BEAN
—Bean Whipple. (25) VBEA-WP. Packet: $2.50 OTC ORGANIC
1/4 Pound: $6.00
Family heirloom from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, this is a dry bean for soups and stews. Beans are dark purple-red with white markings, and incredibly flavorful. Bushy plants with an occasional runner. Organically grown.
—Bean Zargana of Nestos. (20) VBEA-ZN. Packet: $2.50 OTC ORGANIC
1/4 pound: $8.00
Beautiful red-podded snap pole bean from Nestos, Greece. Early and productive, rare in the U.S. The dry beans are shades of buff, pink, lavender, purple.
CAULIFLOWER
Brassica oleracea var. botryis. Cauliflower is fairly hardy, best sown in summer for a fall or winter crop. Requires rich soil and constant moisture, and should be spaced 2 - 2 1/2 feet apart. When heads begin to form, wrap the leaves over the heads and tie together to blanch them.
USDA Germination Standard: 75%.
—Cauliflower Violet Queen. (100) VCAU-VQ. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Ounce: $20.00
Highly productive variety with deep purple heads. Delicious raw with dip or in salads. Tasty when cooked, though the color changes to green. Prefers heavy alkaline soil.
CORN, SWEET
—Corn Chires Baby. (25) VCOR-CB. Packet: $2.50
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Slender little ears to only 3 - 4" long, with tiny orange-red kernels. The tender young ears are eaten whole, cob and all. Best picked within 5 days after the silk appears. Wonderful pickles, or added to stir-fry or soups. Freezes well.
—Corn Sunshine. (50) VCOR-SUN. Packet: $2.50 OTC ORGANIC
1/4 Pound: $7.50
Rare short-season sweet corn with deep yellow kernels and old-fashioned flavor. Ripens in about 75 days from transplanting. Developed by Albert Yeager in the 1920s, very popular through the 1990s, when it disappeared. Now revived by Alan Adesse in limited quantities.
CORN SALAD or MACHE
—Corn Salad Light Green Lantern. (1000) VCOS-LG. Packet: $3.00 OTC ORGANIC
1/2 Ounce: $12.00
Dense rosettes of light green leaves with a sweet, nut-like taste. Very tender, great in salads with toasted walnuts, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes.
CRESS
—Cress Watercress. (500) VCRE-W. Packet: $2.50
Nasturtium officinale. Hardy perennial creeping aquatic plant. Does not need running water to succeed, but if grown in the garden it must be watered every day. May be grown in tubs or tanks with a few inches of rich soil on the bottom, and flooded with water. If water is not flowing, change it every 10 days or so. Try scattering the seed along the edge of a brook, or start in moist soil and transplant deep enough that the leaves are just submerged. Once established, it will give for up to 10 years. Cut frequently as it becomes bitter when seedstalks form.
USDA Germination Standard: 40%.
CUCUMBER
—Cucumber Crystal Apple. (50) VCUC-CR. Packet: $2.00
Ounce: $6.00
Small oval cucumbers, white to pale yellow, crisp, juicy, and tender. Said to have come from Australia or New Zealand in the 1920s or 1930s.
EGGPLANT
—Eggplant Rosa Bianca. (100) VEGG-RB. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Ounce: $7.50
Plump round white fruits, blushed rosy-purple. Very meaty and mild tasting, this Italian heirloom is one of the best for all your eggplant recipes.
KALE
—Kale Spooner's. (50) VKAL-SP. Packet: $3.00 OUT OF STOCK
An heirloom from an old central California coast family. Looks partway between a kale and a cabbage. Very limited supplies and no one else has it at the moment.
MELON
—Melon Altai. (50) VMEL-AL. Packet: $2.50
Large round mild-flavored muskmelon, originally from the Altai region of the Soviet Union. Very early, good for northern gardens.
—Melon Delice de la Table. (40) VMEL-DT. Packet: $2.50 OTC ORGANIC
1/4 Ounce: $7.50 NEW PRICE
Very rare, nearly extinct French heirloom from the 1800s. Deeply ribbed melons with orange and white mottled skin, sweet orange flesh. Another fine variety brought back by the Seed Savers Exchange.
—Melon Petit Gris de Rennes. (20) VMEL-PGR. Packet: $3.00
Ounce: $8.00 NEW PRICE
Highly coveted specialty melon from France, with small melons "as sweet as brown sugar". Grey when young, ripening golden green, with deep orange flesh. Discovered in the garden of the Bishop of Rennes in the 1600s, this delicate melon needs a mild climate and rich soil, or a greenhouse. The melt-in-your-mouth sweetness is worth the effort!
MUSTARD
—Mustard Mibuna. (1000) VMUS-MB. Packet: $2.00
Ounce: $6.00
Heirloom from Mibu, Japan. A Traditional Vegetable of Kyoto, much loved in Japanese cuisine. Long slender leaves with rich mustard flavor, tender and fast growing. Does well in hot or cold weather.
ONION
—Onion Cipollini Red. (500) VONI-CR. Packet: $2.50
Ounce: $9.00
Famous flattened onions from Italy, 1 - 3" wide, with deep red skin. Strong-flavored when raw, they become rich and sweet when cooked—a favorite for roasting and carmelizing. From Boretto, Italy. "Cipollini" means "little onion" in Italian.
PEA
—Pea Blue Podded. (25) VPEA-BL. Packet: $2.00 Sorry, not organic - mistake in print edition.
