Your mailboxes are stuffed to the brim with seed catalogs. Within their colorful pages you can choose from thousands of varieties of every vegetable imaginable: black-skinned tomatoes, long and skinny eggplants, beans with bangles, potatoes for different purposes.

So, you ask, what’s something new I should try? And is it any good?

One ever-reliable source of new and good vegetable and flower varieties is All-America Selections, fondly known as AAS. Since 1932, this not-for-profit organization has been hard at work in their trial gardens across America, putting new releases through their ringers.

AAS Vegetables and More

Over the years, AAS has given their coveted AAS Awards to a number of rock-star varieties: Red Sails and Buttercrunch lettuces and Sugar Snap pea, just to name two. You recognize those varieties. You can attest to their garden performance, their taste, and their overall vegetable vigor. Well now, you can thank All-America Selections for giving them their first nods.

Truth be told, AAS typically bestows their awards on flower varieties. That might have something to do with the varieties plant breeders are submitting for AAS consideration. This year, however, veggies were given the lion’s share of awards. I suspect that might have something to do with the renewed interest in GYO (“growing your own”) and the local food movement. And to help both seasoned gardeners and beginners sort through all that is possible for their new vegetable gardens, AAS is giving you their picks for the cream of the 2009 crop.

You’ll find these veggie varieties in the seed racks and as small plants in your locally owned garden center this spring. Just look for the red, white, and blue All-America logo right on the packet or tag.

Gretel Eggplant

Gretel is an early maturing eggplant that produces glossy white, miniature fruits.

This eggplant grows rapidly in steadily warm conditions over 55F. One of the variety’s best selling points is its tender white skin. Even if the fruits mature beyond the ideal size of 3 to 4 inches, the skin remains so tender, you don’t need to peel before cooking. This means you can leave Gretel Eggplant hanging on the bush until you’re ready, giving you a longer harvest window.

Another bonus, Gretel grows to just 3 feet wide and tall, perfect for growing in containers on your patio or right outside your kitchen door.

Honey Bear Squash

The problem with some squashes is people just don’t know how to serve them. Scooped out of the shell? Pureed? Served over pasta?

Honey Bear Squash solves the problem. It was bred to be baked and served in the half shell, making its preparation easy for meal preparation. The squash that comes with a bowl!

Compared to other squash, Honey Bear is a fairly compact plant, starting at 2 to 3 feet tall and spreading about 4 to 5 feet without vines. The plant produces three to five fruit per bush, each weighing about a pound, and thanks to its tolerance of powdery mildew, it continues to bear fruit throughout the season.

Like its name suggests, Honey Bear has a sweet flavor. Well behaved, sweet tasting, and with no need for powdery mildew eradication—sounds like a winner to me!

Lambkin Melon

Step outside the pink watermelon world and try something a little different.

Lambkin is an oval-shaped, Christmas-type melon with a thin rind and sweet, aromatic, white juicy flesh. Each melon weighs in at about 2 to 4 pounds—a nice size to share. Ripening in 65 to 75 days, Lambkin is earlier to ripen than other gourmet melons. This allows the vines to produce more melons during the growing season. Lambkin is classified as a Christmas-type melon, allowing it to be stored longer than other melons.