Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: More AAS winners for 2020
Last week I shared about how All America Selections was started back in 1932. They do the trials and we get the benefits! Each year they select perennials, annuals and edibles. As you start planning your gardens for next year, think about one or more of these 2020 winners!
An edible is a mini cucumber called ‘Green Light’ F1. This little beauty is an excellent mini cucumber, said many of the AAS Judges.
The yield was higher than the comparison varieties with more attractive fruit, earlier maturity, and superior eating quality. “I would absolutely grow this in my home garden” commented one judge. Grow Green Light on stakes or poles for a productive, easy-to-harvest vertical garden that will yield 40 or more spineless fruits per plant. Pick the fruits when they’re small, between 3-4” long, and you’ll be rewarded with great tasting cucumbers, even without peeling. Perfect for salads or canning too! Days to harvest are about 40!
Another interesting edible is a blue pumpkin! Pumpkin ‘Blue Prince F1’ was defined as “Princely” for being sumptuous and splendid; this AAS Winner lives up to its name!
For any edible entry to become an AAS Winner, it must outperform the comparisons and Blue Prince Pumpkin certainly scored high in the areas of maturity (earlier), yield, fruit size, and uniformity, color, taste, and texture. Vigorous trailing vines produce 7-9 pound beautiful blue flattened pumpkins with non-stringy, deep orange flesh with savory sweetness.
These pumpkins are as pretty as they are delicious; after fall decorating, bake the flesh for a smooth and creamy treat. Of all the varieties trialed, Blue Prince was first to flower and fruit which is beneficial for gardeners with a shorter growing season.