2009 All American Selections

[bluelacedredhead]

I was reading some of the winners of the 2009 All-American veggie selections in a hardware trade mag and I see some good things on the list.

Gretel Eggplant (as described)
glossy white mini-fruit, about 3 to 4 inches in length is produced in clusters and can be harvested as early as 55 days from transplant.
Adaptable to 'the trend of growing edibles in containers'

;D

Melon Lambkin

oval shaped melon weighing between two and four pounds. Has a thin rind, with aromatic white flesh. Maturity 65 to 75 days. A vigorous selection with vining growth, producing more fruit than bush types.


Honey Bear Squash

Acorn bush type. Compact, high yielding, resistant to powdery mildew. Produces between 3 and 5 fruit per bush. The 'honey' in the name refers to the sweetness when cooked.

Good for all you beekeeper types perhaps??


I'm definitely looking forward to trying the Gretel eggplant once I can track down a supplier.

[bunkie]

are they mostly hybrids blue?

i see Gretel seeds are here...

www.parkwholesale.com/wholesale_seedsupply.html

and here....

www.hpsseed.com/sp.asp?c=270

[bluelacedredhead]

Yes Bunkie they are Hybrids. I honestly try to avoid the H varieties these days, but once in a while, a variety comes along that just doesn't have an equal in the OP world.
Amira cucumbers for example. They are a bush variety, bearing small, crunch cukes and lots and lots of them. I grew OP varieties for many years before trying Amira. And I even asked Jere at the Baker Creek store when I was there if there was anything he sold that was comparable? I have yet to find one.
Gretel eggplant looks worth a try. I can always try it and say Cloud Nine, Casper or Japanese White Egg in containers at the same time to compare.

[bunkie]

i have to admit blue that the description of the Gretel sounds really enticing. i'll have to look up the Amira cukes. never heard of them. i find these combinations fascinating!

[bluelacedredhead]

Bunkie, Look! A thread that gives a source for Amira as well as a recommendation for a substitute if you can't find that variety. And some other interesting reading for the NW as well
seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/342366_smith06.html

[bunkie]

great article and info blue! i receive all those catalogs. will look for the Amira in the Totally Tomatoes. thanks!

[Alan]

Just a general comment/idea for all plant breeders here.....


One thing in general I was thinking about recently is the amount of de-hybridization/segregation work that many of us do here and how those seeds get traded about and make the rounds, I think that we should expand upon this in many ways, I see reason for it when I read what Blue wrote above about the hybrid cuke having no OP equivelant. I think that as a group of plant breeders and gardeners working together we should all keep an eye on the popular hybrids that gain a foothold and can be de-hybridized in order to start work in that direction on these particular selections for the gain of giving the public an OP version of their favorite hybrids, effectively negating the need to pay the same company every year for new seeds.

I've been doing a lot of this over the past couple of years and I think it is just as important as making new crosses and segregating them, after all germplasm is germplasm and high performance hybrids do make for great foundations to work from.


Perhaps the Cuke mentioned above as well as the eggplant should go onto the Hip-Gnosis Seed Development que sheet.