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1999 Veggie Introductions

Hi All,
I'm near my moving date of July 15 when I head
north to Springfield, IL.  I'll be signing off the list
Monday night, but before I go....  I dug through
the mess on my desk and found my notes from
the June 15 Press Trip to Park Seed Co. in
So. Carolina.  Here's what I learned.

1.  It's hot there, too, and dry!!!  Their trial fields
did NOT look picture perfect.  In fact, my home
garden looked better.  Of course,  my water bill
was $100 in June!

2.  Park does not produce any of its own seed;
they buy from mega-giant growers like Asgrow,
Goldsmith and Seeds by Design.  Park also
quit doing any R&D on new varieties about two
years ago.  They rely totally on what is in the
market today.  They don't produce their own
live plants, either.  All plants, bulbs and rootstock
are drop-shipped from smaller growers who contract
with Park.  There may be as many as 10 small
greenhouses or fields producing one plant, such
as Irene Creeping Rosemary, for instance.  That
means that the quality will vary.

3. Highlights of the new veggie introductions in the
1999 catalog. I saw all these in the fields and am
including only the ones that I thought had potential.
Many, in my mind, were very ordinary.

Pot o' Gold Carrot--48 percent more vitamin A than
normal carrots.  Very sweet (Brix 9.7) and crunchy.

County Fair Hybrid Cucumber--old Park variety being
re-introduced.  48 day, pickling type.  Resistant to
most diseases and repels cucumber beetles, Park claims.

Freckles Lettuce--heat tolerant, 75 days from seed.  It's a
hybrid that resembles the heirloom Forellenschuss--
chartreuse with burgundy splotches on romaine leaves.

Candy Hybrid Onion--here's one that solves that long-day-
short-day dilemma.  It's a cross between long and short day
types and can be planted anywhere in the country.  85 days
from transplant.  Stays sweet even in the north.  Good storer.

Hungarian Spice Hybrid Pepper--a paprika pepper that is also
sweet tasting fresh--most paprika peppers are flavorless.  62
days from transplant.

Fruit Basket Pepper--a new type of hanging basket pepper.
Plants grow only 12 inches high, but spread 2-3 feet.  Fruit has
a citrus-like undertaste--very nice.  68 days from transplants.

Wee B Little Pumpkin--for you mini-pumpkin growers, this is
the first true globe-shaped miniature.  It's cute and very orange!!

Moon & Stars Watermelon--yes, Park's is cashing in on the
heirloom craze, too.  Their variety of M&S is different from
mine.  The moons are much larger, and the rind is thinner.
I suspect that a little tinkering has gone on, because the
seed source is Seeds by Design.  They have a reputation
of improving open pollinated varieties.

Sunshine Blue Blueberry--container blueberry of the southern
highbush type.  Grows only to 3 feet, and you can count on
harvesting 5-10 lbs. of berries, according to Park.  Self-pollinating,
but does better with another variety.  Zones 6-10.

Cranberry--available in 4-inch pots.  Good in Zones 2-7.  Plant
in soil amended with lots of organic material, but do NOT add
any fertilizer.  Plants are prostrate and make good ground
covers.  Bear in the second year.  Ripens in early Nov. even
in the cold zones--just in time for Thanksgiving.

4.  Other heirloom varieties in the 1999 catalog include:
Lemon Cucumber, Jacob's Cattle Bean, Corno di Toro
Pepper, Yellow Pear Tomato and the M&S melon.

5.  I wasn't and never am impressed with Park's tomato
varieties.  I know many of you swear by them, but they
don't do a thing for me.  BUT--I saw a trial tomato tucked
back in the vegetable field that shows great potential.  I
asked Tracy Lee, the vegetable specialist at Park, if it
would be in the catalog soon.  She said maybe in 2000.
The tomato is Green & Yellow Striped Sausage--at least,
that's the way it was labeled in the field.  For those of you
who have grown Green Zebra and/or Banana Legs, just
imagine a cross of those two.  It's long like a sausage
tomato--San Marzano or Sausage, but it's green and
amber yellow striped--just like Green Zebra.  It was
obvious to me that that the tomato is a cross between
the two Tom Wagner open-pollinated creations Banana
Legs and Green Zebra.  Again, I asked Tracy Lee about
it's origin, and she admitted that the seed came from
Seeds by Design.  They have had Wagner's seed stock
for years, and they now have created this beauty.  I'm
excited about it, covet it and could kick myself for not
pilfering a ripe tomato and dropping it in my camera
bag while I was photographing it.

Since we are basically a veggie list, I will not go into
the flower and perennial intros for 1999, but rest assured,
there are some gems coming our way.
Doreen Howard
Zone 9b, soon to be Zone 5--4 days and counting!!!


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