Fordhook Farm, Pa.--Butterstick squash. Gardener's Delight cherry tomatoes. Royal Chantenay carrots. Roly Poly zucchini. Purple Ruffles basil. Crispy bell peppers.
Even the names are delicious.
It's no accident. The fruits and vegetables piled on the table here at Fordhook Farm are designed to be alluring in every aspect: looks, taste, hardiness, disease and pest resistance, ease of germination, appropriateness of name. That's the way the W. Atlee Burpee Co. hopes to persuade people to grow at least some of their own food with Burpee's seeds.
After all, home gardeners have been depending on the bounty of Burpee for more than 100 years -- ever since W. Atlee, whose first interest was breeding exotic fowl, began bringing back seeds from his bird-buying trips to Europe.
It didn't take him long to discover that European varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers often didn't perform well in the relatively harsh climate of North America. Drawing on his experience breeding poultry, he began to breed new varieties of plants that would live up to growers' hopes.
"Burpee seeds grow!" proclaimed the company's literature and across the country, gardeners began growing the products of Burpee research: Iceberg lettuce (introduced in 1894); Fordhook lima beans (1907); hybrid cucumbers (1945); Big Boy tomatoes (1949), and hundreds of others.
L There are a few weeds in the seed-producer's world, however.
"Gardening is booming," says George O. Ball, chairman, president and chief executive officer of both the W. Atlee Burpee and Pan-American Seed. But it's also changing; Mr. Ball notes a "shrinkage of the American garden, both in time and space," that is dictating the kinds of plants seed-growers must produce.
'User-friendly' plants
"There is a demand for more compact and more 'user-friendlyplants," says Simon Crawford, a British-trained plant breeder who oversees impatiens development, among other things, for Pan-American Seed. "There's more interest in container gardening." And, Mr. Crawford notes, there has been a "dietary revolution" as people pursuing a healthier lifestyle eat more fruits, vegetables and salads. "There's a huge market for salads with better eating quality," he says, and an emerging trend to what might be called "designer produce."
"Supermarkets in the U.K. now designate what varieties will be sold, based mostly on taste," Mr. Crawford says. He should know: He bred a variety of tomato called Melrow for the exclusive use of the British chain Marks & Spencer.
