Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7650 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2017 George Ball is chairman and CEO of W. Atlas Burpee Company, commonly known as Burpee Seeds — a company originally founded in 1876. Ball, who is a past-president of the American Horticulturalist Society, says growers are continually looking for more information from gardening and seed companies. “Along with over 1,000 distinct seeds and plant cultivars, we provide history, cultural tips, recipes and design advice,” Ball shares. In 2016, the “Meatball” eggplant exceeded the company’s optimistic sales plan by selling eight times the number of seeds and plants, a record for eggplant, according to Ball. “This hasn’t been seen since 1903’s introduction of Burpee’s Black Beauty, the first uniformly fruited Turkish or Persian eggplant, called aubergine in England,” he adds. For 2017, Ball puts his money on a giant sweet corn variety. “Call me crazy, but I think in sweet corn, Jaws will be extremely popular,” he says. “At 12 inches long and six inches around at its extensive mid-section, with kernels almost half an inch deep, Jaws “Call me crazy, but I think in sweet corn, Jaws will be extremely popular. … So it’s more like what Native Americans ate, but much larger.” — George Ball