Award Winning Vegetables

By Ron Dieter, Sunnyfield Greenhouse & Gardens

March 29, 2000

The All America Selection judges evaluate not just flowering plants, but vegetable plants as well. Over the years many great vegetables have won the praises of AAS judges. You probably recognize Broccoli ‘Green Comet’, Cabbage ‘Savoy King’, ‘Stonehead’, and ‘Emerald Cross’, Pea ‘Sugar Snap’, Pepper ‘Bell Boy’, and Tomato ‘Celebrity’. They’re all AAS winners. This year’s winners include peas, sweet corn, cabbage, and peppers. I’m particularly intrigued by the pepper and cabbage.

Pepper ‘Blushing Beauty’ produces blocky bell peppers that begin as pale green or ivory. As the fruit matures, it blushes to a pastel pink , the color of white zinfindal wine. Then it turns a deep rosy red when fully ripe. The peppers can be harvested at any shade adding colorful zest to garden salads. The small statured plant will perform well in containers making a colorful show on the deck or patio.

Cabbage ‘Savoy Express’ could easily earn a spot in the flower garden because of the eye-catching waffle-like texture of the big,bold leaves. The small plants would work well in the front of an annual or perennial border. It is one of the earliest cabbages, harvestable in fifty-five days or so. Each plant grows into a firm two-pound head. This means you can have fresh cabbage without having a huge head in the refrigerator for days and days while you try to eat it all. The leaves of ‘Savoy Express’ have a crisp, sweet flavor, a good choice for fresh slaw and salads.

I’m not much for colored sweet corn. Burpee has a dark red colored variety that looks anything but appetizing. This year’s AAS winner, ‘Indian Summer’, is the first sweet corn with "festive colored" kernels of yellow, white, red, and purple. It looks like multi-colored Indian Corn to me.