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8 AAS Winners for Small Spaces: Containers, Balconies, Patios

2 February, 2022
8 AAS Winners for Small Spaces All-America Selections
8 AAS Winners for Small Spaces All-America Selections

No room for a garden? Think again!

Today’s breeders are fulfilling the demand for more compact vegetable plants to accommodate smaller garden spaces or even no garden area at all.

Vegetables for Small Spaces!

Tomatoes and peppers specifically now come in almost miniature sizes that can be grown in containers as small as 6 inches!

New AAS Edible Container Trial

In 2021, All-America Selections launched a trial for these dainty new varieties called the Edible Container Trial. Some of the AAS Winners featured below are from that trial. Others were trialed in prior years but due to their compact habit, fit right in with their compact features.
As always, all entries into the AAS Trials are judged on garden performance and plant health. In the case of edibles, they are also judged on taste and texture and all these traits are compared to other varieties on the market that are considered to be best in their class. So if you see that AAS Winner logo, you know that variety has been tested all over North America by expert horticulturists and has proven its qualities to be better than what it was trialed next to.
If you are new to growing edibles, these varieties are great options. Container growing can be done almost anywhere where there’s enough sun. Just make sure you use an appropriately sized container with drainage holes and good potting soil and delicious homegrown vegetables can be yours!

8 AAS Winners to Grow in Small Spaces

AAS Winner Pepper Quickfire produces plenty of hot delicious peppers on a compact, sturdy plant perfect for containers

Quickfire Pepper

Mighty, strong, hot, and quick!

What more might one want in a hot Thai type pepper? Quickfire peppers produce plenty of hot delicious fruits on a compact, sturdy plant that is perfect for container gardening. No staking is required. This pepper has tremendous ornamental value but was bred for its taste and yield. Culinary gardeners will definitely want to give this gem a try in their Thai and other Southeast Asian dishes where a little heat and kick give the meal some quick fire!

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Pepper Pot-a-peno - AAS Edible - Vegetable Winner

Pot-a-peno Pepper

Grow in containers and hanging baskets

Pot-a-peno is a fun new jalapeno pepper with a compact habit perfect for growing in containers and hanging baskets. Plentiful small, green jalapeño fruits have a traditional spicy zip that is great in any dish where you want a little punch of spice. Simply leave the fruit on the vine a few extra weeks and they will ripen to red for a sweet, spicy flavor.  A unique trait is how the fruit hangs down beneath the plant making it very easy to harvest without damaging the plant.

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Know your growing zone! Planting too early could mean disappointment if a late frost destroys tender young plants. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone map is your key to success.

Potato Clancy - 2019 AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner - The first potato grown from seed!

Clancy Potato

Grow Potatoes Easily From Seed!

The first potato from seed that’s an AAS Winner! The benefits of growing this tasty edible from seed are many. For home gardeners, sterile seed eliminates the potential for introducing disease to the garden. Seeds are also easier to store and can be stored longer than potato tubers. Potato Clancy produces compact and healthy dark green plants with blue flowers. The resulting spuds are a beautiful ornamental mix ranging from red to rose blush skin tones with interiors of creamy white and yellow.  Clancy has great texture and flavor, making it especially good for mashing or boiling due to its lighter texture.

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Mini Love Watermelon - This personal-sized Asian watermelon is perfect for smaller families and smaller gardens. Shorter vines (3-4’) still produce up to six fruits per plant and can be grown in smaller spaces.

Mini Love Watermelon

Grow Your Own Watermelon!

This personal-sized Asian watermelon is perfect for smaller families and smaller gardens. Shorter vines (3-4 feet) still produce up to six fruits per plant and can be grown in smaller spaces. Several judges commented on the crack and split resistant rinds, important for reducing crop loss. For culinary purposes, this deep red-fleshed watermelon has a thin but strong rind that can be carved into attractive shapes for fruit salad presentations. Mini Love has a high sugar content resulting in sweet and crisp, juicy flesh that will be a true summer delight for watermelon lovers.

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Use a good potting mix for your vegetables that holds water well, drains well, and has ample air space. 

Tomato Patio Choice Yellow F1 - 2017 AAS Edible - Vegetable Winner

Patio Choice Yellow Tomato

Grow Lots of Tomatoes 

Patio Choice Yellow is a new compact, determinate tomato developed specifically for small spaces and container gardens. This AAS Winner produces very large yields of 1/2 ounce bright yellow cherry tomatoes on short vines that grow only 18 inches tall. This mild-flavored cherry tomato sets over 100 fruit on compact plants that are perfect for small space food gardeners. For even easier picking, plant in a hanging basket.

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Pak Choi Asian Delight

Asian Delight Pak Choi

Grow Pak Choi Longer in the Season

Asian Delight F1 Pak Choi (or Bok Choy) is a Chinese Cabbage that outperformed the comparisons by leaps and bounds. Judge after judge noted how this Pak Choi does not bolt like the comparisons, even weeks after other varieties went to seed. That means the yield from this AAS Winner can be double or even higher than that of other Pak Choi on the market. Asian Delight forms small to mid-size (5-7 inch) heads that have a tasty, tender white rib and dark green, textured leaves.

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Vegetables in containers may need more frequent watering and fertilizing because the smaller volume of soil and nutrients can leach out.

Pea Snak Hero - AAS Edible-Vegetable Winner

Snap Pea Snak Hero

Looks like a Green Bean, Tastes like a Snap Pea!

Slender 4″ long pods have the straight and elongated appearance of a succulent green bean but the surprising taste and texture of a snap pea. Snak Hero is so super-sweet and delicious it would be no surprise if they never make it to the kitchen! Stringless, edible pods are perfect for healthy, garden-fresh snacking, stir-frying, or freezing for later. 18-24″ vines can be grown with or without support and are perfect for patio containers or hanging baskets. Frequent harvesting can easily bump up production for a long, substantial harvest window. Peas are a great early-season crop as they can be planted when soil temperatures are above 45 degrees F.

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Katarina Cabbage has a perfect smaller head size (4”) and shape to be grown successfully in containers on patios, decks or in-ground beds, possibly as an ornamental/edible border.

Cabbage Katarina

Perfect Cabbage Size for Patios, Decks & In-ground

Coleslaw and summer go hand-in-hand and this year, you will be able to enjoy your own fresh, homemade coleslaw with our AAS Winner Cabbage Katarina F1.  This winner has a perfect smaller head size (4”) and shape to be grown successfully in containers on patios, decks, or in-ground beds, possibly as an ornamental/edible border.  Judges noted that Katarina matured as much as 1-3 weeks earlier than other cabbage varieties so harvest and enjoy early in the year. Once the main head was removed, the plant continued to grow smaller side heads as well. The taste is less bitter and sweeter than conventional varieties; it might just convert even those who think they are not fond of cabbage.

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Check out these Retailers for Where to Buy our AAS Winners. 

Which AAS Winners are you going to grow this year?

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