Cold Start Varieties

Variety Description

Chard Rainbow Chard Bouquet of wrinkled, slightly savoyed rich green and bronze leaves and bright colored stems. The leaves grow upright and tall from a dense rosette of ribbed stems in a myriad of colors.

Lettuce Bibb Bibb lettuces mature early as small, compact, bunched rosettes with large, ruffled outer leaves surrounding a soft, folded, blanched heart. Generally grown for mini heads, bibb lettuces are known for their sweet flavor and tender texture.

Buttercrunch Small, open but tightly bunched, 6" rosette that is fan-shaped rather than round. Dark green leaves and small compact hearts that blanch to an appetizing yellow color. Crisp and sweet.

Crisphead Crisp firm leaves grow in compact, medium-sized heads. Light green fringed and heavily ruffled outer leaves with hearts that blanch to silvery white. Grows best in cool weather. The classic crisphead lettuce. Ready to harvest 85 days after sowing seeds.

Kale

Nero Toscana Also known as “Dinosaur Kale”. Vigorous dark green to black leaves of this 18th century heirloom are traditionally used in soups and stews, or sautéed with olive oil and garlic and tossed with pasta. Sown in the spring, you can harvest the first shoots as tender young salad greens or achieve full-sized plants in two months.

Red Russian Smooth green, purple-veined leaves for baby leaf and bunching. Stems are purple; leaves are flat, toothed, and dark green with purple veins. The plants mature medium-tall and leaves are tender compared to other kales. For salads and light cooking.

Siberian Curly green leaves for baby leaf and bunching.Tender blue-green leaves with a mildly sweet flavor. The plants are tall, vigorous, and high yielding. More tender than the extra-curly green varieties but not quite as cold hardy. Pairs well with Red Russian. Variety Description

Tomatoes Stupice Abundant, early tomato with abundant yields of 3 to 6 ounce fruit. It’s good, potato-leaf foliage results in high quality, round, crimson fruit. This Czechoslovakian-bred vine has exceptional flavor and ripens very early.

Early Red Chief These strong bushy plants produce large fruit to 10oz. Early in the season and continue over an extended period. The slightly lobed beefsteak type fruit can be enjoyed fresh or in sauces.

Martinos Roma Fantastic yields of richly flavorful plum-shaped tomatoes, on compact plant that require very little staking! Resistant to early blight, reliable for home or market gardens! The paste-type fruit weighs in at 2-3 ounces, dry-fleshed and very meaty with few seeds.

Pink Bumble Bee A stunning cherry tomato, of recent breeding from Artisan Seeds. The fruit has a bright, sweet flavor, and the color is vibrant fire-engine-red with golden orange striping. Vigorous vines yield crack resistant fruit over a very long season. Tolerates cool nighttime temps and hot days. Salad will never be the same! Gold Medal The 1-3 lb fruits are among the smoothest bi-colored tomatoes we carry and one of the most beautiful we have seen. Yellow fruit is blushing with rosy red that radiates from the blossom end. Lovely! The firm flesh is of superior quality, being sweet and mild. They have very little acid; great for fresh eating.

Money Maker The Moneymaker Tomato is a terrific, high yielding heirloom that produces delicious, bright red and smooth fruits that are perfect for fresh eating. This variety's vine can grow to 5-6′ and produce very heavy yields of 4-6 ounce fruits. This tasty heirloom tomato does well in hot humid climates and greenhouse growing.

Red Cherry Large Cherry Tomatoes are equally famous for being easy to grow and tasting delicious! The plant produces abundant clusters of smallish, vibrant colored fruit. Use Red Cherry Tomatoes in fresh garden salads, or a plethora of other dishes. Variety Description

Tomatoes Lime Green Salad Lime Green Salad is a compact, bushy, dwarf variety that produces loads of tangy, green fruit. Coming in at 2′ tall, it's a great tomato option for containers when space is at a premium.

Legend Legend not only demonstrates tolerance of late blight, but is also one of the earliest maturing slicing tomatoes we know of. Legend produces amazingly sweet tomatoes with just the right amount of acidity. The big, 4–5 inch, parthenocarpic fruit are glossy red, with a uniform round shape.

Northern Ruby solid bricks of fruit starting to ripen very early and continuing for us until frost or blight does them in. In drier climates I would grow them without support, but with our maritime moisture and blight pressure, we’d recommend doing your best to keeping them as up- right as possible. The fleshy fruit purees to a very creamy sauce with classic paste flavor.

Cherokee Purple Develops a fruit with a deep, dusky-rose color while maintaining a somewhat greenish hue near the stem when mature for eating. The deep crimson interior and clear skin combination give it its distinctive color.

