The sweet, mild-flavored flower buds are round and thornless, for easier harvesting. And they stay closed longer on the plant, so you don't have to pick the entire crop at once! Harvest them at 4 1/2 inches in diameter for best flavor. Delicious and so productive in the garden!
Produces a thornless, glossy, buttery flavored artichoke. Can be used in lanscaping. Heads are a globe shape, large size and good eating quality.
This is a vegetable for your permanent garden, asking only well-drained fertile soil receiving sunshine and water. Sweet Purple spears are about 6 to 9 inches long, much larger than traditional green types and also thicker. Best of all, they are stringless and tender, with less fiber than their green cousins, so they can be eaten from tip to base -- no need to snap off the tough end! Boasting 20% more sugar than green asparagus, they are mild, nutty, and sweet.
Half-Runner, Bush Dry Bean. Use in mexican cuisine or in your bean dip recipe.
Mainly a shell bean that is delicious in black bean soup and ideal for re-frying, chili, stews and bean salads. Flavorful, chocolate colored dry beans.
Blue Lake 274 is an all-time favorite bean that's nearly fiber-free, produces prolifically over a long season and has excellent flavor, fresh or frozen. A heavy producer over a long season, it's excellent fresh or frozen. Plants yield early and need no support.
Brought from Germany by the original settlers of the Dutch Fork Section of South Carolina, Mountaineer White Half Runner (also called Old Dutch Half Runner) is in rich in history as it is in flavor! This is a tender, slender-podded pole type with succulent white seeds. It boasts terrific yields of old-fashioned, rich "beany" beans that taste and smell terrific.
100 days. This charming heirloom variety looks for all the world like a yin yang pattern, right down to the spot of opposite color on each side, for balance! A hard-shelled variety that also may be harvested young for tender (soft-shell) use, Yin Yang is an American favorite just waiting to be rediscovered. The plants reach 15 to 18 inches high, setting huge numbers of pods. The beans have a mild flavor that even children like, and are very useful if stored.
The best for delicious, fresh-from-the-garden edamame, Midori Giant is the biggest and earliest soybean available for home gardens. Pods are filled with 2 or 3 extra-large, round, buttery seeds with a sweet flavor and fresh bite. From the moment you harvest your first handful of Midori Giants, you'll be hooked!
The most exciting new gourmet bean of the season is this dramatic electric purple variety from France! Each long, slender pod is less than â…“inch in diameter, yet is packed with succulent texture and delectable flavor. These straight, slender pods reach 5 to 6 inches long, beautifully tapered and packed with nutritious seeds.
These domed heads reach 6 to 8 inches wide, with a blue-green cast and very tight beading to lock in that succulent flavor. The plant itself reaches 16 to 20 inches high and 16 inches wide. If you've thought about growing organically, make Broccoli one of the first crops you choose. The florets are very difficult to get completely clean of sprays and other chemicals, so they're best grown with only Certified Organic treatments.
This exciting new sprouting broccoli redefines the "season" of harvest, needing no chill period to produce succulent, tender spears . . . and also bearing right through the heat of summer! Best of all, this veggie looks as good as it tastes, with sprouting spears that range from bright pink to darkest violet amid green leaves and stalks. Summer Purple is a British-bred sprouting broccoli, very large and robust!
There has never been a more beautiful brussel sprout than this deep purplish-red variety, and also one of the most flavorful. The fact is that these rosy sprouts are simply delicious, with a mild, nut-like flavor that appeals more to children than other brussel sprout varieties may. Slow to mature, this plant intensifies its lovely color if exposed to a bit of frost, so can be left quite late in the season without damage. And when you cook the sprouts, they keep their rich purple tones!
These delectable sprouts are about an inch in diameter, with a bright green exterior frosted over with cool blue and wrapped around a densely-packed yellow interior. The flavor is astonishing: full, meaty, and very satisfying. If you've never had a brussels sprout straight from the garden before, you're going to be amazed by the difference in flavor complexity and freshness. And Hestia isn't stingy with production. You can expect up to 100 sprouts on every plant.
