THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501130077
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
AS YOU PORE through the seed catalogs filling your mailbox these days, check out new varieties. Tomatoes remain the most popular, and there are new ones every year to whet your appetite.
From Burpee comes ``Super Tasty.'' They say it is sweet, juicy-rich and ``full-bodied'' (sounds like a brand of coffee). It has ``Big Boy'' aroma, whatever that is. Burpee says it hasn't found another tomato that tastes so good.
``Super Tasty'' is so productive in mid-season that it looks like a tower of tomatoes, according to Burpee. Smooth, globe-shaped fruits ripen uniformly. It is a semi-bushy plant, which means it takes up less space in a garden. ``Super Tasty'' has multiple disease resistance.
If you want to start an asparagus bed, there is ``Purple Passion.'' Said to be sweeter than regular asparagus, it produces large crops of purple spears.
``French Filet'' bean is another vegetable getting lots of attention. It is a stringless baby bean, easier to pick and prepare than traditional filet beans.
For those who have a yen for okra early in the season, there's an early yielding variety. ``North and South'' is ready to pick three weeks before others.
Almost everyone prefers a burpless cucumber, and ``Big Burpless'' was the best-tasting of all new cukes in Burpee trials. It is a jumbo, growing 12 to 14 inches long without sacrificing crunchiness or flavor. Skin is smooth and dark green, and the flesh is crisp, juicy and white. If you want it to be seedless, grow it in isolation from other cucumbers.
You can grow peppers in almost every color of the rainbow these days. Traditional green, plus red, purple, yellow and orange. ``Orange Belle'' peppers are big, blocky peppers that turn bright orange at maturity. The flesh is thick and meaty with excellent flavor. Strong plants set an abundance of fruit.
The ``Super Tasty'' tomato, ``Big Burpless'' cucumber and ``Orange Belle'' pepper are Burpee exclusives, so they are easy to find in garden center seed racks or the Burpee catalog. You may have to look harder for the others.
Remember that new varieties are not often easy to find as plants, so you may have to grow your own from seed. If you choose to do that, seed should be started in mid- to late February. ILLUSTRATION: NATIONAL GARDEN BUREAU COLOR PHOTOS
``Big Burpless'' cucumber and ``Super Tasty'' tomato are among
Burpee's much-touted new varieties that may be worth trying in your
garden this summer.
by CNB