By Diane Blazek
Special to Road Trips for Gardeners

The first All-American Selections winners for 2019 have been announced.

Melon Orange SilverWave F1 (left) is the Regional Winner – Northeast, Southeast (Bred by Asia Seed Co., Ltd.)

Orange SilverWave is an exotic melon bred in South Korea with an extremely sweet, orange flesh and unique rind color. Many foodie gardeners are looking to grow something different to “Wow!” their guests and this melon will do just that. The attractive 5” oval melons grow on vigorous vines, producing up to six fruits per vine. Whether grown in a large container or in-ground, it’s best to grow the vines on a trellis for better disease control. This AAS Winner is great eaten alone, in a fruit salad, wrapped with prosciutto or mixed into a smoothie or margarita.

Watermelon Cal Sweet Bush F1 (right) is the Regional Winner – Great Lakes (Bred by Seeds By Design and Enza Zaden)

From ancient wild watermelons to today’s new hybrids, watermelons have come a long way. Cal Sweet Bush is an example of how ongoing breeding efforts result in a new and better short internode (the sections between the stem joints) watermelon that has compact 14-18″ vines and still provide enough foliage to protect the fruits. Each plant yields 2-3 10 pound fruits. Like all AAS Winners, this newbie delivers exceptional taste and texture. Cal Sweet Bush is a great watermelon choice for gardeners with limited space as it will produce at least one fruit per vine if grown in a container.

(Photos courtesy of AAS)