Here are the varieties you will grow in this blend: Atomic Red: Ideal for cooking, this root emerges a dull shade of pink from the earth. But with cooking it turns brilliant scarlet Cosmic Purple: The skin of these roots is deep violet, but the interior is orange. A gourmet variety, Solar Yellow: It keeps its bright yellow color with cooking, and has a lovely moist, sweet, crunchy bite. Bambino: A true baby carrot, arrow-shaped and absolutely delicious! Lunar White:
65 days from transplanting seedlings. Always the first to harvest, this highly adaptable, ultra-productive Cauliflower is the best all-around variety we've ever grown. Whether you're looking for huge yields, healthy plants, or a quick finish, Candid Charm's got it! These flavorful heads are kept particularly tight, fresh, and delicious by very thick wrapper leaves. Cauliflower is a cool-season crop suitable for spring and fall cultivation.
Beating all other varieties to harvest by several weeks, Katarina Hybrid is a very sweet, compact summer cabbage. Katarina reaches about 4 inches in diameter, round and smooth, with tightly packed leaves.
These brilliantly-colored stems are so beautiful that you may forget to harvest the succulent, sweet leaves! Electric yellows, pinks, crimsons, oranges, purples, whites, and greens -- some even striped! -- festoon the 20-inch stems. Many keep their color even after cooking, and all are delightfully festive!
You will never find Obsession in the supermarket and possibly not even at gourmet fresh markets, because this sweet corn is so tender that it must be harvested by hand and should not be packed for transport. Pick it fresh from your own garden and eat it within hours -- you won't believe the quality of flavor and texture that corn can achieve when grown and harvested like this! Obsession earns its name: one bite will hook you! This traditional sweet corn sets 8-inch ears.
A truly unique, long maturing popcorn with nearly black, pointed seeds that make delicious white popcorn with black centers. This variety must dry fully in the field for maximum popping.
Strawberry Popcorn sets 4-foot stalks, each bearing 2 to 4 ears packed with glossy magenta-red kernels. Grow it just as you would sweet corn, but let the ears dry out right on the stalk for about a month. (Then, if you plan to use the kernels for popping, let them dry on the ear for another month after picking. If you're using them for decorating, they're ready to go as soon as you harvest the ear.)
This early-maturing, tender bicolor of outstanding eating quality is one of the finest Super Sweets you will ever grow . . . or eat! The cylindrical 9-inch ears are a pleasure to look at, with 16 to 18 rows of white and yellow kernels -- symmetrical, tightly packed, and plump. You can count on big yields every time from Honey 'N Pearl! The ears are very tightly husked, reducing the risk of infestation from corn ear-worm.
Tango Hybrid delivers yields and flavor like you've never seen before! The stalks are wonderfully crunchy and sweet, springing up from exceptionally vigorous, robust plants. Tolerance of Fusariums makes all the difference in the yields, which are superb. And they mature early, giving you a few more weeks of delicious celery-eating every season! If you have never had much luck with celery before, give Tango Hybrid a try!
Distinctive yellow color, flavor and shape. The fruit, almost round, is about 3 1/2 inches and just turning an attractive lemon yellow when it is ready.
Sir Crunch a Lot is more than just a fabulous name -- it's a season-extender that you'll treasure in those dog days of late summer, when all the other varieties have stopped bearing. And while it's the ultimate in crunch (as you'd expect from its name), Sir Crunch a Lot is also bitterfree and rich, with a small seed cavity and extra-long fruit size. Can't beat it with a stick!
50 days from direct sowing.This plump, ghostly white cuke is simply packed with sweet flavor and crisp, juicy texture! Direct-sow seeds in a sunny spot after all danger of frost is past, or start indoors and transplant when the first true leaf appears. Cucumbers can be allowed to grow on the ground, but for longer, straighter fruit and to save garden space, grow them in a cage or on a trellis, allowing 1 foot between plants. Keep them well watered, and keep the fruits picked promptly.
52 days. Dark green with black spines, these cukes are delicious at any age. Pick them at 2 to 3 inches for gherkins, or at 4 inches for fresh eating as slicers. Or let them mature to full size (1¼ pounds on average). They deliver heavy yields all season long, not to mention good resistance to scab and cucumber mosaic virus.
Eggplants in pretty tubs on the patio, or marching up the front steps in terracotta pots? With Patio Baby, it's so easy! This natural dwarf plant sets fruit all summer long -- an astonishing 25 to 50 eggplants per plant! -- that you pick when it's just a few inches in diameter, tender and succulent.
