When fill out your come orders this winter , you may require to include some of the new vegetable miscellany for 2002 . This twelvemonth five vegetables – two autumn pumpkin , a wintertime squash rackets , a slice cucumber , and a sweet-scented St. Basil – were chosen as All - America Selections ( AAS ) winners .
These varieties , along with hundreds of others , were grow in trial run gardens all over the country . Throughout the growing season , horticultural expert take notes on how well each did , specially liken to like diversity on the marketplace . Those that were pronounce ranking , or exhibited significant improvements over existing varieties , were named AAS winner for 2002 .
Both pumpkins that made the leaning this year were bred as Halloween pumpkins . The first , Pumpkin ‘ Orange Smoothie , ’ is ideal for children as it weighs only four to seven pounds and has a sturdy stem for carrying . Its fluent skin make it well suitable for painting although it is easy to carve and can be used as either an outdoor or indoor decoration .
This six - in autumn pumpkin is medium to dark orange in color . Its compact development drug abuse makes it perfect for small garden . Although seed can be sown directly in the garden , northern New England gardeners will have better upshot by constitute seeds indoors in small pots , then transplanting once all danger of frost has passed . Allow about four to four and one - one-half feet between plants .
Pumpkin ‘ Sorcerer ’ weighs in at 15 to 22 pounds . This large , gloomy orange pumpkin can be carve or paint as a diddlyshit - o - lantern or used for pies . One of the reason it was selected as a 2002 AAS winner is because it requires less space to produce than other full - size of it pumpkins , making it an ideal selection for a smaller garden .
Like ‘ Orange Smoothie , ’ it should be get down indoors a few workweek before the last icing date . industrial plant six to eight feet apart in the garden . Pumpkins mature in 100 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. from time of sowing .
Winter Squash ‘ Cornell ’s Bush Delicata ’ is the first delicata - type squash rackets with a semi - bush habit . It is an ornamental wintertime squash rackets , ashen to cream in people of color with colored light-green stripe and flecks and a intemperate rind . fruit , which age in 85 to 100 daytime , are about seven to nine inch long , three to four inches wide , and can count up to two pounds . In northerly climate seed should be started indoors .
The judges were impressed with its strong margin to powdery mildew , high potential payoff , long storage life , and honeyed , nutty flavor . Although a delicious winter squash for the table , it also can be used as a seasonal decoration .
Cucumber ‘ Diva ’ is a placid - skinned , semi - lustrous cucumber with an exceptional savour . It is sweet – not vitriolic like many cuke – crunchy , and seedless throw it a good snack , especially for shaver .
This high return flora , which should be commence from seed indoors , create an abundance of four - inch yield in about 55 to 60 days . The vines can be trained to get up a treillage , saving distance in the garden and making it easier to reap the fruit . ‘ Diva ’ has demo strong leeway to powdery and downlike mold , two disease that often strike cucumbers , and will keep on to produce even at the conclusion of the growing time of year .
Basil ‘ Magical Michael ’ is an ornamental , edible herbaceous plant with a unvarying plant habit . Unlike most cherubic basils , which are variable in plant shape and top , this one was breed for uniformity . Although produce for its productive , aromatic flavour , its dark green foliation and petite violet flowers ( inflorescences ) make it an attractive and fragrant addition to the garden .
Plants grow to about 15 inches . Leaves are ready to glean in 50 to 60 days , the inflorescences for salad or entrée garnishes around 80 twenty-four hour period . ‘ Magical Michael ’ can be started from germ or purchase as plants from many garden plaza .
To learn more about these AAS winners and the eight flowers that earned this designation , visit the AAS Website atwww.all-americaselections.org
THE ALL - AMERICA VEGETABLE SELECTIONS
By Lisa Halvorsenn
Extension Nursery and Greenhouse Crops SpecialistUniversity of Vermont