1/4 Pound: $5.00
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Heirloom Dutch pea, called Blauwschokkers, or Pois A Cross Violette in France. Enjoyed in Europe for centuries. Sweet-scented bi-colored flowers followed by striking blue-violet pods. Young pods are sweet and delicious, or dry mature peas for soup.
—Pea Purple Magnolia. (40) VPEA-PM. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Pound: $12.00
Also called Sugar Magnolia, this snap pea has deep purple pods and bi-colored pink and purple flowers. Productive vigorous vines grow best on a trellis. Crisp, tasty pods on very pretty plants.
—Pea Tom Thumb. (50) VPEA-TT. Packet: $2.50
1/4 pound: $7.00
Growing only 8 - 9" tall, this is the perfect pea for containers. Usually for shelling, but the very young pods are also delicious. Frost hardy. Brought to the U.S. from England in the 1800s, further selected into the Tom Thumb Pea we have today.
PEPPER
—Pepper Aconcagua. (75) VPEP-ACO. Packet: $2.50
1/4 ounce: $9.00
Ounce: $25.00
Giant sweet pepper from Argentina, named for the highest mountain in the Andes. Tapered peppers reach 10 - 12" long and 2 - 3" wide. Sweetest when red ripe, but delicious raw or cooked at any stage. Needs a fairly long season to fully ripen, so start early in northern climates. Grows 3 feet tall, and may need support with heavy fruit set.
—Pepper Alma Paprika. (50) VPEP-AP. Packet: $3.00
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Small round peppers with thick meaty flesh and sweet delicious flavor. Ripens from creamy white to red, very productive. One of the best for drying and powdering, also excellent fresh.
—Pepper Fatalii. (75) VPEP-FA. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Ounce: $20.00
Capsicum chinense. One of the hottest peppers known! Conical 2 - 4" peppers with crinkled skin, ripening to yellow-orange. Very popular in central and southern Africa, with a distinctive citrusy, smoky flavor beyond the intense heat. Great in fresh salsa, marinades, and chutneys, also excellent dried and powdered.
—Pepper Jalapeño Purple. (75) VPEP-JP. Packet: $2.50
l/4 Ounce: $9.00
Large colorful variety, turns dark purple and finally deep red. Full Jalapeno flavor and heat. Makes pretty purple pickled peppers!
—Pepper Lilac Bell. (75) VPEP-LC. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Ounce: $15.00
Sweet mild bell peppers ripen to a lovely bright lavender, then to red when fully mature. Unusual color for farmer's markets.
—Pepper Pepperoncini. (100) VPEP-PR. Packet: $2.50
1/4 Ounce: $6.00
Ounce: $20.00
Long, wrinkled, thin-skinned peppers. Slightly hot, the classic type for pickling.
—Pepper Purple Beauty. (50) VPEP-PB. Packet: $2.50
1/4 Ounce: $15.00
Deep purple sweet bell peppers, eggplant-purple skin, green inside. Thick and tasty, a nice color contrast in salads, garnishes, etc. Harvest before fully mature for best color. Compact plants.
—Pepper Shishito. (75) VPEP-SH. Packet: $2.50
1/4 Ounce: $15.00
Glossy green, slightly wrinkled 3 - 4" peppers, mostly sweet, but about 1 in 10 will be spicy hot. Fried till blackened and blistered, then salted and sprinkled with lemon juice, they make a delicious appetizer. Also tasty roasted with olive oil and garlic, or pickled. "Shishito" means "lion pepper" in Japanese.
SPINACH
—Spinach Merlo Nero. (100) VSPI-MN. Packet: $3.00 OTC ORGANIC
Ounce: $12.00
Italian variety with heavily crinkled, savoyed leaves. Known for its excellent flavor. Large plants. Does best in cool weather.
SUNFLOWER
—Sunflower Mongolian Giant. (25) VSUN-MG. Packet: $2.00
Ounce: $5.00
Absolutely huge! Flowers reach 12 - 18" across, on plants that can reach 14 feet tall. Has the largest sunflower seed we've seen, an inch long and narrow, very tasty and nutritious. Excellent wildlife food.
TOMATO
—Tomato Durzba. (50) VTOM-DZ. Packet: $2.50
1/4 Ounce: $9.00
Ounce: $18.00
Bulgarian heirloom with large, red, slightly flattened tomatoes with a fantastic sweet-tart flavor. Heavy producer over a long season. The name means "friendship".
—Tomato Ferris Wheel. (50) VTOM-FE. Packet: $3.00 OTC ORGANIC
Large dusky-pink beefsteak tomatoes known for their superb flavor. Tall vigorous vines. Fruits reach 16 - 32 ounces. They may crack and don't store well, but the fantastic taste makes them a favorite for the home garden. An old commercial tomato from the Salzer Seed Company in 1894. Popular for decades, it eventually disappeared, to be revived by Craig LeHoullier in the 1990s.
—Tomato Watermelon Beefsteak. (25) VTOM-WB. Packet: $2.50
Large meaty red tomatoes with fruits reaching 1 pound. Terrific for slicing and fresh eating.
WATERMELON
—Watermelon Cream of Saskatchewan. (25) VWAT-CS. Packet: $2.50
Ounce: $8.00
Small round melons to 4 - 10 pounds, with light green skin with dark green stripes. Flesh is creamy white, with a wonderful flavor. Does well in cool climates, brought to Canada by Russian immigrants. Has a thin rind, so can't be shipped—great for home gardens and farmer's markets.