Gourmet gardeners will find more choices for vegetable growing this season than ever before. Round baby carrots, miniature white eggplant, blue banana squash and golden haricot verts are just a few of the new offerings.
These aren’t your grandma’s green beans.
There may be plenty of packets of “Kentucky Wonder” seeds to go around, but gardeners are finding other interesting tastes and flavors to add to their garden beds. Some of these choices include unusual colors or forms of old favorites, but some are the same trendy veggies featured by celebrity chefs on the Food Network.
Gardeners can thank the mushrooming interest in foodie blogs, farmers markets, lifestyle magazines and new ethnic restaurants for the chance to try so many different kinds of vegetables and herbs. Heirloom varieties are also receiving renewed attention.
Plant breeders, seed suppliers and seed companies know there are more gardeners these days, and they want more choices, too. They’re responding by developing, testing and releasing new vegetables designed for sophisticated palates.
Catalogs cultivate inner chef
Cook’s Garden, a separate catalog of the Burpee Co., caters to customers looking for gourmet cultivars they can whisk right from the garden and into the salad bowl.
The 2010 seeds and plants () are all colorful and flavorful additions. They include the “Lime Streaked” mizuna, Cooks Blend micro greens and the brilliant-lime green cauliflower-broccoli hybrid called “Broccoli Romanesco.” Other interesting vegetables are the Asian “Suyo Long” cucumber and “Atomic Red” and “Cosmic Purple” carrots.
Renee’s Garden () has added new seeds to its online catalog that also appeal to a gardener’s inner chef. “Amsterdam” is a seasoning celery that doesn’t form stalks but is grown only for its leaves to add to soups, stews and slow-cooking casseroles.
Renee’s other new gourmet vegetables include “Spanish Padron” peppers, the same small peppers served in tapas restaurants and “French Gold” pole filet beans that are yellow versions of haricot verts.
Territorial Seed Co. () in Oregon has made gourmet greens simple to sow with its seed mixtures hidden in pellets for planting. The “Alfresco Blend” includes lettuces, arugula, endive and radicchio. Another unusual leafy green is the “Italiko Rossa” Italian dandelion. The tasty leaves have maroon-colored stems and grow tall in upright heads.
Edibles for small spaces
There are also more container vegetable varieties for those who want to grow in small spaces, like balconies, patios and front porches. Some new container varieties grow full-size fruit on compact plants while others produce smaller fruit.
Recent All-America Selections (all-america ) winners include miniature eggplant like “Hansel” or “Gretel” and the sweet and savory “Cajun Belle” pepper.
Botanical Interests () simplified shopping by creating a special seed collection for container gardening. The collection includes eight packets of seeds with “Spacemaster” cucumber, “Red Sails” lettuce, “Farmers Market Blend” mesclun and “White Lisbon” scallion.
Adventurous cooks will also enjoy Botanical Interests’ Gourmet Chef Seed Collection, with its “Gourmet Blend” beet, “Italian Nero Toscana” kale and “Easter Egg” radish.
With all these new vegetables and herbs on the market, gardeners can emulate their favorite up-and-coming chef by creating signature dishes with ingredients picked fresh from their own kitchen gardens.
Jodi Torpey is a local garden writer and master gardener; contact her at jodi@westerngardeners.com.
