‘Celebrity’ is one of my favorite tomatoes for the garden and an All-America Selections winner.

Ever since I discovered ‘Celebrity’ tomatoes, they’ve played an important role in my vegetable garden. This variety is easy to grow and it also carries the red, white and blue seal of an All-America Selections winner.

All-America Selections (AAS) is a nonprofit organization that tests and introduces superior new flowers and vegetables grown from seed. These experts know a good seed when they grow it.

Since 1932 AAS has helped the home gardener sort through new plant varieties and identify those that are improved over others on the market.

AAS was the brainchild of horticulturist W. Ray Hastings of Harrisburg, Penn. He saw the need for a network of independent trial gardens for testing new flowers and vegetables.

Hastings received $1000 in seed money from the Southern Seedsmen Association in 1932. AAS announced 19 new varieties of flowers and vegetables in 1933 and hundreds of flowers, vegetables and bedding plants have been selected since then.