By Scout Nelson
The University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener program recently announced the winners of its 2025 Seed Trials, highlighting plant varieties that performed best across Minnesota gardens. Each year, Master Gardener volunteers grow and evaluate new plant varieties to help gardeners identify crops that perform well in local conditions.
In 2025, 255 volunteers from 48 counties participated in the program. They tested eight crops, carefully evaluating each variety for flavor, productivity, germination rates, and overall performance.
The 2025 growing season presented many challenges. Weather conditions changed frequently throughout the growing season. May alternated between very warm temperatures and cool spring weather. June brought strong storms, hail, and heavy winds. July and August were warm and wet conditions, while September and October turned warm and dry conditions. These dramatic shifts created difficult growing conditions for many plants.
Trials were planted in a wide range of locations to represent different gardening environments. These included home gardens, 16 community gardens, two school gardens, nine teaching gardens, and one urban farm. To keep the testing process fair, plant varieties were labeled only with two letter codes during the evaluation period.
Despite the challenging season, several varieties stood out for strong performance.
Curious gardeners can see how each variety placed in 2025 (and view previous winners); a full 2025 report provides comments on each variety in the trials.
In the mini bok choy category, the Mei Qing Choi variety performed best, showing strong germination, high yields, and continued harvests well into October. Some plants that bolted early also attracted helpful pollinators.
For nasturtiums, Cherry Rose ranked first because of its long blooming period and mild peppery flavor. Gardeners shared positive feedback such as “Most flowers all season long,” “easy to care for, tasted great, with no disease or insect issues” and “healthy plant, loved the color of leaf and flowers.”
In the orange cauliflower trial, the Clementine variety performed the best even though weather conditions caused poor head formation across many varieties.
Other top performers included Plain Leaf parsley, which was praised for its sweet flavor and reliable production, and Warrior parsnip, which gardeners valued for its excellent cooked taste.
In the tomato category, Campbell 33 was the top slicing tomato variety, although storms and heat affected all tomato plants during the season.
Additional winners included Merlin and Red Ace beets, known for sweetness and strong germination, and Cappuccino rudbeckia, which impressed gardeners with large, colorful flowers.
These trials provide valuable information that helps gardeners choose reliable plant varieties for future growing seasons.
Photo Credit: pexels-olga-divnaya
Categories: Minnesota, General