2018 AAS Vegetable Winners

Ken Johnson

Each year, numerous new plant varieties are released to the public. All-American Selections, an independent, non-profit organization tests these new plant varieties then names only the best garden performers as AAS Winners. In addition to selecting flower winners each year All American Selections also selects vegetable winners.

The national vegetable winners for this 2018 are:

American Dream sweet corn has excellent germination, as well as very tender, super sweet kernels. It matured slightly earlier than the comparison plants and produces vigorous, healthy plants with cobs that have good tip fill of bi-colored kernels. Plants grow 6-7 feet tall and mature in 77 days after seed is planted.

Pak Choi Asian Delight F1 is a Chinese cabbage. Judges noted it did not bolt like the comparisons, even weeks after other varieties went to seed. Asian Delight forms small to mid-size heads that have a tasty, tender white rib and dark green, textured leaves.

Red Ember F1 Cayenne pepper was earlier to mature than the comparison varieties. Red Ember produces a large number of rounded end fruits on durable, medium-sized plants. Judges described the thick-walled fruits as spicy, but tastier than the traditional cayenne, with just enough pungency for interest.

Habanero pepper Roulette F1 resembles a traditional habanero pepper in every way with one exception – No Heat! Its one-ounce fruits are red with thick walls when it matures with a nice citrusy habanero flavor! It has early production of large, uniform fruit and a very high yield.

Red Racer F1 tomato is a cocktail size tomato, that produced small, uniform fruits with great taste. Cocktail tomatoes have a good sweet/acid balance and are a smaller variety tomato. These tomatoes are uniform in size and mature as a cluster of fruits. The compact determinate plants produced a huge yield 7-10 days earlier than the comparisons and are ideal for small space and container gardens.

Valentine F1 tomato is a grape tomato with an appetizing deep-red color. It has a very sweet taste and will hold long on the vine without cracking or losing the excellent eating quality. Valentine F1 tomato is quite prolific and matured earlier, 55 days from transplant, than the comparisons. Gardeners should plan on staking the indeterminate vines for best results.

Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, make sure to check out these and other AAS winners. To see a list of all of the winners dating back to 1934, visit the All-American Selections website at: http://all-americaselections.org/

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