The mild weather that rang in the New Year has gardeners itching to get out their trowels, but we know this mild weather can’t last. Which makes this a perfect time to plan the spring garden! Each season, plant breeders tempt us with new, better, healthier and unique new spins on familiar crops. Here’s a look at what’s new for vegetable gardeners in 2005.
Bean ‘Fortex’ is a large, 6-11 inch long French type stringless pole bean. 75 days. (Burpee)
Bean ‘Italian Rose’ bears an abundance of marbled rose and cream colored, flat pods. 70 days. (Burpee)
Carrot ‘Cosmic Purple’ is a bright orange carrot with a reddish-purple skin that packs sweet flavor in a 6-8 inch tapered root. 68 days. (Jung Seeds)
Carrot ‘Purple Dragon’ is similar, a light-yellow center surrounded by a reddish-purple skin. 68 days. (Burpee)
Cucumber ‘Eureka’ is an all-purpose type, harvest baby cukes for pickling or larger cukes for slicing. 57 days. (Park Seed)
Cucumber ‘Sweeter Yet’ is an 8 inch long, mild burpless slicing cuke that is early and productive. 50 days. (Burpee)
Eggplant ‘Fairy Tale’ bears clusters of mini purple eggplants streaked with white. 50 days. (2005 All-America Winner)
Lettuce ‘Baby Star’ is a mini romaine shaped like a butterhead type. 65 days. (Park Seed)
Onion ‘Texas Supersweet,’ as you would expect from the name, is a jumbo-sized, yellow-skinned onion with white flesh. May get as a large as a softball!
Pea ‘Paso’ is an early-producing petite pea that packs a huge yield on 2-foot tall plants. 55 days. (Park Seed)
Pepper ‘Golden Baby Belle’ produces an abundance of bright-yellow mini-bell peppers, about 1-2 inches. 75 days. (Burpee)
Pepper ‘Mucho Nacho’ is a mild jalapeno type with thick, meat-walled fruits. 68 days. (Park Seed)
Pepper ‘Tiburon’ is a poblano type with mild heat in a 3-lobed, thick-walled, 7-inch long fruit. 65 days. (Park Seed)
Pumpkin ‘Rumbo’ is actually a winter squash that looks like a ridged pumpkin but has smooth, sweet, nutty flesh inside. An abundant producer of 5-7 inch deep and 12-inch wide fruits, give this plant plenty of space. 100 days. (Park Seed)
Pumpkin ‘Wyatt’s Wonder’ may just be your contest winner, boasting a smooth-as-marble rind, buttery-orange color and about 70-100 pounds per fruit, two-foot diameter fruit! 110 days. (Burpee)
Squash ‘Bonbon’ bears loads of sweet, smooth buttercup-type winter squash on semi-compact plants. 80 days. (2005 All-America Selection from Johnny’s Seeds)
Tomatillo ‘Gigante,’ as its name suggests, is a huge tomatillo at 4 inches in diameter. 100 days. (Burpee)
Tomato ‘Fresh Salsa’ is a meaty Roma (plum) type, on determinate, bushy plants with a bounty of 2 x 3 inch fruits. 65-70 days. (Burpee)
Tomato ‘Golden Sweet’ is a yellow grape-type tomato with mild, sweet flavor. 60 days. (Johnny’s Selected Seeds)
Tomato ‘Steak Sandwich” promises a vigorous, yet compact plant yielding loads of mid-sized beefsteak type tomatoes. (Burpee)
Tomato ‘Sugary’ is an extra sweet, cherry-sized tomato with a reddish-pink color and teardrop shape. Vigorous, semi-determinate habit needs support. 60 days. (2005 All-America Selection)
Tomato ‘Tolsoi’ is one of the trendy “vine-ripened” types, with clusters of small (3-4 ounce) tomatoes packed with big tomato flavor. 73 days. (Park Seed)
Tomato ‘Tomande’ boasts of heirloom flavor combined with hybrid vigor. 72 days. (Burpee)
Watermelon ‘Orchid’ features sweet yellow-orange flesh in mid-sized round fruit. 80 days. (Johnny’s Selected Seed)
Zucchini ‘Eight Ball’ is a cute little 4-inch round, dark-green summer squash. 55 days. (Burpee)
Zucchini ‘Raven’ is an early, productive compact plant, bearing 7-8 inch long fruits on 2-3 foot wide plants. 45 days. (Park Seed)
These are just a small sampling of what’s new for 2005. Try some of these new cultivars, along with your old standbys, so you’ll be able to give them a fair comparison. Transplants of many of them will be available at your local garden center later this spring. Seed is available through many of the popular mail-order catalogs, as well as local garden shops.