Time to plan for vegetables, annuals
During these cold winter months, it's time to start thinking about what's new for our summer gardens.
There are hundreds of newly introduced annuals and vegetables that will complement our garden favorites. This sampling of interesting specimens, culled from online sources and catalogues, serves as a starting point for exploring planting options.
A prolific tomato variety is the Bodacious Hybrid Tomato (Burpee Company). Grown in full sun, these no-cracking tomatoes appear at the end of July (80 to 85 days to maturity). Expect 40 to 50 tomatoes per plant for the season.
The Fort Knox Hybrid Summer Squash (Burpee Company), also grown in full sun, produces squash in 50 days. The predicted minimum length of this squash is 10 inches.
Herb growers may choose Green Dream Parsley (Burpee Company), which grows well in sun to part shade. Perfect for the ground or containers, the expected growth is 14 inches in height and 14 inches in width. In USDA Zones 4 to 9, this parsley can be grown as a perennial.
The Watermelon Mambo Hybrid (Park Seed) matures in 75 days. This watermelon is a strong candidate for small gardens, as full-sized fruits are 9 inches round and about 11 pounds in weight. While watermelons typically prefer full sun, this variety will grow nicely with good flavor in less than full sun conditions.The Strawberry Wasatch, offered from One Green World as a bare root bundle, is a variety that can produce a pound of berries per plant from June to October. While smaller in size and less firm than others in its family, the Wasatch is superior in vigor, yield and appearance.Among the many new annual flower plants, a versatile specimen is the Main Street Beale Street Coleus. Available from Rosy Dawn Gardens, the starter plant arrives 3 inches to 9 inches in size and needs immediate planting. Unlike typical coleus that thrive in the shade, the Main Street Beale Street Coleus can thrive in full shade or full sun. It's rich, red leaves with scalloped edges are an exciting addition to planters and hanging baskets. Another feature is that the foliage does not fade.Begonia Fiona Red is a new and early blooming, upright Begonia (Park Seed) that will provide impactful color in both containers and your landscape. This annual enjoys sun to part shade, with blooms continuing into midsummer.
The Calibrachoa Kabloom comes in four new colors: light pink blast, cherry, coral and orange. Kabloom means that the plant is grown from seed, and Park Seed has all colors available for purchase. This variety does well in the sun and is heat, humidity and drought tolerant.This sampling of new plants provides a quick start for investigating new varieties of vegetables and annuals that you may want to try in your summer garden.Look for new varieties discussed in garden blogs, websites, seed catalogues, greenhouses and magazines. Compare these and other new varieties with your favorite varieties and track their productivity throughout the growing season.Seed starting begins in a few months, and greenhouses and garden centers will be stocked with seeds and cool weather plants soon. Keep these vegetables and annuals in mind when making your selections.If you are interested in starting a vegetable garden in 2020, visit this Penn State Extension article: https://extension.psu.edu/beginning-a-vegetable-garden.If you have questions about vegetable or annual gardening, call the Master Gardener Garden Hotline at 724-287-4761, Ext. 7, or email the Master Gardeners at butlermg@psu.edu.Polly Burkhard is a Penn State Butler County Master Gardener.
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