In The Garden: Abundant seed options sprout visions of spring
It’s time to start gearing up for gardening. Beginning today, and every weekend throughout the growing season, I’ll be here to guide you through the joys of gardening, share the newest plant varieties and trends, alert you to upcoming events, and introduce you to fellow gardeners who do great things in the neighborhoods around us.
Winter is a great time to pore over the seed catalogs and dream big. Let’s take a look at some of the promising new vegetable varieties available this year:
Bean – French Mascotte is a bush bean ideal for growing in containers. Since the pods develop at the tops of the plants, they should be easy to pick; available at Renee’s Garden Seeds. A new pole bean, Marconi a Grano Bianco, has flat green pods that can be picked either fresh or as shelling beans (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds).
Beet – For the gardener who wants to grow all kinds of beets, Five Color Rainbow is an attractive collection of five different varieties, including golden, striped and white beets (Renee’s Garden Seeds).
Broccoli – The earlier and more cold-tolerant Batavia sports large heads while Santee is a burgundy sprouting broccoli that would look pretty both in the garden and on a dinner plate (Natural Gardening Co.).
Corn – Despite its name, Espresso has white and yellow kernels but is prized for its ability to germinate in cold soils, vigor and large ears (Territorial Seed).
Cucumber – Painted Serpent is a long, striped Armenian cucumber with tender skin and sweet flesh (Seeds of Change).
Lettuce – I like Romaine lettuce for its slightly crunchy leaves and greater tolerance to heat. Three Romaine Mix features green, red and speckled-leaved varieties (Natural Gardening Co.). For a tender Bibb lettuce that’s also heat-tolerant, try Matilda (Renee’s Garden Seeds).
Pea – Spring Blush Tendril Pea features pods with a purple blush, bi-colored flowers and a wealth of delicious, edible tendrils (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds).
Pepper – Billed as a heatless pepper, Zavory is a flavorful Habanero pepper ideal for those of us who don’t like too much spice (Territorial Seed).
Spinach – Escalade should be well-suited for our toasty summers because of its ability to tolerate warm temperatures without bolting (High Mowing Seeds).
Squash, summer – I’m on a quest to find the most tender, flavorful zucchini, and Clarimore just might be the one. Renee’s Garden Seeds describes it as having “a unique creamy, succulent texture and a delicious nutty sweet flavor.”
Squash, winter – Delicata squash usually grow on vines but Bush Delicata is a space-saver. The catalog says “nutty flesh with hints of butter and brown sugar.” How do they do that? (High Mowing Seeds)
Tomato – Little Napoli’s dainty height of 12 to 18 inches is ideal for container-growing, but it’s especially notable as a Roma-type that will mature in 60 to 65 days (Territorial Seed).
Watermelon – With the longer summers we’ve been experiencing, it’s tempting to try Janosik, a yellow-fleshed watermelon that will ripen in 80 days. The fruits average 10 pounds (Baker Creek).
I’ve also included a list of what I’m growing this year. Sources for those seeds are listed on my new website, http://www.susansinthegarden.com/, along with a slideshow of the new varieties above.
Susan Mulvihill is co-author, with Pat Munts, of “Northwest Gardener’s Handbook.” Contact her at Susan@susansinthegarden.com.