Cuore de Bue This curious and striking tomato is guaranteed to turn heads as well as satisfy appetites. These big tomatoes have a bottom-heavy shape reminiscent of a pouch with a gathered top. They measure 3 ½ inches wide and 4 inches long and weigh in just under ½ pound each. Cuore di Bue is one of the tastiest saucing types with dense flesh and lustrous, orangey-red skin. Beeksteak

Beefsteak tomatoes are large, juicy tomatoes perfect for eating fresh from the harvest. Beefsteaks are typically wide tomatoes, but the more round types have a sweeter flavor.

Fantome du Loas 3-4″ lobed, 6-8 oz tomatoes ripen to a very pale cream color. Flavor is very mild with a subtle sweetness. Good keeping qualities and very high yields. Variety Description

Tomatoes Sungold One of the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes, Sungold ripens early to a golden orange, ready to harvest throughout the summer. These extra-sweet tomatoes stay firmer longer than other cherry varieties and will be ready to harvest twice a week once they begin producing fruit.

Zuckertraube Red cherry tomato with balanced sweet flavor, high yields, and very tall vines. Fruit are slightly larger than average cherry tomatoes. The delicious flavor and easy picking make it attractive and a quick pint filler.

Chocolate Cherry Extremely flavorful, uniform, round fruits in trusses of 8, measure 1" in diameter. Fruits hold stems very well, don't crack and can be picked several days before completely mature and allowed to ripen off the vine without sacrificing quality.

De Milpa Tomatillo

High dry matter, small to medium-round fruits store fresh for several weeks, handy for fresh salsa. Portions of the fruits blush with purple, especially after harvest.

Heirloom Rainbow Blend

Beautiful and tasty heirloom varieties chosen for a rainbow of colors and range of flavors from mild to sweet to tangy.

Pineapple Tomatillo

Small, round tomato-like fruits ripen from green to yellow with a pleasant texture and an explosive, juicy pineapple flavor.

Siletz Early maturing plant produces high yields of 10 to 12 oz deep red tomatoes. They are sweet and flavorful. Excellent choice for home gardens. Variety Description

Tomatoes Black Krim

This medium-sized, very dark maroon beefsteak, with wonderfully rich flavor, originated in Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea with perfect "tomato summers". Extremely tasty.

Early Girl Hyrid Early Girl tomato is a medium-sized globe-type F1 hybrid popular with home gardeners because of its early ripening fruit. Early Girl is a cultivar of tomato with indeterminate growth.

Green Zebra

Green Zebra is a tomato cultivar with characteristic dark green and yellow stripes.

Siberia This tomato variety sets fruit very early. They are bright red and weigh up to five ounce. Reported as being capable of setting fruits at 38ºF, however, 'Siberia', like any other tomato, is not actually frost hardy.

Peppers

Poblano (Ancho) Pepper Loads of mildly pungent, 4” heart-shaped fruits that ripen from dark green to deep red. Called Ancho when dried, Poblano when fresh. This is one of the most popular peppers grown in Mexico. Plants grow to 2 1/2 ft. tall. Full ripened, red fruits are much hotter and flavorful than the earlier picked green ones. Days to maturity are from time plants are set in garden. For transplants add 8-10 weeks.

Jalapeno Pepper

Mild Jalapeno Peppers are popular for Tex-Mex dishes and for pickling. The dark green fruits an be left on the bush to mature to a fiery red color. These peppers grow to a length of 3 inches.

Garden Leader

Ultimate sweet bell pepper that adds extra flavor to any dish. Produces many 7.5-8 inch bells. Variety Description

Peppers Bell Color Mix Pepper Bell Color Mix is a high-yielding plant that produces plenty of peppers for turning your salads and vegetable dishes into colorful statements. The plants offer a rainbow of colors that are so crisp and sweet. These peppers freeze well, too.

Cayene Pepper Long Thin Cayenne produces twisted fruit that grows to about 5 inches long. A deep green when young, it ripens to a brilliant red. The fiery-hot flavor makes it a perfect option for seasoning.

Golden Treasure Italian heirloom variety, excellent for frying, roasting and fresh eating. Long, 9" fruits ripen from green to shiny yellow. Sweet flavor with medium thick flesh and tender skin

Grand Bell Mix A unique blend of crisp, sweet bell peppers in a rainbow of colors. Fruits ripen to shades of red, yellow, orange, white, purple and chocolate. Plants produce high yields-plenty of peppers for turning any salad or dish into a striking, colorful statement.

Etiuda Rich, sweet, citrus flavor! Noted as one of the easiest to grow and most adaptable sweet peppers we have grown and as a bonus, the flavor is outstanding.

King of the North Reliable set of green to glossy red fruits in short seasons. Improved for a higher percentage of blocky, thick-walled, early ripening peppers each with three to four lobes. Known for its ability to produce good sized peppers in short, cool seasons. Strong plants support heavy yields.

