The lineup of 2020 AAS Winners has been announced, and in the edibles category it includes six national winners and four regional winners. For those who might not be familiar with it, All-America Selections (AAS) is an independent, non-profit organization that tests new varieties of flowers and edibles in trial grounds all over the U.S. and Canada. I grow quite a few AAS Winners in my garden every year, and I always look forward to trying the new winners here at Happy Acres. There are seven tomatoes, one melon, one cucumber and one pumpkin that made the Winners list for 2020..
Early Resilience is a Roma type tomato that has good Blossom End Rot resistance. BER is a common problem with many gardeners, and some varieties seem to be more susceptible than others. Early Resilience grows on bushy, high-yielding determinate plants and compared favorably with Plum Regal in trials. Judges also noted the fruits had good color and canning qualities. I look forward to growing it here in 2020. BER isn’t a big problem for me, but I am always looking for new and improved processing tomatoes.
Early Resilience tomato
Another tomato winning for 2020 is Galahad. It has 3 inch, 12 ounce fruits that grow on compact, determinate plants. Galahad has good Late Blight resistance, and compared favorably with Defiant and Mountain Merit, both of which I grew here this year. It promises to be a sweet tasting addition to the field of blight resistance slicing tomatoes, and I look forward trying it here. Thankfully blights have not yet been an issue in my garden, but I believe it’s only a matter of time before they migrate here and I want to be prepared.
Galahad tomato
Tomato Crokini is a small red cherry type tomato that also has good Late Blight resistance. Crokini’s round fruits are small and firm with a crunchy texture, with 10-12 fruits per cluster. The indeterminate vines need to be staked or caged. Judges liked the taste and texture of Crokini as compared to Sweet Million.
Tomato Crokini
Green Light cucumber has 3 to 4 inch cucumbers that begin maturing just 37 days after plantings. The fruits are crisp, sweet, seedless and spineless and the each plant yields up to 40 cucumbers. The vines are suitable for training on stakes or poles, and can be grown in containers.
Green Light cucumber
Mambo watermelon makes 9 inch round melons with a dark green rind and deep red flesh. The melons weigh up to 11 pounds each, and grow on vigorous vines that typically produce 3 or 4 fruits each. The fruits have a small seed cavity with very few seeds, which gives them the appearance of a seedless melon but with the flavor profile of a seeded melon. Mambo also produced well under cool and cloudy conditions, making it suitable for Northern gardens.
Mambo watermelon
Blue Prince Pumpkin is a C. maxima type winter squash that makes 7 to 9 pound flattened blue-gray pumpkins that are decorative as well as edible. The 12 inch diameter fruits have non-stringy deep orange flesh that is sweet and savory when baked. Blue Prince compared favorably to Jarradale in trials, and judges noted its earliness to fruit and flower along with its consistent shape. The vines are trailing and vigorous, and fruits are ready around 110 days after sowing.
Blue Prince pumpkin
The Celano tomato is a National Winner for 2020, with red grape tomatoes that grow on bushy semi-determinate plants that grow to 40 inches in height. The strong vines are best grown with some support like a tomato cage.
Celano tomato
Other Winners in the edibles category include the Apple Yellow tomato , the Buffalosun tomato and the Chef’s Choice Bicolor tomato. For a full list of both present and past winners, visit All-America Selections Winners. Their website also has information on where to Buy AAS Winners.
I hope you have enjoyed this review of a few of the 2020 AAS vegetables winners. For more information about AAS Winners check out:
- Growing the 2016 AAS Winners
- The 2018 All-America Selections Winners
- 2019 All-America Selections Winners
- My Favorite AAS Veggies
All photos are courtesy of All-America Selections.
