February 2008

New Vegetable Varieties for 2008

Pumpkin 'Jarrahdale'

Information
and

Images courtesy
The National Garden Bureau

Gardeners love new varieties. They add excitement to your garden while “growing” your gardening experience. It’s fun to have something new.

Look for these new flowers and vegetables online at e-commerce seed sales websites, in mail order seed catalogs, as seed packets in retail stores, or as bedding plants at garden centers.

These varieties are first sorted by flowers and vegetables, and then listed alphabetically by class. The name in parenthesis is the NGB member company that submitted that variety. An “R” is a retail company that sells directly to home gardeners. A “W” company does not sell direct to the public, but their varieties are available at retail companies.


For NGB member company information, click here for link to Member Directory.


Bean 'Nash'
Bean 'Nash™'
Phaseolus vulgaris

High yielding and widely adapted bean has smooth, straight 5.75-inch pods with attractive green color. Good stress and heat tolerance, and high resistance to bean common mosaic virus. Harvest in 54 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Syngenta Seeds - Rogers brand



Bean 'Tanya'
Bean 'Tanya'
Phaseolus vulgaris

Long, slender "green beans" with pink pods mature to a glowing, phosphorescent pink. Harvest large, flat, pink beans in 60 days. Excellent flavor and texture. Beans turn green when steamed.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Underwood Gardens, Ltd.



Beet 'Touchstone Gold®'
Beet 'Touchstone Gold®'
Beta vulgaris

Notably improved golden root with vibrant interior color. Combined with its striking leaf/petiole contrast, this beet is sure to catch your eye on the dinner plate. Harvest in 53 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Alf Christianson Seed Co.




Brocolli F1 'Blue Wind'
Brocolli F1 'Blue Wind'
Brassica oleracea

Bold, much improved Packman type. Heads are medium-sized, blue-green with small, attractive beads. Easier to harvest and more uniform. Harvest 49 days from sowing.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Johnny's Selected Seeds


Corn 'Strawberry Popcorn'
Corn 'Strawberry Popcorn'
Zea mays

This decorative 4-foot tall corn with petite 2-to 3-inch strawberry-shaped ruby red ears can be grown as an ornamental, to make popcorn, or to add height to a flower border. Harvest in 100-105 days.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Botanical Interests, Inc.





Cucumber 'Green Fingers'
Cucumber 'Green Fingers'
Cucumis sativus

These delicious and prolific baby cukes are smooth, cute little minis. Crispy, tender, thin-skinned little fruits are ready to eat at 3 to 5 inches long, just 60 days from sowing. Self-pollinating, disease resistant vines.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Renee's Garden




Eggplant F1 'Hansel'
Eggplant F1 'Hansel'
Solanum melongena

Miniature eggplant with finger-sized clusters of glossy dark purple fruit. The strong upright plant, reaching less than 3 feet, produces clusters of three to six fruit. Enjoy tender, non-bitter fruits 55 days from transplanting.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seminis



Onion 'Red Marble'
Onion 'Red Marble'
Allium cepa

Plant at high density for pearl size (harvest 95 days) or plant at lower density to form a nice cipollini (harvest 105 days.) Pungent flavor gives a nice zip for pickling or roasting. Red color throughout, and strong skins.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Bejo Seeds, Inc.





Pak Choi F1 'Bonsai®'
Pak Choi F1 'Bonsai®'
Brassica rapa var.chinensis

Compact Shanghai type with moderate resistance to bolting. Uniform vase-lake shape at an early stage. The erect plant performs well in high density planting. Harvest baby size 35-37 days or mature 40-45 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Alf Christianson Seed Co.





Pea 'Snow Sweet'
Pea 'Snow Sweet'
Pisum sativum

3- to 3.5-inch pods with excellent, sweet taste. Similar to 'Snow Green' but a more tender snow pea. Vines average 24 inches tall, and do not require support. Harvest 60 days from sowing. Disease resistant.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Johnny's Selected Seeds





Pepper F1 'Big Bomb'
Pepper F1 'Big Bomb'
Capsicum annuum

This hot cherry pickling pepper produces enormous loads of glossy red fruit in just 62-67 days. Thick-walled 2" x 2" round shaped fruit mature from green to red and have medium pungency. Vigorous plants are 24-30 inches tall.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seminis





Pepper F1 'Chenzo'
Pepper F1 'Chenzo'
Capsicum frutescens

A must for the patio, this Jalapeño without the heat looks good and tastes even better. Harvest bright red to black, cone shaped 2-inch peppers in 90 days. An abundance of fruit on upright, compact plants 14-16 inches.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Floranova




Pepper F1 'Cheyenne'
Pepper F1 'Cheyenne'
Capsicum frutescens

Fruits of this cayenne pepper are long and narrow and color up from light green to a vibrant red. Its medium pungency is perfect for use in stir-fries, soup, salsa, and seasoning. Harvest in 85 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Sakata Seed America, Inc.





