuchsia-colored flowers bloomed in mid-August. The 2-foot stems hold their large blossoms above the foliage, and spent blooms drop cleanly. Our tester in Kansas noted that they would be very charming in a window box. Rust, a fungal disease that often plagues hollyhocks, wasn't a problem, but the leaves did yellow during long periods of rain. The plants were supposed to bloom within 12 weeks of seeding, so we were disappointed when we started them in Pennsylvania indoors in March and didn't get blooms until August. They never bloomed in our northern California test garden. In the end, we decided these mini hollyhocks were a fun and whimsical addition to our end-of-summer border.

'Red Knight' Bell Pepper (92 days to red)
These large, blocky hybrid peppers ripened to a beautiful red more consistently and reliably than any other bell we've grown in the OG Test Gardens. They did, however, take a bit longer to turn red than the 80 days the plant breeder had suggested they would need. Still, we will definitely find a place for these sweet and crunchy, disease-resistant bell peppers in our home gardens next year. And we will be sure to hold them up with sturdy stakes; the large fruits tended to weigh down the plants.

'Glory' Tomatoes (69 days to maturity)
While most other tomatoes were cracking and weighing down their branches with soggy fruit, ol' 'Glory' persevered. This new hybrid is a cross between two classic heirlooms: 'Brandywine', bred in southeastern Pennsylvania and 'Delicious'. While the 4-foot-plus plants did not produce tomatoes quite as big as the other beefsteaks we grew--the slightly oval-shaped fruit borne close to the stems was about the size of a fist--'Glory' maintained a nice firm texture, even when conditions were downright swampy. Taste left a bit to be desired. "Disappointingly bland in flavor, belying its appearance," says our Wyoming test gardener.

The rest of the gang
Here's a list of the other new flower, tomato, and pepper varieties we tried in our test garden. Find out how they fared in the January/February 2004 issue.

Flowers: