Fruits and veggies are changing in color, taste and in overall performance. Take a look at these new varieties to grow in your garden for 2019.
Garden Vegetables List
Pepper Just Sweet
This 2019 All-America Selections vegetable winner is a unique snacking pepper with four lobes like a larger bell pepper, only smaller. The 3-inch fruits are deliciously sweet with nice thick walls. The plants are vigorous growers (up to 36 inches tall and 15 inches wide) that don’t need to be staked because they’ve been bred to have a strong bushy habit. The Just Sweet peppers are exceptionally bright, shiny and a vivid yellow color with a flavor described as sweet with aromatic accents. Many consumer taste tests reported back that this pepper won hands down. Great lunchbox item for adults and kids. All-americaselections.org.
Amazel Basil
This is the first Italian sweet basil that is resistant to downy mildew, a disease that often plagues basil. Amazel will keep growing and producing for home gardeners throughout the entire season. This resistance is an amazing improvement in basil. Amazel is also sterile and continues to produce leaves and shoots even after flower initiation unlike other basil varieties that focus most or all of their energy into seed production. For best flavor and leaf production, harvest and or pinch regularly to promote fresh tender growth. Harvest sprays of leaves by cutting stems just above two new sprouting lateral branches to get lush regrowth. The more you harvest, the better it grows. Provenwinners.com.
Kalettes
What do you get when you cross Brussels sprouts with kale? Kalettes! It started with a desire to have a kale-like vegetable that was easier to prepare, and after many years, using traditional breeding techniques, the goal was accomplished. Open florets develop along a thick stalk and are ready to eat when 2 inches in diameter. Simply clip them from the stem and eat; no tough stems to remove. Great sauteed, roasted, grilled, and raw. Growing culture is similar to Brussels sprouts. Jungseed.com.
Blueberries Buckle and Southern Belle
Blueberry plants are shrinking in size, but growing in taste. Blueberry Buckle is a quick growing blueberry that stays compact. White bell-shaped flowers appear in spring and produce sweet, dark blueberries. Its glossy, dark green foliage resembles boxwood. In the autumn you can expect the foliage to take on hints of orange and red. This is a low water, low chill variety that is perfect for gardens in warmer climates. Plant in patio pots or in the landscape. Southern Bluebelle will be a charming addition to your patio or landscape. This petite, low-water and low-chill blueberry plant displays bright red, emerging foliage that turns emerald green as it matures. This variety produces plump, juicy blueberries in late summer. Perfect for small space gardens or patios in warmer climates. Bushelandberry.com.
‘Green Fingers’ Baby Persian Cucumber
Usually found only in Middle Eastern markets, these cute mini cucumbers are smooth, thin-skinned, crispy, and ready to pick when just 3 to 5 inches long. The vigorous, powdery mildew tolerant vines are self-pollinating, early-bearing, and set fruits reliably even in difficult conditions. Enjoy these appetizing baby cucumbers all season long. The first mature fruits are ready to pick about 60 days after sowing seed in the garden. Reneesgarden.com.
Featured image – Amazel Basil / Proven Winners