Top New Edibles for 2020
By Chris Edmunds
It's always rewarding to grow your own food! Here are our top 3 edible plant picks for 2020.
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We love the fact that the "grow your own food" movement is gaining momentum again. Growing edibles is super rewarding, and the fact that they're becoming more popular means more edible plant varieties are always in production. That means we get to choose amazing new types of vegetables and fruits to share with you every year!
Fresh veggies are exciting and relatively easy to grow. We've picked a few types that we can't wait to try this year, and we hope you like them too. Here are three edible Kaw Valley favorites we're looking forward to growing in 2020!
New Girl Tomato
If you've tried 'Early Girl' tomatoes, you've got to take a bite out of a 'New Girl'! This quick-to-fruit tomato plant is an improvement on the old favorite 'Early Girl' with more flavor and higher yields. The perfect balance of sweet and acidic, 'New Girl' tomatoes are sure to impress.
These small to medium tomatoes are delicious right off the vine or in traditional tomato recipes like Caprese salad and bruschetta. Wrap them up in a fresh basil leaf and enjoy a moment of pure delight with their complementary flavors. Switch it up with any of our basil varieties, like African Blue or Thai Sweet, which are excellent growing companions to tomatoes.
'New Girl' is an indeterminate tomato, so it will need support with stakes or cages. It is disease resistant and super easy to grow, producing well through the season. It will do well with regular fertilizer, as tomatoes need tons of nutrients to produce great-tasting fruit.
Shishito Takara Pepper
This little pepper is making big waves in the culinary world. With its robust flavor and thin walls, 'Shishito Takara' peppers are versatile and often served grilled, stuffed, pickled, and in stir-fry. They are mostly mild in flavor, but a few of them will take on a spicy kick as a result of dry, hot weather conditions. This can make for a fun game of Russian roulette to see who gets the luck of the draw!
'Shishito Takara' Peppers provide great yields throughout the season. You'll know they're ready to harvest when they are about the size of a finger and pull easily from the plants. Usually, the peppers are eaten while still green, but if left to mature on the plant, they'll turn red. (Don't worry, they're still delicious at this stage!) Like most vegetables, peppers will also benefit from fertilizing every two weeks through the season. They are a more compact plant than many vegetables, making them well suited for growing in containers.
Cal Sweet Bush Watermelon
Finally, a watermelon that behaves itself! This All-American Selections Winner for 2019 is a compact grower that allows gardeners with limited space to enjoy the refreshment of homegrown watermelon in less time than other varieties. Branching only 18 inches, they are suitable for large containers like a whiskey barrel. Each plant produces 2-3 round fruits with beautiful striping and sweet, crisp red flesh. Watermelon is also surprisingly healthy! Not only is it a hydrating snack on a hot summer day, but it's packed with vitamins and antioxidants.
'Cal Sweet Bush' watermelons are manageable in size and resistant to powdery mildew. At 10-12 pounds per melon, they are perfect for sharing or keeping all to yourself. Watermelons will benefit from well-draining soil and deep, regular watering, especially when flowering, to ensure a good fruit set. Reducing watering once fruits are visible will improve the sweet flavor. Harvest when the tendril near the fruit has begun to turn brown.
If you haven't started growing your own vegetables yet, these fun new varieties for 2020 are a great place to start. They're all easy enough for beginners to grow, and each plant produces lots of fruit. You don't even need a garden to grow these edibles—they'll all happily perform in pots or containers in a sunny spot on your patio, porch, or balcony.
If you're as excited about these new edible plants as we are, get yourself down to one of our Kaw Valley Greenhouses locations and check them out. We'll help you find all the ingredients for a successful first crop!
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