Jimmy Nardello Jimmy Nardello chile peppers are elongated, slender, curved to straight pods, averaging 12 to 25 centimeters in length, and have a conical shape that tapers to a point on the non-stem end. Variety Description

Peppers Habanero

Very Hot pepper. One plant produces many small, orange, waxy peppers.

Doe Hill It has all the sweetness and pizazz of other golden bell varieties without the finickiness and the long waits. It yields huge quantities of peppers on each plant, which is relatively compact, growing to about three feet in height.

California Wonder The standard bell pepper for many decades! This 1928 introduction is still the largest open -pollinated, heirloom bell pepper you can grow. A perfect stuffing pepper - blocky, 4 x 3.5 in. (10 x 4 cm), thick-walled, tender and flavorful.

Sweet Banana Named for its banana-like shape, this variety bears sweet, mild banana peppers that mature from yellow, to orange, and then to crimson red. Plants fruit prolifically, easily producing up to 25 to 30 pods per plant.

Serrano The serrano chili pepper is a quite a bit like the well known jalapeño pepper, similar in color, but smaller, about 1 to 4 inches long on average and 1/2 inch wide. They generally grow between 1 – 4 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide though they have been known to grow longer.

Padron Small, bright green peppers that come from the municipality of Padrón in Galicia, in the northwest part of Spain. They're usually mild in flavor.

Anaheim

The Anaheim pepper is a mild, medium-sized chili pepper that grows to 6-10 inches in length. It is often used for cooking and recipes when green, though it can be used when red. The basic variety ripens to a dark green . Variety Description

Peppers Liebesapfel Red ruffled pepper with sweet thick flesh. Very early and also productive late into the season. Deeply lobed, flattened sheepnose/cheese type pimento.

Eggplant Early Black Egg

An early Japanese variety of good flavor with small, tender, egg-shaped fruits about 5 in. long.

Black Beauty Tender, tasty purplish-black fruits are great in a variety of dishes. Excellent breaded or fried. Eggplants love warm weather but are damaged by cold. Plants produce 4 to 6 large fruit, or more if kept harvested and well watered.

Basil Genovese This is the classic Italian basil, and the crucial ingredient for pesto! Large, dark green leaves are tender, delicious, and aromatic. This plant loves warm weather, so be sure to wait until all danger of frost has passed before planting. Does beautifully in containers.

Sweet Basil

Sweet Basil has big leaves that are fast and easy to grow so that you can make your own pesto to freeze for year-round use.

Large Leaf Basil Because of its strong aroma and flavor, Large Leaf basil is a good choice for fresh pesto. Plants are slow to bolt, with large 3" dark, shiny leaves. Grow in well-drained soil in full sun.

Mammoth Basil Mammoth Basil Herb Plants offer colossal-sized leaves that can be used as a wrap, for sauces, pesto and even fresh on a sandwich. Offers less sweetness than Genovese. Basil grows best in full sun locations with moist, well-drained soil. It can easily be grown indoors. Variety Description

Squash Buttercup Squash These turban-shaped fruits are 4 1/2" high and 6 1/2" across, and they weigh in at 5 lb. Buttercup has thick, orange flesh that cooks dry and sweet, with (as the name suggests) buttery rich flavor and dark green skin with silvery stripes and spots.

Thelma Sanders Tender, sweet and delicious, Thelma Sanders’ cooks up to a buttery-soft texture and unmatchable flavor. Highly productive plants produce light beige deeply ridged acorn squash measuring 7 ½–8 inches with thick, orange-gold flesh.

Butternut Squash Larger fruits with small seed cavities and thick, straight, cylindrical necks. Flesh has smooth texture and sweet flavor, particularly after 2 months of storage. This 1970 All- America Selections winner from Massachusetts is still deservedly the most widely grown, full-size OP butternut. Fruits avg. 9" long. Avg. weight: 4–5 lb. Avg. yield: 4–5 fruits/plant.

Cube of Butter A delicious, straight-necked summer squash, buttery yellow with creamy white flesh, 'Cube of Butter' has received rave reviews for flavor as long as the fruits are picked before they grow to 10” long.

Lower Salmon River A fabulous winter squash for our Pacific Northwest climate! Originally bred in Idaho, plants produce 3-6 lb fruit with a thick rind and excellent keeping qualities. The deep orange flesh is flavorful and can be enjoyed steamed, roasted and even raw.

Yellowfin Summer Early, high-yielding, with beautiful golden-yellow skin and smooth, mild flesh, Yellowfin is Squash a standout among yellow zucchini. Yellowfin plants are compact and low growing with an open growth habit for ease of picking. Fruits average 1-1/2" x 7" when at their peak with a long harvest period.

