Raspberry Shortcake Raspberry
With hundreds of new plant varieties each year, it's easy to get excited. But this year we were especially impressed with Raspberry Shortcake raspberry. This disease-resistant dwarf raspberry doesn't require staking and the canes are completely thornless, making harvesting the red, juicy berries a snap. And because Raspberry Shortcake grows only 3 feet tall, it's ideal for tight spaces or container gardens . The plants are self-pollinating, so even if you grow just one plant, you'll still get a harvest.
Name: Raspberry Shortcake raspberry
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Season of Harvest: Mid- to late summer
Available from Seed: No
Zones: 5-9
Source: Buy it now from White Flower Farm.
'Jasper' Cherry Tomato
A 2013 All-America Award (AAS) winner, 'Jasper' cherry tomato produces a seemingly endless harvest of sweet cherry tomatoes right up until frost. And unlike some older varieties of cherry tomatoes, the fruits of 'Jasper' won't fall off the vine before it ripens. This vigorous variety is also resistant to common tomato diseases such as late blight, fusarium, and early blight.
Name: 'Jasper' cherry tomato
Days to Maturity: 60
Season of Harvest: Summer and fall
Growing Conditions: Sun
Sowing Method: Outdoor sow
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: johnnyseeds.com
Photo courtesy of all-americaselections.org
'Debut' Tomato
Don't have room for a big tomato plant? Try 'Debut' -- this compact variety offers large red fruits on a vine that's great for growing in the ground or in containers .
Name: 'Debut' tomato
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Days to Maturity: 70
Type: Determinate
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: Look for this variety at your local garden center.
Photo courtesy of seminis.com
'SuperSauce' Tomato
Making your own tomato sauce just got a lot easier with 'SuperSauce' tomato. It's a seedless paste tomato that develops fruit measuring up to 5 inches across and weighing as much as 2 pounds. So you don't need as many tomatoes to fill a jar of sauce. Plus, 'SuperSauce' has great flavor and remains productive right up until frost.
Name: 'SuperSauce' tomato
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Days to Maturity: 70 days
Type: Indeterminate
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'Biltmore' Tomato
You'll love the big, juicy fruits you get from 'Biltmore'. This brand-new tomato offers rich red, extra-large fruits and big yields. Plus, it has fantastic disease resistance, so you're sure to enjoy a good crop.
Name: 'Biltmore' tomato
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Type: Determinate
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: Look for this variety at your local garden center.
Photo courtesy of seminis.com
'Heatmaster' Tomato
Gardeners in hot, humid climates can have trouble growing many tomatoes. Happily, they now have 'Heatmaster', which doesn't just tolerate tropical weather, it thrives in it.
Name: 'Heatmaster' tomato
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Days to Maturity: 75
Type: Determinate
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: Look for this variety at your local garden center.
Photo courtesy of seminis.com
'Good as Gold' Sweet Pepper
Here's a sweet pepper that tastes even better than it looks. 'Good as Gold' produces a seemingly endless harvest of 7-inch-long savory peppers that start out green but gradually turn golden-orange when mature. Cooking enhances the flavor of this gorgeous new pepper selection.
Name: 'Good as Gold' pepper
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Days to Maturity: 72 days
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'Candy Apple' Pepper
Get a head start on your pepper harvests with 'Candy Apple'. This new pepper develops sweet, blocky 5-inch fruits in just 71 days. The peppers have lots of flavor with a mild flesh that works great in salads or when roasted, baked, or sauteed. The fruits of 'Candy Apple' start out green but mature to a deep red color .
Name: 'Candy Apple' pepper
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Days to Maturity: 71 days
Available from Seed: Yes
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'Heaven Can Wait' Blackberry
Laboratory tests prove that 'Heaven Can Wait' blackberries have more healthy antioxidants than any other variety. Plus, 'Heaven Can Wait' starts to develop delicious dark fruits as early as mid-June and continues through midsummer. The canes grow 4 feet tall and are self-supporting, so they won't reach out and snag you every time you walk by. They are thornless, too, so harvesting won't require bandages when you're done.
Name: 'Heaven Can Wait' blackberry
Season of Harvest: Early to midsummer
Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil
Size: 4 feet tall
Available from Seed: No
Source: henryfields.com
Photo courtesy of henryfields.com
'Harvest Moon' Watermelon
Watermelon-lovers, take note. Now there's a sweeter, seedless version of the old classic, 'Moon and Stars'. Called 'Harvest Moon', this newcomer sports the same dark green skin with yellow spots as 'Moon and Stars', but it's much more compact, earlier to ripen, and higher yielding. In fact, it performed so well in trial gardens across the country that it won a coveted All-America Selections (AAS) award for 2013.
Name: 'Harvest Moon' watermelon
Season of Harvest: Late summer
Growing Conditions: Sun
Sowing Method: Outdoor sow
Available from Seed: Yes
Days to Maturity: 70-90
Source: Look for this at your local garden center.
