This year one flower and two vegetables have met the criteria for introduction as All-America Selections Winners. These cultivars were tested at growing sites all over the country, and were found to be suitable to a wide variety of growing conditions. In our viewing area, the University of Minnesota’s West Central Experiment Station in Morris, has an AAS Demonstration Garden. You are welcome to visit there at any time.
Lavender ‘Lady’ is a welcome addition to the many new cultivars of aromatic plants available today. This lavender, unlike many of the other lavenders, will flower the first year from seed if it is started four to six months before planting outdoors. thus ‘Lady’ can be considered the first annual lavender. It thrives on summer heat, and will produce fragrant flower spikes 6 to 8 inches tall that dry easily adding a clean aroma indoors.
‘Big Beef’, a red beefsteak-type tomato, is a hamburger’s delight where one slice covers a Big Mac. It is an improvement on other tomatoes in that it is earlier(73 days), is meaty and not mealy with a sweet flavor, and it very disease resistant. It is an indeterminate plant and does best when trained to a stake and pruned during the growing season.
To go along with this tomato, cucumber ‘Fanfare’ has been recognized for its increased yield, dwarf plant habit, and improved disease tolerance. ‘Fanfare’ produces 8 to 9 inches fruit on a plant that needs only 24-inches of space, making it suitable for the small urban garden or even a container garden.
Look for these new AAS winners in either seed packets of plants at your local nursery.
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Last updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2005