All-America Selections veggie seed winners worth second glance

By mid-winter I usually have a stack of seed and plant catalogs teetering alongside my chair. The catalogs are well-thumbed, some with turned down pages or items circled with a red Sharpie and a few Post-it notes in bright colors. Like most gardeners, I mark more than I’ll ever order or have the space to plant, but it’s fun whittling down the list.

There are a number of impressive All-America Selection vegetable seed varieties worth a second glance. Gardeners have learned to look for the AAS symbol for assurances that varieties are “tested nationally and proven locally."

Basil “Dolce Fresca” is both edible and ornamental. Judges describe the leaves as sweet and tender. The drought-resistant plant has an attractive, compact shape. Leaves can be used like any Genovese basil, and the plant recovers quickly after harvest. Grow it in containers, borders or as a focal plant.

Pick a peck of peppers from three new AAS award-winners. At 2,500 Scoville units, “Emerald Fire” is the hottest pepper among the winners, an extra-large jalapeno that can be stuffed, grilled or used in salsa. Fruits are glossy and green with thick walls that resist cracking, even after maturing to red. Plants are compact and offer better disease resistance than similar varieties.

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