Purple Comet is the eggplant you've been dreaming of. This Asian variety has far fewer seeds than the traditional teardrop-shaped types. Its brilliant neon-violet skin is quite thin and tender. The flesh is pure white, succulent, and absolutely delicious. Even the extra-large foliage and bright purple blooms are attractive! And you can pick Purple Comet young, if you need to, without sacrificing one jot of flavor.
Here it is--your must-grow eggplant this season! Turkish Orange sets fruits the size of tennis balls. Unlike many heirloom vegetables, it is a very heavy producer -- expect a long and fruitful season of 3-inch-diameter eggplants from very compact plants you can grow in containers as well as the garden. And even though Turkish Orange is always photographed in its full deep orange regalia, the fruit is actually best picked when the fruits begin to turn from green to cream.
Orlando sets baby fruit that can be picked as small as 2 inches long, simply packed with delicious eating! The fruit is tender, flavorful, and free of bitterness. Such a dark purple that it looks black, it is succulent and perfectly textured.
63 days from setting out transplants. Each round to oval fruit reaches a mature size of about 3 ounces, with a bright lavender base and slender white stripes. Its flavor will be mild yet rich, with a good bite. Harvest is easy, thanks to spineless plants.This plant reaches about 22 in. high and nearly as wide, with big yields all season.You shouldn't have to support this plant. Begin seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before planning to set out. Eggplant is a warm-weather crop.
This dwarf reaches just 18 to 24 inches high and wide, setting masses of showy purple-lavender blooms all over its well-branched form. These are followed by eggplants in clusters of 2 to 4. Very slender and long, they are neon-lavender with bold streaks of white -- absolutely showstopping!
70 days from setting out transplants. Fewer seeds means less bitterness, and Purple Comet is entirely bitter-free. No soaking, no salting, no puckering at the flavor! These long, slender fruits are packed with white flesh, sweet and meaty. About 10 inches long and 2 inches wide at full maturity, these eggplants are substantial. Begin seeds indoors 8 to 10 weeks before planning to set out. Eggplant is a warm-weather crop, so wait until after danger of frost before moving seedlings to garden.
Now you can grow gourmet kale in flowerpots and window boxes as well as the vegetable garden! Super-fast, compact, and eager to set new leaves after the first ones are harvested, Prizm Hybrid is your best choice for nonstop crops all season long. rizm reaches 15 or more inches high and 10 to 12 inches wide, but the individual leaves are ready to harvest at just 3½ to 4 inches.
If you are new to growing kohlrabi, you aren't alone! It has yet to become a mainstay vegetable in this country, although it is an integral part of the diet in many parts of Europe. Kohlrabi means "turnip cabbage," and this expresses the versatile nature of the vegetable: it is great cooked or raw, with a complex and pleasing flavor. Kohlrabi bulbs are rich in Vitamin C and potassium, and the leaves may be picked young or allowed to mature for use in soups and stews.
This sweet member of the onion family has large white stems, often 8-10 inches long and 2 inches across, which are tender and have an excellent flavor. Ideal fresh or cooked.
Long, spoon shaped leaves fold into an upright, loose head 8-9 inches tall. Very crisp and tender. Withstands warm weather.
Sylvestra sets big, heavy heads, tightly packed with pale green leaves boasting a soft cream center. Less leathery and chewy than most others, they have a crisper texture that keeps them fresher longer -- and the taste is far more succulent than others. It's a favorite of ours, and we think you will love it too.
Enjoy the complementary flavors and textures of arugula, endive, red kale, red and green romaine, salad bowl and lolla rossa lettuce.
A favorite among gardeners who prize beauty as well as flavor, Among the very first to arise, it resists bolting, giving you an especially long season of delectable eating. The large, erect leaves are deep red at the ruffled tips, shading into a bronzy-maroon and finally becoming green toward the base. A great source of rich color for the salad bowl, they are high-quality eating, with a soft texture and buttery flavor.
Buttercrunch is a scrumptious Lettuce -- a Butterhead (Boston) type with thick, crunchy leaves that give you a satisfying bite! Ready to harvest in just 65 days, it's a delicious crop that has never been so easy to sow all season long!
Here it is: a gourmet mix of three premium lettuces just right for tender baby greens! This Babyleaf Lettuce Blend contains a red oakleaf variety called Salmon, which offers thick, curly, substantial leaves. It is paired with robust, upright green Romaine Bison, a very strongly flavored, uniform variety that adds substance as well as buttery flavor to any salad or sandwich. Nitaflash completes the trio, a redleaf with dark burgundy leaves.