Photo courtesy of all-americaselections.org
'Melemon' Melon
The All-America Selections (AAS) judges were so impressed by this melon's taste and yield that they gave it top scores in the vegetable category. 'Melemon' melon develops small football-shape fruits with a smooth yellow-green skin. The crisp flesh is a pleasant mixture of sweet and tart that's completely different from any melon you've ever tasted. It's a refreshing, easy-to-grow crop that you should definitely try in your garden this summer.
Name: 'Melemon' melon
Season of Harvest: Late summer
Growing Conditions: Sun
Sowing Method: Outdoor sow
Available from Seed: Yes
Days to Maturity: 85-95
Source: Look for this at your local garden center.
Photo courtesy of all-americaselections.org
Jelly Bean Blueberry
Jelly Bean blueberry is a great example of the old saying "good things come in small packages." Growing just 1-2 feet tall, Jelly Bean blueberry is a compact newcomer that's smothered in large, supersweet berries in midsummer. Grouped together, the plants make a lovely low hedge; individually, they are stunning in pots and planters. Jelly Bean blueberry is also cold-hardy and will withstand winters to Zone 4.
Name: Jelly Bean blueberry
Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained, acidic soil
Season of Harvest: Midsummer
Available from Seed: No
Zones: 4-8
Source: Buy it now from White Flower Farm.
Peach Sorbet Blueberry
Here's a new dwarf blueberry that's a year-round treat. In the spring, Peach Sorbet blueberry lights up the landscape with white, bell-shape flowers that gradually transform into dark blue berries through the summer. At the same time, the spring foliage offers a bouquet of pink, peach, orange, and lime green tones. In fall , the leaves of this dense blueberry turn a breathtaking eggplant-purple color , and in the southern parts of its range, the shiny green leaves stay on the plant all winter long. The fruit is delightfully sweet with a hint of peach flavor.
Name: Peach Sorbet blueberry
Growing Conditions: Sun or part shade and moist, well-drained, acidic soil
Season of Harvest: Mid- to late summer
Available from Seed: No
Zones: 5-10
Source: Buy it now from White Flower Farm.
'On Deck' Sweet Corn
Everyone loves sweet corn, but the classic varieties take up a ton of garden space. Now it's possible to grow sweet corn in containers on your deck or patio. The new variety 'On Deck' grows only 4-5 feet tall, yet each plant produces two 8-inch-long ears. It's a supersweet variety with bicolor ears that are ready to harvest just two months after sowing. We recommend planting 9 or 10 seeds in a 24-inch container.
Name: 'On Deck' hybrid sweet corn
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Days to Maturity: 63 days
Available from Seed: Yes
Sowing Method: Outdoor sow
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'Sun King' Broccoli
It never seems to fail: Just when your broccoli plants are ready to harvest, the days get unexpectedly warm and the plants begin to flower, making them inedible. Now, however, there's a heat-tolerant variety called 'Sun King' that will keep on producing tender blue-green shoots in hot weather. The main heads measure about 8 inches across, but each plant develops lots of tender side branches. 'Sun King' broccoli is also packed with nutrition.
Name: 'Sun King' broccoli
Growing Conditions: Sun
Days to Maturity: 71 days
Available from Seed: Yes
Sowing Method: Indoor sow
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'SuperBlue' Lavender
Color, fragrance, AND flavor are what you'll get when you grow 'SuperBlue' lavender. The newest member of the Lavandula angustifolia family, 'SuperBlue' grows 12 inches tall and sends up spikes of rich lavender blue flowers from June to September. This hardy perennial is resistant to heat and humidity, and the flowers and foliage can be used fresh or dried. It's a good choice for an Herbes de Provence mix.
Name: 'SuperBlue' English lavender
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 12 inches
Zones: 5-8
Available from Seed: No
Source: burpee.com
Photo courtesy of burpee.com
'Caramel Cocktail' and 'Sugar Daddy' Persimmon
Get twice the harvest by pairing 'Caramel Cocktail' and 'Sugar Daddy' persimmons in your backyard. 'Sugar Daddy' is an essential pollinator if you want to enjoy the large, delicious fruits of 'Caramel Cocktail'. 'Caramel Cocktail' is prized for its delicious orange fruits that don't have the astringency often associated with older types of persimmons. In fact, the fruit is so sweet, you can eat it straight off the tree. 'Sugar Daddy' bears crops of smaller fruits that are equally sweet. Both ripen in September. These two new persimmons are disease-resistant, long-lived, and handsome.
Name: 'Caramel Cocktail' and 'Sugar Daddy' persimmon
Season of Harvest: Fall
Growing Conditions: Sun
Zones: 5-9
Available from Seed: No
Source: henryfields.com
Photo courtesy of henryfields.com
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