March 9 column: Seed catalogs

Here is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Explore seed catalogs for veggie varieties. (you can also read my column lower in this post.) As you know, we gardeners receive plenty of seed catalogs in the mail that inspire us to purchase seeds for the coming year’s garden. Today’s column is about some of the newest varieties of vegetables that I think are worth knowing about.

I’ve included an information box with the column that lists seed sources for the ones I’ve highlighted.

One veggie, if you can call it one, that I didn’t have room for is the Mini Pumpkin on a Stick/Ornamental Eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum). I saw it in the Botanical Interests catalog and couldn’t help but be intrigued. This is a miniature orange eggplant that is used for fall decor because they look like little pumpkins. Interesting, eh? I found seeds for these at Northwest Seed & Pet; the seed brand is Livingston Seed although I just remembered that they carry Botanical Interests seeds as well. Refer to my recent blog post on Seed Sources for a list of the seed suppliers Northwest Seed stocks on their shelves.

Next Sunday’s topic is exceptional annual flower varieties that I thought you’d like to know about.

Seed Catalogs column:

by Susan Mulvihill

I’ve been creating an awful lot of work for our amiable postal carrier and UPS delivery guy lately. For the past three months, they have been delivering stacks of seed catalogs. Not to mention numerous seed orders, garden products and books as well.

The growing season is rapidly approaching and I couldn’t be happier. Perusing the seed catalogs to find out what’s new is one of my favorite winter activities. I thought you’d enjoy hearing about some new veggie varieties. The number following each description refers to the seed supplier, found in the information box.

New vegetable varieties

Bean _ For those who grow veggies in containers, Mascotte is a stringless dwarf bush bean that you can begin harvesting in 50 days. (4)

Broccoli _ Diplomat demonstrates good heat and cold tolerance. Since broccoli likes to bolt to seed at the first sign of warm weather, that’s a good trait. It can also be grown as a late summer crop to harvest in the fall. Pick in 75 days. (4)

Cabbage _ Caraflex has small, cool-looking pointed heads, crunchy leaves and a mild flavor. It matures in 68 days. (5)

Cauliflower _ For something different, why not try one with a bright orange head? Cheddar matures in 58 days and doesn’t lose its color when cooked. (5)

Cucumber _ Bush Pickle takes up less space in the garden than vining types, and produces large yields of 5-inch cucumbers. Start harvesting in 45 to 50 days. (7) Another offering is Bush Slicer, a container cucumber that matures in 55 days. (6)

Eggplant _ Diamond is considered ideal for growing throughout the Northwest, which can be a challenging region for growing eggplant. This variety should produce plenty of tasty fruits no matter what kind of weather we have this summer. (8)

How about a few more?

Lettuce _ Yugoslavian Red is a butterhead lettuce that, as the catalog puts it, “grows to a foot across, with deeply puckered, apple-green leaves tinged with pomegranate red.” Wow. (3)

Muskmelon _ Since the Inland Northwest has a short growing season of 120 frost-free days, I’m always looking for varieties that will mature earlier. Goddess ripens in 68 days and produces 4- to 6-pound fruits. (4) An early-ripening Tuscan melon, Napoli, matures in 75 to 80 days. (6)

Okra _ I’ve never grown okra before but Burgundy is a new cultivar too pretty to pass up. The flower has creamy-yellow petals and a red eye, and the okra is burgundy in color, instead of the traditional green. It matures in 55 days. (1)

Pea _ Purple Podded is a shelling pea that features fragrant pink flowers and beautiful deep-purple pods filled with tender peas. Start picking in 55 days. (3)

Winter squash _ I haven’t found acorn squash to be the most prolific in my garden so was pleased to find two bush-type cultivars. Sweet REBA (the acronym stands for “Resistant Early Bush Acorn”) was developed by Cornell University, where it consistently produced four to six squash per plant. It matures in 90 days. (8) The other is Cream of the Crop, a white acorn that grows on a bush-type plant and can be harvested as a summer squash in 55 days or as winter squash in 75 days. (1)

Seed Sources

Look for the above seeds at your local garden center or online:

1. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com)

2. Botanical Interests (www.botanicalinterests.com)

3. The Cook’s Garden (www.cooksgarden.com)

4. Harris Seeds (www.harrisseeds.com)

5. Johnny’s Select Seeds (www.johnnyseeds.com)

6. Renee’s Garden (www.reneesgarden.com)

7. Territorial Seed (www.territorialseed.com)

8. Uprising Seeds (www.uprisingorganics.com)