Craning our necks after arriving at the front door bearing a fresh-baked pie is our go-to nosy neighbor strategy for finding out what’s in the garden next door — but desperate times call for desperate measures. In the interest of social distancing and actual data, this year we asked our favorite horti-companies to share their best selling products from last growing season and their forecasts for 2021.
Some of the results surprised us (like the esoteric herb that’s already selling out), while for other reliable favorites, like tomatoes, we dug down to find out which hot varieties will be soaking up the summer sunshine as readily as you will. With last year’s gardening boom set to carry into 2021, you might want to purchase these seeds and seedlings ASAP, before they sell out. Some already have.
Top Large Tomato: Bodacious
Sink your teeth into this luscious fruit-vegetable, and you may want to start riffing on a particular Nelly song. The Bodacious is a new variety that topped Burpee tomato sales in 2020 — so if you’re short (or, er….have compact vines) and survived this past year (ie: blight resistant), you might want to consider tweaking some this catalogue copy for your online dating profile: “Gorgeous, juicy and prolific…these large, round, vibrant, pure-red 10–12 oz. fruits entice with heirloom aromatics and tangy tomato sweetness…compact 5–6′ vines yield 8–10 spectacular fruits a week and a bold, audacious 40–50 per season…easy to pick and no cracking. Excellent ‘laugh-off-blight’ resistance.”
That’s you: ‘laugh-off-isolation’ resistance.
Buy: Bodacious Tomato, 1 Pkt. (25 seeds) for $6.95
Top Cherry Tomato: Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato
This is the chuck-it-into-your-mouth tomato you can snack on all summer long. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange told us that Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato was their overall bestseller in every seed category, not just tomatoes. Originally foraged in Hidalgo, eastern Mexico (probably where Tomato Matt likes to hike), they have an intense red color and chubby circumference that bursts en la boca with sweet, tart juice. Bonus: the sprawling vines mean you’ll be popping these on repeat till Halloween.
Buy: Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato, 1 Pkt. (about 40–83 seeds; sows 100 ft.) for $2.75
Top Herb: Coriander & Culantro
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Culantro — ever heard of it? This surprise sell-out is cilantro’s saw-toothed sister and also a major ingredient in Hispanic and Asian cooking. The flavors of either herb are nearly indistinguishable, but culantro has thicker leaves making it ideal for stews, stir-fries, or any cooked dish where cilantro might be too delicate. According to Kitazawa Seed Co., one of our favorite niche Asian seed producers, this is a bestseller because mainstream supermarkets haven’t quite caught up with the new flavors home cooks have been experimenting with. Same goes for shiso leaves, another Asian herb that’s hard to find but was also popular for Kitazawa Seed Co. last growing season.
Buy: Culantro, 1 Pkt. (2000–3000 seeds) for $4.00
The Better Basil: Emerald Towers
Growing basil is a blessing and a curse. There’s no sense in buying a whole bunch to garnish a single margherita pie, but it pains us to murder a mature bae for the sake of some pesto. Enter Emerald Towers, your green gateway to the upper echelons of basil gardening, and the first seedling Bonnie Plants pointed to as a game changer for 2021. We’ll curb our herb enthusiasm after a few exclamations that convey its superiority: Heat tolerance. Columnar growth for effortless container harvest. Much later flowering for higher yields. In other words: everything you need to go Caprese crazy! (Bonnie Plants is affiliated with Scotts Miracle-Gro, the financial backer for Aerate.)
Buy: Emerald Towers Basil*, 25 oz (2-Pack)
Top Heirloom Bean: Dragon Tongue Bush Bean
Easy to plant, quick to mature, highly productive, and just look at those pods — they’re absolutely gorgeous. Beauty and taste might be why they topped Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds sales. With a name like Dragon Tongue, you might expect intense (or spicy?) flavor, but they’re sweet, tender and mild when shelled or eaten whole. We suspect the bean-simmering trend might’ve given legumes a leg up in this year’s gardens — there are 192 five-star reviews for this seed on Baker Creek’s site.
Buy: Dragon Tongue Bush Bean, 1 Pkt. (40 seeds) for $3.00
Already Out of Stock: Heavy Hitter Okra
Ok, maybe this Jewish girl in Brooklyn hasn’t had much okra exposure, but I was stunned when Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds reported that a never-before-sold variety has already flown off shelves. According to Baker Creek:
“We offered a product called Heavy Hitter Okra for the first time this year. It is an heirloom that was selected and perfected since 1972 from the ever-popular heirloom Clemson Spineless okra. Clemson Spineless has been my all-time favorite for many years, although I have tried several. I cannot wait to try the Heavy Hitter. Fortunately, I ordered my seeds early because we sold 20,000 packs in just 3 months. It is now out of stock in our warehouse for the entire season.”
If you’re gung-ho about gumbo, click that “Notify me when product is in stock” button.
Buy: Heavy Hitter Okra, 1 Pkt. (15 seeds) for $3.50
2021 Fruit Trend Prediction: Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherry
These little gems have been popping up everywhere for some months now — at Trader Joe’s, on Instagram’s overnight oats, even in Asian skincare lines. Maybe it’s the way the light hits their papery husks or the canary-colored fruit that makes them an influencer’s fave and a trending finger food on charcuterie boards.
At the market, you might see them labeled as golden berries, ground cherries, or husk cherries — but if you’re looking to grow your own, check out the Cossack Pineapple breed, a top seller for Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They’re reported to be super sweet, with hints of tropical fruit.
Buy: Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherry, 1 Pkt. (90–140 seeds) for $2.95 or Pineapple Ground Cherry* (seedlings)
2021 Vegetable Prediction: Cucamelon
Because pickling and “everything mini” are trends that don’t seem to be going out of style anytime soon, Bonnie Plants is offering this seedling to scratch both itches. What are they, exactly? Cucamelons are native to Mexico where they’re called pepquiños (“little cucumbers”) or sanditas (“little watermelons”) — and the eating experience is exactly that hybrid: vegetal crisp of a cucumber with juicy tartness of watermelon rind. You can crunch on these one-inch cuties straight-up, skewer them for a cocktail (Mmm…mojitos), or use them to stock the produce section for your kid’s Barbie supermarket. Vines are easily trellised and container-friendly making this one of few cucumber varieties that doesn’t require a lot of arable land.
Buy: Seedlings available at select Home Depots here (Bonnie Plants is affiliated with Scotts Miracle-Gro, the financial backer for Aerate.)
Top Flower: State Fair Zinnia, Mixed Colors
The all-too-real reason these posies might be getting popular is their resilience. Global warming and drought-stricken growing seasons means gardeners are looking for heat tolerant varieties. Zinnias actually like a sultry day, according to a reviewer on Southern Exposure’s website:
“They like the heat and might be late starters to bloom, but, boy, once they get going! I got up to 4 full bouquets per week (15–20 stems per bouquet) at mid-summer. They last until frost.”
Flowers that are sturdy, not too thirsty, and look ravishing in a vase? This city girl will order a few window-boxes worth.
Buy: State Fair Zinnias, Mixed Colors, 1 Pkt. (125 seeds) for $2.50