US: The first AAS winners for the 2016 garden season
These three Winners are the first for the 2016 Garden Season. Additional Winners will be announced this fall and winter as the 2015 trials conclude and the breeders meet specified criteria.
The first group of AAS Winners for 2016 includes:
Bunching Onion Warrior (Regional Winner)
Mizuna Red Kingdom F1 (National Winner)
Radish Sweet Baby F1 (Regional Winner)
All-America Selections has had bulb onions as award winners in the past, but Warrior is the first bunching (or green) onion. Similarly, there have been green mustard AAS Winners, but never a red Mizuna (or Japanese Mustard). Sweet Baby radish joins nine other radishes that are previous AAS Winners adding a violet colored beauty to an assortment of radishes that range from white to red.
With this announcement, these varieties become available for immediate sale to the commercial market. Brokers and growers can purchase these varieties immediately. Retailers and consumers will find these Winners for sale for the 2016 gardening season as supply gradually becomes available throughout the chain of distribution.
A complete list of trial grounds and judges can be found here.
A complete list of all AAS Winners since 1932 can be found here. Note that this list of AAS Winners can be sorted by Flowers from Seed, Flowers from Cuttings and Vegetables.
Bunching Onion Warrior
AAS 2016 Edible Winner
Regional Winner (Mountain/Southwest, Southeast)
Now home gardeners have an easy-to-grow bunching onion (also known as a green onion) that is an All-America Selections Winner. Warrior grows quickly and thus matures early, producing a very uniform crop of slender, crisp onion stalks that are easy to harvest and clean. Can’t get to your harvest? No worries as Warrior will hold up in the garden longer than similar varieties that were grown as comparisons in the trials. Warrior can be used raw to add texture, flavor and color to all kinds of dishes or they are delicious grilled whole as part of a grilled vegetable platter or entrée accompaniment.
Bred by Seeds By Design
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Allium fistulosum
Common name: Bunching onion
Fruit taste: Pungent
Fruit size: ½ inch wide
Fruit shape: Thin and cylindrical
Fruit color: White and green
Plant height: 20-24 inches
Plant width/spread: 1-2 inches
Plant habit: Upright
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 3-4 inches
Number of fruits: 1
Length of time to harvest: 60 days from seed, 30 days from transplant
Closest comparisons on market: Tokyo Long White Bunching, Ishikura Improved
Mizuna Red Kingdom F1
AAS 2016 Edible Winner
National Winner
Foodies take note! All-America Selections has never had a mizuna (Japanese mustard) as a winner, much less a beautifully colored variety. Red Kingdom is a great addition to the assortment of AAS Winners now available to the home garden and fresh garden markets. Judges noted how the color was a vibrant reddish-purple all through the season and suggested that this flavorful, mild tasting green is an edible that can also be used as an ornamental in containers or in the landscape. Gardeners will appreciate how this variety did not bolt as easily as other mizunas and produced a much higher yield throughout the season, standing up to mid-season heat.
Bred by Asia Seed Co., Ltd.
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Brassica juncea
Common name: Mizuna, Japanese mustard
Leaf flavor: Very flavorful and mild
Leaf color: Glossy dark purple
Plant type: Biennial
Plant width/spread: 15 inches
Plant habit: Low growing
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 1 inch
Length of time to harvest: 3-5 weeks from sowing seed
Closest comparisons on market: Komatsuna Red Fine F1, Garnet Red
Radish Sweet Baby F1
AAS 2016 Edible Winner
Regional Winner (Great Lakes, Southeast)
Sweet Baby accurately describes the look of this beautiful purple/white/rose colored radish. The All-America Selections Judges commented on the improved exterior quality of this radish, in addition to the uniform size and the excellent taste, which was crispy, crunchy and slightly spicy. The internal color ranges from pale purple to white with violet streaks to mostly white with just a few purple splashes of color. Sweet Baby proved itself to be quick-growing, maturing in just 40 to 45 days which means many home gardeners can have successive sowings for season-long radishes.
Bred by: Asia Seed Co., Ltd.
AAS® Winner Data
Genus species: Raphanus sativus
Common name: Radish
Fruit flavor: Crisp, crunchy and spicy
Fruit size: 3 inches long
Fruit shape: Obovate
Fruit color: Both skin and flesh are a unique violet color
Plant color: Green
Plant type: Annual
Plant height: 10-12 inches
Plant habit: Upright, somewhat spreading
Garden location: Full sun
Garden spacing: 8-10 inches
Length of time to harvest: 40-45 days from sowing seed
Closest comparisons on market: Magnet F1, KN-Bravo F1
For more information
All American Selections
1311 Butterfield Road, Suite 310
Downers Grove, Il 60515-5625
T: 630-963-0770
all-americaselections.org