AAS tomato seeds for 2025.
If you’re growing spring and summer vegetables and flowers from seeds, start with tried-and-true seeds for the best results.
Each January, the National Garden Bureau sends us garden writers a fine assortment of All-American Selection Winners seeds to continue their professional trials in our own gardens. First trialed/tested by a panel of expert judges who are part of an independent, neutral trialing organization, if a plant or edible earns the title as an All-American Selection it’s going to exceed expectations in home gardens.
The AAS Winner label is like a stamp of approval. AAS Winners are bred and produced without using genetic engineering, commonly referred to as genetic modification or GMO. Each year’s winners are chosen because they represent improved earliness to bloom or harvest, disease and pest tolerance, novel colors or flavors, new colors, length of flowering or harvest and overall performance.
The seeds we receive may be new introductions this year or those that have been shown to be best performers year-after-year.
For instance, for the third year, I’ve received seeds for two of my favorite tomatoes: Purple Zebra and Midnight Snack. They are staples in my garden and I often share surplus seedlings with friends.
Purple Zebra has been a real winner each summer for me. Some of the plants continue bearing into the early fall. Its dark-red skin has green stripes; the fruit is about the size of a billiard ball, and remains firm and long-lasting on the kitchen counter. Its sweet flavor is great in salads or used for tomato sandwiches and I even mix them in with other tomatoes for canning.
Midnight Snack cherry tastes are a curiosity. As the fruit grows, it starts out green with dark purple on the top third. As it ripens, the green part ripens to bright red and the dark purple top deepens to almost black. We eat them right off the plant, serve them in salads, stuff them with cream cheese for appetizers.
AAS Winners this year include an array of peppers from sweet bells in several colors to a full range of heat. Check out Sweet Red Impact, Sweet Yellow, Sweet Dragonfly, Wildcat Hot, Quickfire Chili Pepper and San Joaquin.
Where to purchase AAS seeds? Box retailers, online nurseries such as Gurney’s and Park Seed and some local nurseries are selling them.
More than just seed testing
All-American Selection Winners is one of many programs that are part of the National Garden Bureau. It’s an abundant resource for the latest in home gardening, from tips and guidance about top-performing plants to landscape design and how to manage pests and bugs.
As a non-profit, NGB’s mission is to educate, inspire, and motivate people to increase the use of garden seeds, plants and products in homes, gardens and workplaces by being the marketing arm of the gardening industry.
The website is rich with consumer-oriented information from experts in many areas of horticulture, and the site’s blog includes seasonal and timely garden and growing tips, guidance for purchasing perennials, gardening in containers and solving common tomato problems. The organization’s recognized demonstration gardens are across the US and Canada. An annual listing of a half-dozen or more plants featured for the current year includes in-depth information about care, uses by homeowners, and eBooks about each plant of the year.
The organization is an excellent resource for homeowners, whether you a long-time gardener or just starting out. Check it out at ngb.org.
Photo: by Pamela A. Keene
Spring Garden Expo
What: Hall County Master Gardeners Spring Garden Expo
When: Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5
Where: Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center – 1855 Calvary Church Road, Gainesville
Parking: $2 per adultNote: No pets please; service animals permitted
Info: hallmastergardeners.com, 770-535-8293
The annual Sweep the Hooch is your chance to walk, wade, or paddle as we come together to clean up the river we all depend on.
