Seed catalogs boast new treasures

It's that time again: Winter-weary imaginations are stoked by the glossy color photos and artful descriptions in the seed catalogs. My job is to wade through the offerings and try to find the new and exciting. In the process, I am making my own discoveries and beginning to wonder if I will need to rent some space in the country to accommodate my ever-lengthening list of desirable plants.
Today we will talk about a few new vegetables, and next week we'll take a look at the flowers.

Seed Savers. New is a relative term when applied to the seed-savers exchange catalog (Seed Savers Exchange, 3076 N. Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101, www.seedsavers.org). They have new listings, but this membership organization saves heirloom (old) varieties of seed.
This year, Pink Banana Jumbo squash is among their listings. The 2-to-3-foot-long fruits are banana-shaped and turn pinkish orange when mature, with excellent, firm, sweet, yellow-orange flesh. The catalog says this variety was popular in American pioneer gardens of the 19th century. You can also find Hill Country Red okra in the featured new listings, a variety with 5-to-6-foot-tall red stems that is heat-and-drought tolerant. The fat, green pods are red on the ribs and tips as well.
The catalog presents such a cornucopia of heirloom varieties it is hard to concentrate on what's "new" when so many old things are so wonderful. There are 'blue podded shelling' peas, 'Philadelphia white' radishes and 'Wapsipinicon Peach' tomatoes. Imagine your garden laden with 'Australian Butter' squash, 'Delice De La Table Melons' and 'Speckled Cranberry' beans.

Johnny's Selected Seeds (955 Benton Ave., Winslow, Maine 04901, 877-564-6697, www.
.Johnnyseeds.com) always does a fine job packing their catalog with great new varieties and a trove of information for growers. This year's new offerings include 'Tempo artichokes,' which mature in just 100 days.
Artichokes are easy to grow from seed but usually take two seasons to produce the edible flower heads. 'Tempo's' purple flower heads are produced in one season. 'Purple Pak' is a new carrot from Johnny's that produces smooth purple roots with a yellow core. Unfortunately the color fades when they are cooked, so use them raw in salads.
There are plenty of new lettuce varieties to base those salads on, too. Most notable is the new red butterhead type called 'Skyphos' which the catalog claims is the reddest butterhead with beautiful dark red heads with nicely contrasting green centers. 'Skyphos' is widely adaptable and matures in 47 days.
'Black Cherry' is a new cherry tomato with dynamic flavor, much like an heirloom tomato, the catalog says. The fruits are a deep purple-black and begin to mature 64 days from transplanting.

Renee's Garden. Two new lettuce varieties from Renee's Garden (www.reneesgarden.com) caught my eye. 'Sea of Red' has sword-shaped leaves of "an intense deep mahogany red that doesn't fade in the sun" and 'Sweetie Baby romaine' is compact, juicy and delicious. This variety is especially amenable to container growing because of its size.
Renee is also offering 'Amsterdam Seasoning' celery. Although it does not form a thick stalk, this plant, which resembles a large, Italian, flat-leaved parsley, is used much like celery and can serve as an easy-to-grow substitute in many instances.

Parks Seeds (Geo. W. Park Seed Co., Inc.,1 Parkton Ave. Greenwood, SC 29647-0099 www.
.parkseeds.com) has a new corn variety called 'Mirai hybrid.' It comes in yellow, white and bicolor and also in a mini-size cob.
The catalog says that "this newcomer is more tender, succulent and super sweet than any previous variety."
Parks is introducing the 'Zolushka' potato, the first potato grown from seed (potatoes are usually grown from 'slips', carved pieces of the potato that contain a growing bud). This white skinned, white fleshed variety produces 3-to-4-inch potatoes that are excellent for frying and have good disease resistance. Starting from seed is much more economical than the traditional method.

Burpee's (300 Park Ave., Warminster, PA 10974, www.burpee.com) is offering two interesting tomatoes this year. '
Tye Dye hybrid' is a gold-and-red fruit that delivers the flavor of the old heirloom varieties Big Rainbow, Pineapple and Georgia Streak, with the better yields and disease resistance that hybrid tomatoes are known for.
The indeterminate plants bear 7-ounce fruit with a marbled pattern that is sweet, mild and non-acidic.
"Cherries Jubilee" is a new Burpee offering in the cherry-tomato field. The plants are said to be "crazy prolific" with just one plant yielding a harvest of 500 sweet red mini-cherries. The plants are determinate and perfect for patio containers.
It looks as if 2010 will be a year full of new plants in the garden. Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful growing season.
If you have a gardening question or story idea, write to David Bare in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-3159, or send e-mail to his attention to gardening@wsjournal.com.