Lawn & Garden -
What's New in the Demo Garden for July

Atlantic County Master Gardeners have been volunteering regularly to keep the demo garden looking great during the growing season. Cool season crops have been removed to make way for summer crops. All of the plants are open-pollinated heirlooms from which they can gather seeds for next year. Prolific produces were chosen so that once harvested the vegetables can be donated to local food banks.

Check back often as each of our Master Gardener classes from 2005 through 2010 will continue with succession plantings throughout the summer and fall.

New Plantings

Capsicum annum 'Poblano Pepper'

Upright 24" tall plants with fruits that are 4-5" long. Can be used in salsa, to grill, stir fry or stuff for chile rellenos. It is sweet but with enough spicy bite to be in the hot pepper category. When dried it is most often used for chile powder.

Cucumis sativus 'Long Green Improved Slicing Cucumber'

Strong, vigorous producer of 10" long cucumbers. Some may exceed 12". Excellent for slicing or picked smaller for pickling. Very solid and crisp.

Cucurbita pepo 'Early Prolific Straightneck'

Produces high yields of lemon-yellow, slightly club-shaped yellow squash. Tastiest when harvested at 7" long or smaller.

Curcurbita pepo 'Dark Green Zucchini'

An early, bush-type zucchini with smooth, dark-green mottled fruits. Tastiest at 6-8" with pale greenish-white, firm flesh. Easy to grow, prolific with heavy yields.

Lycopersicon esculentum 'Marglobe'

Produces a huge crop of round, smooth, solid fleshed red tomotoes. The tomatoes are a disease and crack resistant tomato that can claim parentage of many of today's hybrid tomatoes including the famous Rutgers Tomato.

Phaseolus limensis 'King of the Garden Pole Lima'

Vines are 8-9' tall with many 8" pods that are 1-1/4" wide. Rich, creamy, almost honey-like flavor. An old time favorite because of its dependability and taste.

Phaseolus vulgaris 'Kentucky Wonder'

Kentucky Wonder appeared sometime in the 1850's. It has 7-10" pods and is perfect to eat fresh, cooked, frozen or canned. It is a heavy producer, bears in clusters over an extended season. The beans are stringless, tender when young, and rich in flavor. It is only 4 to 5 feet tall making it easy to harvest. Rust resistant. Grows on a fence or pole.

Cucumis melo 'Honey Rock Melon'

Produces sweet, flavorful fruits up to 6 inches in diameter. It has a tough, coarsely netted skin and salmon-colored flesh. This cantaloupe produces vigorous vines with an average of 5-7 fruits per plant. Fusarium wilt resistant.

Solanum melongena var esculentum 'Long Purple Eggplant'

An Italian heirloom with a milder, more delicate flavor than regular eggplant. The Long Purple has just a few seeds and a thin skin that make it easy to cook. Grows 24-30" in length. Eggplants prefer rich, deep, loose soils with large amounts of organic material.