Delicata Delicata's taste is remarkably similar to that of sweet potatoes, but it's much easier to grow. The vines produce plentiful cream-colored, green-striped oblong fruits, about 3" in diameter and 6" long. Variety Description

Pumpkins Jack O’Lantern This round to oblong pumpkin was bred for making Jack O’ Lanterns, but its flesh makes delicious pies, soups, and muffins, too. It weighs an average of about 7 to 10 pounds and has a deep orange color. Vines grow long, so give it plenty of room or save space by trellising and make a sling for the heavy fruit.

Giant - Wyatts Wonder Wyatt’s Wonder is the most beautiful exhibition pumpkin you can find, topping out between 70 and 150 pounds.

Cinderella’s Carriage Robust and vigorous vines produce large, bright reddish-orange Cinderella-type pumpkins ranging from 25-35 pounds. Magical pink-red colored fruit shaped like the pumpkin carriage from the fairy tale Cinderella. Some lucky gardeners could also experience a pale blue pumpkin. Large trailing vine sets up to 5-7 fruit per plant.

Giant - Big Max Handsome pumpkins, up to 100 lbs. or more, make excellent pies and impressive jack-o'-lanterns. Fine-grained, bright orange flesh is great for canning or freezing.

Giant - Big Moon

Pumpkin, big moon produces good yields of hugh 200 lb. orange pumpkins.

Cucumbers Cucumber - Sumter Cucumber Sumter is the most popular pickling cucumber for pickles of all sizes. It is very productive and cucumbers grow to be about 6 inches long when fully grown. The straight, symmetrical fruit has an attractive color and firm, tender flesh.

Lemon Cucumber Heirloom. Round and yellow, this tennis ball-sized cucumber is a perfect serving for one or two people. Lemon cucumber does not have a lemon taste, only color, but has a thin, tender skin with a flavor a little milder than a regular cucumber’s. Variety Description

Cucumbers Burpless Tendergreen Slicer. Cucumber Tendergreen is a burpless variety that should be tried in every garden. Fruits are very smooth and sweet. The skin is not bitter, and the entire fruit can be eaten without peeling. These heavy yielders should be picked when 3 to 5 inches long.

Poinsett 76 Slicer. Cucumber Poinset 76 produces fruits that are dark green, white-spined, and straight, making them ideal slicer. The cucumbers average 8 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter when mature. The flesh is crisp, white, and tender on these disease tolerant cukes.

Melons Large Cantaloupe

Robust vines produce multiple fruits. Explosive taste, and great source of vitamin c and antioxidants.

Minnesota Midget Melon This exquisite heirloom produces a bounty of early, and true to its name, mini cantaloupes. Fruit measure 4–6 inches across and have deep orange flesh that is succulent, sweet, and delicious down to the rind. The ultimate melon for short-season areas, and the compact plants are ideal for small space or container gardens. Mouse Melon Also known as the cucamelon, is a vine grown for its edible fruit. Fruits are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness.

Zucchini Green Zucchini

Multiple oblong green zucchini on each vine. Robust plant that produces all season long.

Round Zucchini Especially suited for stuffing, or as individual serving soup bowls, but delicious in any way summer squash is used. Harvest at 3"–4" wide. The blossoms are scrumptious fried! Variety Description

Flowers Sunflower- Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge is a hybrid variety of Sunflower that produces pollen free flowers. This beautiful Sunflower displays deep red blooms with dark brown centers. Each plant will stand to a mature height of only 4 to 8 feet tall.

Sunflower– Mammoth An amazing giant heirloom sunflower with enormous blooms, up to 1 ft. across. The large yellow flowers with brown centers top plants 9-12 ft. tall and yield heavy loads of seeds. Fast and easy to grow, Mammoth sunflowers are great for creating a sunforest for kids, a tall annual hedge or screen.

Sunflower- Chocolate Cherry Seductive branching sunflower blooms with a ring of chocolate-burgundy petals around dark chocolate disks. You can’t help but gaze as the velvety petals entice with their dark good looks.

Sunflower- Mixed Colores An annual with a spectacular array of colors, the Mixed Colors variety of Sunflower is easy to grow. Colors include lemon, gold, white, creamy white, brown, bronze, and crimson.

Marigold Lemon Drop Lemon Drop produces a vibrantly yellow 2″ fully double crested bloom. Extremely free flowering and early. The dwarf, bushy plants grow 8″-9″ tall. One of the most maintenance free and useful annuals. Blooms summer through fall.

Marigold Crackerjack The Crackerjack Marigold is a festive flowing plant that produces huge, bushy blooms of carnation-like flowers on tall stems. This variety blooms yellow, gold and orange that adds a beautiful pop of color to any garden!

Nasturtium

Nasturtium is an easy-to-grow annual whose leaves and flowers are edible. These plants, with their bright greenery and vibrant flowers, are good for containers or as ground cover. Their pretty fragrance also makes them a good choice for cut flowers.