Let’s face it — edibles are all the rage, as gardeners of all generations get ready to test their green thumbs and culinary skills. The promise of a juicy strawberry or a ripe tomato, fresh from their own garden, makes their mouths water. According to a recent report by the National Gardening Association, food gardening in the U.S. is at its highest levels in more than a decade, with 35% of all households in America (more than 42 million) growing food at home or in a community. The low-maintenance, new varieties coming on the market are making food gardening better and easier than ever, and providing opportunities to bring new foodies into the garden center.
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Blackberry ‘BrazelBerries Baby Cakes’ (Fall Creek Farm & Nursery at GroLink, Oxnard, CA)
Baby Cakes, a dwarf (3- to 4-foot), thornless blackberry variety, transforms how gardeners grow blackberries. Baby Cakes is ideal for container gardening with its compact habit, white spring flowers, and large, sweet summer berries and lush foliage. BrazelBerries brings berry gardening up close to the patio or in the ornamental landscape with compact berry plants that are both beautiful and delicious.
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Eggplant ‘Meatball’ (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
The fruit of this eggplant has higher moisture content and a lower seed count, making it a touch sweeter. It’s great for grilling as a clever meat alternative.
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Kale 'EDIBLISS Chablis.' Culinary Couture Collection (Hort Couture at GroLink, Oxnard, CA)
Culinary Couture is a delicious vegetable and herb assortment that is tantalizing alone or as a component of mixed containers. It’s time to create combinations that are not only fashionable, but fruitful, as well. New varieties to the reinvented Culinary Couture program include ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ basil, ‘Zest Corsican Carpet’ mint, three cabbages (‘Edibliss,’ ‘Rockstar Heavy Metal,’ and ‘Rockstar Italian Black’), ‘Patio Perfect’ cucumber, ‘Zest Licorice Towers’ fennel, ‘Edibliss’ kale, ‘Garnish’ Nasturtium, ‘Patio Perfect’ pepper, ‘Zest Avalanche’ rosemary, Rungia ‘Zest Wild Mushroom, Santolina ‘Zest Kalamata,’ Strawberry ‘Kiss,’ and ‘Mixology' tomato.
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Squash ‘Cupcake’ (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
‘Cupcake’ has the soft, edible skin of a zucchini and the delicate, sweet flavor of a patty-pan squash. The 2-inch (5-cm) tall by 5-inch (12-cm) round fruits are great for roasting and grilling. This high-yielding variety will intrigue foodies looking for something unique.
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Strawberry ‘Delizz’ (ABZ Seeds at Speedling, San Juan Bautista, CA)
Strawberry ‘Delizz’ is a new variety and concept that was tested nationwide in North America last summer, and its excellent field performance earned it the distinction of being the first-ever strawberry to win an All-America Selections Award. The F1 variety develops quickly with few runners and many upright flower trusses. Pollination is enhanced by bees, and the finished product offers many mid-sized, red, sweet strawberries all summer. Marketing and POP is available for this variety.
An ever-bearing strawberry that yields large, dark red fruit from June until frost, ‘Sweet Kiss’ has great flavor that has beat other berries in blind taste tests.
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Tomato ‘Madame Marmande’ (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
Here’s a broad-shouldered, juicy, succulent French tomato loaded with rich flavor. A culinary star in France, its hefty scarlet and light-ruby 10-oz. (283-g) fruits are loaded with rich flavor and won’t crack like other Marmande varieties. It offers a great disease resistance package, too.
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Tomato ‘Stellar’ (PanAmerican Seed, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
‘Stellar’ produces lots of round, red, slicing tomatoes perfect for all culinary uses. It shines in areas with high disease pressure. Stellar is resistant to Late Blight, Septoria Leaf Spot, Fusarium Race 2, and Verticillium.
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Tomato Take 2 Combos (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
A hardworking container solution for small-space gardening, each Take 2 combo has a slicing type and a small-fruited type tomato that have been trialed together for habit and fruit timing. Three selections are available for 2017 retail sales.
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Blackberry ‘BrazelBerries Baby Cakes’ (Fall Creek Farm & Nursery at GroLink, Oxnard, CA)
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Eggplant ‘Meatball’ (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
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Kale 'EDIBLISS Chablis.' Culinary Couture Collection (Hort Couture at GroLink, Oxnard, CA)
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Squash ‘Cupcake’ (Burpee, Ball Horticultural Co., Santa Paula, CA)
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Strawberry ‘Delizz’ (ABZ Seeds at Speedling, San Juan Bautista, CA)
Breeders displaying at the 2016 California Spring Trials (CAST) have provided a sneak peek at some of the edibles that will be ready for retail in 2017. Check out the delicious new fruit and vegetable varieties that will make their debut at CAST next week, in our slideshow.
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If you missed our other slideshows, don’t worry — you can check them out here. Because so many annuals are revealed at CAST, we had to build two slideshows — one for the Northern Region and one for the Central Region. Also, check out new perennials , blooming potted plants, and woody ornamentals that will debut at the 2016 CAST. Also, look for our March issue to see these varieties, up close and personal, in Greenhouse Grower magazine.
Planning a last-minute trip to California Spring Trials? There’s still time! Find out how to make your appointments to visit breeder locations.
And don’t forget to join us for daily coverage of the 2016 California Spring Trials. Whether you make the trip or not, you can virtually hit the California Spring Trials trail with the editors of Greenhouse Grower. Editor Laura Drotleff and Managing Editor Janeen Wright, together with Dr. Allan Armitage, will visit every stop to bring you the latest varieties and breaking news. Subscribe to Greenhouse Grower‘s Benchrunner eNewsletter to make sure you get our daily updates while in California, April 8-15. In addition to our popular slideshows, full of photos and descriptions of the most exciting new varieties, we’ll also provide the latest news and industry insider perspectives on new introductions.
0159 Cool New Edibles Provide The First Taste Of The 2016 California Spring Trials [Photo Gallery]