Nov 5, 2010

National Garden Bureau Announces 2011 ‘Year of the’ CropsSource: National Garden Bureau

Every year since 1982, the National Garden Bureau and its members select one flower and one vegetable to be showcased in the “Year of the” program – 2011 will be the “Year of the Tomato” and the “Year of the Zinnia.”

The National Garden Bureau announced that 2011 will be the “Year of the Tomato” and the “Year of the Zinnia.”

Every year since 1982, the National Garden Bureau and its members select one flower and one vegetable to be showcased in the “Year of the” program. These crops are chosen because they are popular, easy to grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse and versatile.

For an even more effective “Year of the” program, the National Garden Bureau has announced the selected crops for 2011 earlier in the buying season in order to give the entire chain of distribution more time to prepare for the additional product demand this program generates. Growers and retailers are learning of these crop selections now in order to prepare for the 2011 home gardening season.

The National Garden Bureau has created slideshows of each 2011 “Year of” crop to make it easier for speakers and presenters to showcase these easy-to-grow crops. Slideshows can be found on the NGB Slideshare account here.

Images of the new varieties of both tomatoes and zinnias as well as detailed fact sheets for both crops are now on the new NGB website and can be found here.