80 days from direct-sowing.We are delighted to be able to offer this very hard-to-find, choice heirloom Okra to gardeners! Each pod can reach up to 7 inches long, though it is best to pick them young, when they are somewhat smaller and tender. Okra is a warm-weather plant. Start seeds indoors (4 to 6 weeks before the soil warms) soaking the seeds for 24 hours before planting. Transplant when night temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees spacing the plants 10 to 12 inches apart.
You're going to love its trouble-free growth, great holding power, and rich flavor! If you are used to supermarket green onions, you will be pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavor in Warrior's dark green tops and small, tender ½-inch-diameter bulbs. This is a fragrant, powerfully spicy, crisp bite, adding a lot of flavor in very little seasoning.
White, tender roots with small core and smooth texture. Grow to about 3 inches across and 12 inches long. Great in soups and as fries!
Pick early for snow peas or after the pods have matured for snap peas. Fiberless, 3 inch pod has good yields and is disease resistant.
An early variety, with vines 2 1/2 feet tall and pods about 2 1/2 inches long. Excellent for canning. High in vitamins A, B and C.
AAS Winner! Juicy, tender pods. Can be shelled to use alone or left in pods to be eaten together. Raw, snapped pods are excellent for salads.
Productive and early red-skin variety. Selected for richer red skin color. Round to oblong tubers have white flesh, store well, and are excellent for roasting and boiling. Plant at closer spacing (6-8") for small "new" potatoes. Resistant to Potato Virus A; moderate resistance to common scab and rhizoctonia.
Deep purple skin with solid purple flesh. High yields of large oblong tubers with consistent, dark blue-purple flesh that hold their color when cooked. High in antioxidants.
The Halloween favorite will grow 12-16 inches. The shell is bright orange, hard and furrowed. Perfect for carving AND makes good pies too!
This intermediate-day red onion is about the most beautiful sight beneath the garden soil, and certainly the most attention-getting on the plate. The 4-inch diameter onions have magenta-purple wrappers and crisp, super-sweet flesh that alternates maroon with pure white.
It's a delicious cold-hardy variety with a flattish shape, tan skin, and white flesh. Sweet enough to eat like an apple, yet with an onion "zing" that adds zest to any dish! Start seed indoors in early spring for summer harvest in the north.
130 days. Here it is, the gigantic pumpkin that holds the world's record for size (1,810 pounds!) It's easy to grow 400- to 500-pound golden-orange fruits with this amazing variety. Rough-skinned and beautifully ribbed, the pumpkins just keep going and going at an astonishing rate. Pumpkins are exceptionally easy to grow, given adequate space and patience! Sow the seeds outdoors when danger of frost is past, or start indoors in peat pots. Plant the seedlings 3 to 5 feet apart.
Beauty Blend contains the following varieties: 1. A scarlet beauty, ¾ in. in diameter and packed with a spicy, crisp bite. Ready in just over 3 weeks from sowing the seed 2. Purple, 1½ in. in diameter and rounded, with a mellow flavor. Harvests 4 wks. from sowing. 3. A pastel-pink variety, about 1½ in. in diameter. Ready in just under 4 wks. 4. A pure white radish with 1¾-in.-diameter globes on vigorous plants. Ready at 30 days. 5. A bright yellow variety, strong flavor. Ready at 3 wks.
60 days. Expect Starburst globes to reach 2 to 2½ inches in diameter, with a white rind, red flesh, and pale green shoots. They mature slowly, with excellent disease and pest fighting ability. And they taste as good as they look!
This French shallot is a terrific choice for mildly flavored, heavy-bearing crops! It sets teardrop-shaped bulbs of pure white enclosed in reddish-brown skins. Dependable and very productive, it's the one to grow for gourmet flavor and great holding ability. Ambition is easy to grow, with very high yields of firm, uniform 2-inch bulbs that contain the most delectable flavor. Expect nearly 2 dozen shallots from every seedling you transplant!
40 days for baby squash; up to 56 days for mature squash. Ready to eat in just over a month, when the oblong, green-striped fruit is barely 3 inches long and filled with tender, succulent flesh. Steam it, slice it, skewer it, grill it. Poquito grows on spineless bush-habit plants, so it saves space and simplifies harvest.