Pepper F1 'Flavorburst'
Pepper F1 'Flavorburst'
Capsicum annuum

A big yielder that starts with surprising lime-green fruit that matures to deep gold. The 4-inch long tapered blocky thick walled fruit is sweet when lime-green, even sweeter gold. Harvest 70-75 days from transplant.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Bejo Seeds, Inc.





Pumpkin 'Jarrahdale'
Pumpkin 'Jarrahdale'
Cucurbita maxima

Unique bluish-gray 6-to 12-pound fruit excellent for fall décor and Halloween. With its sweet, nutty, stringless, and golden to orange-colored flesh, it is also wonderful for baking. Harvest in 100 days.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Botanical Interests, Inc.




Pumpkin F1 'Rockafellow'
Pumpkin F1 'Rockafellow'
Cucurbita maxima

This unique small pie pumpkin, with its long dark green embedded handle and hard shell is just right for little hands to carry. A great pumpkin for painting with its smooth outer shell. Harvest in 95 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Sakata Seed America, Inc.





Pumpkin 'Wyatt's Wonder'
Pumpkin 'Wyatt's Wonder'
Cucurbita maxima

Gorgeous, globe-shaped, deeply lobed, rich orange giants, developed especially for impressive size and beauty, this prize-winning variety offers 70-150 pound exhibition pumpkins. Harvest in 110 days.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Renee's Garden






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Squash, Summer F1 'Moonbeam'
Cucurbita pepo

45 days to maturity. Pale green to white pie shaped 2-to 3-inch fruits with scalloped edges and pale green finely textured flesh. Small blossom scar. Harvest at small stage. Heavy yields. Bushy plant.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seeds by Design





Squash, Summer F1 'Portofino'
Squash, Summer F1 'Portofino'
Cucurbita pepo

Beautiful romanesco-type zucchini. Firm, nutty flavored, dark green cylindrical fruit with light-green lengthwise ridges. Cut cross-wise, the pieces are star-shaped. Matures at 7-9 inches in 48 days on bushy 24-inch tall plants.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seminis






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Squash, Summer F1 'Creole' (SSX6550)
Cucurbita pepo

This variety offers a very high yield of beautiful medium-dark green fruit. The cylindrical shaped fruit 7 inches long and 2 inches in diameter has small spines. Expect many fruits. Harvest 45 days from sowing.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Sakata Seed America, Inc.






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Squash, Winter F1 'Blue Magic'
Cucurbita maxima

Miniature 4-to 6-pound blue-grey skinned Hubbard with the shape and flesh qualities of the Hubbard family. The tasty, fine-grained flesh you are used to, but in a friendly small family size. Harvest in 100 days.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seeds by Design






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Squash, Winter F1 'Orange Magic'
Cucurbita maxima

Hybrid baby orange Hubbard squash in the 2-to 3-pound range. Maturing in 85 days on a semi-bush plant, the dark orange globe shaped fruit has sweet nutty flavored orange colored flesh.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seeds by Design






Tomato F1 'Country Taste'
Tomato F1 'Country Taste'
Lycopersicon lycopersicum

All the flavor of an heirloom with the hassle free growth of a hybrid! Large, ribbed dark red 1-pound fruits are perfect for slicing. Indeterminate plants have good disease resistance. Staking required. Harvest in 90 days.

Distribution Type: Retail

Company: Park Seed Company






Tomato F1 'Royesta'
Tomato F1 'Royesta'
Lycopersicon lycopersicum

Popular European type with slightly rough, green shoulders. Smooth textured red fruit with old-fashioned tomato flavor. Expect 6- to 8-ounce fruit in about 68 days. Multi-disease resistant plants 3-4 feet tall benefit from staking.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Seminis




Tomato F1 'Solid Gold®'
Tomato F1 'Solid Gold®'
Lycopersicon lycopersicum

Large uniquely colored grape tomato with excellent sweet flavor. Vigorous indeterminate plants have an exceptional fruit set resulting in high quality yields. Harvest 90 days from transplant.

Distribution Type: Wholesale

Company: Alf Christianson Seed Co.


The South Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association has many experts who can assist you with choosing the right plant for the right spot. A list of these individuals who reside nearest to you can be found in the membership section on this web site. You may also view past articles here.