This is the first of what will probably be 3 or 4 posts about new varieties I’m seeing in seed catalogs as we are getting ready to plan the garden for the year.

The caveat, of course, is that I have no idea if they will do well for us or not! I’m also highly skeptical when a new variety is promoted as being “heat tolerant!” I always suspect that they mean heat tolerant where that variety was developed – typically New York, Washington, Oregon, etc. “Heat tolerant” means something very different there!

There are some new raspberries and strawberries available, mostly from the Cornell University breeding program, that intrigue me. Raspberries are often a challenge to grow here, but they are still one of my favorite fruits.

‘Double Gold’ Raspberry – This is a fall-bearing (primocane fruiting) raspberry that produce pink-blushed gold fruit. It is so pretty that I’m sure I will have to try it at some point, even though it will probably be as susceptible to sunscald as most other gold raspberries.

‘Crimson Night’ Raspberry – Another fall-bearing raspberry, this one has dark purple-red fruit. It also sports compact, dark purple canes. I’ve seen some companies promoting this variety as ideal for container gardens and small garden plots or for use in the edible landscape.

‘Purple Wonder’ Strawberry – This is a June-bearing strawberries that is a dark red to purple color. A fun choice for all you K-State fans!

Vegetable Varieties

‘On Deck Hybrid’ Sweet Corn – This varieties is being marketed as perfect for a container on your deck or patio. Color me skeptical on this one! It says plant 9 seeds per 24” container and enjoy sweet corn in 2 months. The biggest challenge about growing sweet corn in a small garden area is poor pollination, so I’m not sure how they are going to overcome that limitation. Anyone want to try it?

‘Vivid Choi’ Pac Choi – A Pac Choi (aka Bok Choy) variety with a range of colored stems a la Swiss Chard. My camera is excited about this one!

‘Green Tiger’ and ‘Pink Tiger’ Saladette Tomatoes – These are 1” wide by 2-4” long tomatoes that are striped. The pink is rose pink with orange striping and the green is yellow-green with dark green stripes.

That’s all for now…I’m sure I’ll have some more to share in the coming weeks!

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