Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: AAS tomato winners to try
Audio PlayerLast week I mentioned receiving a lot of varied seeds from All America Selections. From years 2019 to 2022, they’re all AAS winners. This year I’m going to set up a space in my spare bedroom. It has little light but I’m looking at ways to start these seeds. When I figure it all out, I’ll share it here with you!
I’m really excited to test out the 5 tomato varieties AAS sent. Two of them are cherry tomatoes. ‘Purple Zebra’ is gorgeous with purplish-red and green stripes. This 2022 winner has very high disease resistance and the skin isn’t as thick as other striped varieties. With just a 2 ft spread, this tomato is great in containers and will yield about 200 fruit per plant!
![](https://gardenbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tomato-Purple-Zebra.jpg)
The next cherry is called ‘Sparky XSL’. This one also has striping but it’s orange and red. The x-s-l stands for extended shelf life! Sparky brags about being early to mature, prolific and very flavorful. Another 2 ft. plant, this one is NOT recommended for container growing. All the edibles here are F1 which means they are disease resistant.
![](https://gardenbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tomato-Sparky-XSL.jpg)
‘Chef’s Choice Bicolor’ is an indeterminate plant that produces large 7-8 ounce flattened beefsteak fruits with beautiful pinkish-red internal stripes within a yellow flesh. This tasty beauty is great for cold climates too as it matures in just 75 days.
![](https://gardenbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tomato-Chefs-Choice-Bi-Color.jpg)
‘Pink Delicious’ is an early maturing tomato with an heirloom look. The judges said ‘Pink Delicious’ has excellent flavor as well as great texture and disease resistance.
![](https://gardenbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tomato-Pink-Delicious.jpg)
Last but not least is ‘Mountain Rouge’, it’s a large beefsteak pink tomato with, again, excellent flavor and disease resistance. Plus it’s great for cold climates.
![](https://gardenbite.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tomato-Mountain-Rouge.jpg)