Master Gardener Foundation plant sale returning to Pybus

By Connie Mehmel
WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener
April 7, 2022


Image of Master Gardener tending plants in the greenhouse.
Master Gardeners, including Bonnie Orr in the foreground, tend plants in a greenhouse in advance of the the group’s 2019 plant sale.
Provided photo

Connie Mehmel
Connie Mehmel – WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener – Provided photo

The WSU Master Gardener Foundation is excited to welcome you back to an in-person plant sale at Pybus Public Market this year. The sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 30. Master Gardeners will welcome you to a forest of tomatoes, peppers, other vegetables and herbs that have been started and tended by our members.

If you are looking for ornamental plants for your garden, you can browse our selection of perennials from Walla Walla Nursery.

We take special pride in offering a wide variety of high-quality tomato plants. In addition to familiar types like Sweet Million, Mortgage Lifter, Celebrity and Early Girl, we have some new varieties. Dixie Golden Giant is an unusual yellow heirloom with fruits that can weigh over a pound. We have Sweet Aperitif cherry tomato plants, a variety with such outstanding flavor that it earned the 2017 Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society of London.

We also have compact tomatoes for container gardens: Summerpick beefsteak, Fantastico grape tomato, and bush varieties of Champion II and Early Girl. For gardeners who want tomatoes for canning and sauce, we have Blue Beech, Coure di Bue, Granadero, Martino’s Roma and San Marzano.

If you enjoy growing peppers, we have everything from sweet to spicy. Bell peppers can be harvested green but become sweeter as the fruit color ripens. King Arthur, Wonder Bell and Big Bertha ripen red; Orange Blaze ripens orange and Golden Star ripens to bright yellow. We have some mildly spicy varieties including Alma Paprika, Cubanelle frying peppers, and a new shishito type called Padrón. For even spicier dishes, we have anchos and jalapeños.

Master Gardeners Foundation plant sale returning to Pybus market
Master Gardeners, including Bonnie Orr in the foreground, tend plants in a greenhouse in advance of the the group’s 2019 plant sale.

Other plants you can find for your kitchen garden are broccoli, eggplant, kale, Swiss chard, cucumbers, tomatillos, parsley, rosemary and basil. Basil varieties include Genovese, Lemon, Thai, and a compact basil, Finissimo Verde a Palla, that grows beautifully in containers.

Proceeds from the plant sale support the many community education programs offered by the Master Gardeners, including the Plant Diagnosis Clinic, the Community Education Garden in Wenatchee, the Boswell Garden at the Chelan County Expo Center in Cashmere, and the Pollinator Garden at the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Check out the Master Gardener Foundation website to find out more about our program, mgf chelancounty.org.

Come visit our sale, and thank you for your support!

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