What’s Growing In My 2013 Garden? Here’s The List!

If you have followed me on Facebook, you know that back in January, I had received many different seed catalogs, many of which that I had never heard of before.  I looked through them all and some I liked, some I didn’t and others didn’t have the varieties that I wanted.  The one similarity that I noticed is that the prices seemed to go up everywhere.  Still, for the amount of produce that you get from a package of seeds, you can’t beat the price. However, this year more than others, I noticed that the individual seed packets was up considerably.

After a lot of hemming and hawing, I decided to stick with my usual seed supplier, Gurneys. I have been very pleased with my results in the past and I saw no reason to change at this point.

Last week, after waiting eagerly for two weeks, my box of seeds finally arrived. Here is a list of what I hope to be growing in my garden this 2013 season. All pictures were taken off of the Gurneys website.

 

Sweet Pepper, Hybrid Gurney’s Giant II – Big, blocky, 6-in. fruits have extremely thick, meaty walls. Vigorous, healthy plants produce enormous yields of sweet, juicy bells that ripen from green to red. 70 DAYS.

Onion, Candy Hybrid – Day-neutral onion! Early, jumbo-size bulbs are extra sweet; hold up in storage. 85 DAYS.

Hot Pepper, Hybrid Gurney’s Primo Jalapeno – Big, vigorous plants pump out high yields of extra-large, 4 1/2-in. high-quality peppers! Thick-walled, tasty fruits ripen from dark green to fiery red and are perfect for stuffing, baking or salsas. Excellent disease resistance means even more spectacularly spicy peppers for all your favorite dishes. 70 DAYS.

Sweet Pepper, Sweet Banana – Elongated, 6-in. peppers turn scarlet when fully ripe but stay sweet and mild. Delightful in salads, exquisitely pungent pickled. Famous for its amazing yields. 68 DAYS.

Leaf Lettuce, Blend – Deliciously crisp and colorful mix is equal parts Romaine, Black-Seeded Simpson, Salad Bowl and Red Sails Leaf Lettuce. A fantastic blend. 40-70 DAYS.

Radish, Cherry Belle – Tasty radish stays mild, stores for weeks in the refrigerator. Stays crisp, never becomes pithy. 21 DAYS.

Snap pea, Sugar Ann – Beats Sugar Snap by weeks! Stays sweet, crisp and truly delicious. Stringless. Dwarf plants grow 10-24 in. and don’t need staking. 56 DAYS.

Pole Bean, Blue Lake – Sets pods from the base to the top of the vine—plenty for canning! Straight, smooth 6-in. pods are crisp and stringless at all stages, never limp. They cook up tender, with full-bodied Blue Lake flavor. 63 DAYS.

Zinnia, State Fair – Double 5- to 6-in. flowers bloom June to frost— an explosion of red, orange, purple, yellow and pink on 2 1/2-ft. stems. This plant attracts butterflies.

Beet, Ruby Queen – Early, round, smooth-skinned beets are exceptionally tender. Ringless and deep red—retain color through processing. 52 DAYS.

Watermelon, Sugar Baby – Saves space in the garden and in the refrigerator. The only thing oversized is the flavor—rich and incredibly sweet. Compact vines produce plenty of 6- to 10-lb. fruits packed with sweet red-orange flesh. 85 DAYS.

Summer Squash, Hybrid Multipik – Extremely prolific! Produces a bumper crop of handsome, straightneck fruits. Vigorous bush plants. Pick often for highest yields. 50 DAYS.

Herb, Rosemary – Narrow, spiky leaves have a piney, bittersweet flavoring. Favored scent for spicy potpourris, too. Grow as an annual in the North. Potted plants. 85 DAYS.

Eggplant, Hybrid Twilight – Strong, compact plants bear heavy yields of 4- to 8-in. ebony-colored eggplants with mild white flesh. Very tolerant of heat and drought with great disease resistance; you are assured a bumper crop of tasty fruit. Perfect for casseroles, stuffing or any of your favorite dishes. 62 DAYS.

Herb, Mammoth Dill – Pungent seeds are a must for your pickling brine. Feathery leaves perk up fish, seafood, dips and sauces. Use dried, fresh or frozen. Annual. 60 DAYS.

 

Parsnip, All-American – Creamy, wedge-shaped roots 3 in. across, 10-12 in. long. Extra-sweet flavor and fine texture, uniform in size. Dig in fall for storage or leave in the ground till spring. 105 DAYS.

Spinach, Hybrid Tyee – Upright plants hold leaves well above the ground. Bolt resistant. 37 DAYS.

Winter Squash, Autumn Acorn Blend – A beautiful blend of four differently hued squashes will be a welcome sight! White Ace, Table Princess, Table Gold and Mardi Gras varieties, each with superior eating quality, have been combined to create one delicious mix. Perfect for baking, steaming and making into soups. 70-90 DAYS.

Summer Squash, Black Magic – Semi-spineless vines 1-2 ft. tall, 3-3 1/2 ft. wide bear huge crops of dark green fruits. Small seed cavity. 50 DAYS.

Carrot, Tendersweet – Sweetest carrot on the market! Tapered 7-in. coreless roots. Easy to grow. 75 DAYS.

Head Lettuce, Buttercrunch – Compact butterhead-type head lettuce is productive, heat tolerant and slow to bolt. Mildly flavored leaves. 65 DAYS.

Tomato, Roma VF -Premium canner, ideal for sauce and paste. Pear-shaped scarlet fruits are thick and meaty with few seeds. Determinate. 75 DAYS.

 Tomato, Brandywine – Winner of countless taste tests. Heavy producer of big, boat-shaped, beefsteak fruits. Tempting pink-red color, 1- to 1 1/2-lb. size and rich, creamy aftertaste. Indeterminate. 90 DAYS.

Winter Squash, Waltham Butternut – Cooks up sweet and tender! Smooth 9- to 10-in. fruits filled with orange flesh. Huge yields. 95 DAYS.

Bush Bean, Early Contender – Starts producing nearly a week ahead of most varieties. Bears 6- to 8-in. stringless pods and nothing stops it! Tolerates mosaic virus, greasy pod and heat. Cooks up tender; cans and freezes with no loss of quality. 2 oz. per pkt. 49 DAYS.

Pumpkin, Big Max – Handsome pumpkins, up to 100 lbs. or more, make excellent pies and impressive jack-o’-lanterns. Fine-grained, bright orange flesh is great for canning or freezing. 110 DAYS.

Herby, Large-leafed Italian Basil – Broad, crinkled oval leaves are nicely spicy. The favorite traditional flavoring for many Italian dishes—the perfect companion for tomatoes! Excellent fresh or dried. Easy to grow, slow to bolt. Annual. 90 DAYS.

Turnip, Purple Top White Globe – Fine-grained roots get as big as softballs! A good fall crop—frost enhances flavor. 55 DAYS.

Cucumber, Hybrid Gurney’s Burpless II – Super mild, never bitter, easy to digest. Resists scab, leaf spot, mosaic virus, mildew, anthracnose. Not favored by beetles. 55 DAYS.

Cucumber, Straight Eight – Tip-top slicing cuke is perfectly straight! Dark green, 8-in. fruits—a uniform 2 1/2 in. across—have a small seed cavity and crisp, fine-grained flesh. 65 DAYS.

Cauliflower, Hybrid Snow Crown – One of the easiest cauliflowers to grow. Vigorous, rapid growth and long harvest. Snow-white, 2-lb. heads are 7-8 in. across and very flavorful. 55 DAYS.