I finally received my 2010 Johnny’s catalog this week. Not that I’m impatient or anything, but they have had their new 2010 items up on their brand new, sparkly website for a couple weeks now. I had to work really hard to wait to do this review until I actually had a catalog. So, without further ado, here are 5 interesting items from their catalog this year.

‘Albion’ Strawberry – This is a day-neutral (potential to fruit from spring to frost, but often doesn’t in the middle of the hot summer here), that has a great flavor. I tried these out in Oregon and found them quite delicious. They also have good disease resistance, not to mention that perfect strawberry shape.

‘Tempo’ Artichoke – A purple globe artichoke that produces in only 100 days, so it can be grown as an annual. I’m curious to see how well it tolerates our heat.

‘Purple Pak’ & ‘Deep Purple’ Carrots – This whole purple carrot business is making me a little dizzy. Last year they had ‘Purple Rain’ which is nowhere to be seen this year, and ‘Deep Purple’ was on the website, but had a seed failure. Now there is ‘Purple Pak’ and ‘Deep Purple’ is apparently in stock. Still, I have a fondness for purple carrots, so I doubt I’ll be able to resist.

Ice Plant – Buried in the Micro Mix Varieties is this gem. Ice plants are frequently grown as ornamentals, but their succulent leaves are also edible. They have juicy leaves that are flavored with a hint of saltiness and lemon.

‘Red Cardinal’ Spinach – This is a replacement for the ‘Bordeaux’ Spinach that we had out in the garden this year. It has more oval leaves than ‘Bordeaux’ and a more upright habit. It also has red stems and veins.

‘Sprite’ Honeydew – This isn’t exactly new, but it is new to Johnny’s. You might have seen the “Sprite” honeydew melons in grocery stores, but now you can grow them at home! These are little, 1 lb. melons with white flesh.

Have a great weekend!