A Canary melon is a large, sweet, oblong melon with bright yellow, smooth skin and juicy, pale white-green flesh that tastes like a sweeter, softer honeydew with subtle tropical fruit, pineapple, and banana notes. Rich in vitamins A and C and low in calories, it's a healthy and refreshing fruit for snacks, fruit salads, desserts, and smoothies. To choose a ripe melon, look for uniformly yellow, firm skin, a sweet aroma, and a slight give when gently pressed on the base.

Sweetness: It is known for its delightful sweetness. 

Tang: A subtle tartness or tanginess adds complexity to the flavor. 

Tropical Notes: Hints of banana and pineapple are often noted in its aromatics and taste. 

Musky Finish: It has a mellow, slightly musky finish, though less overpowering than some other melons. 

The flesh is soft, creamy, and succulent, providing a juicy texture that is softer than a cantaloupe or honeydew.

Canary melons are best served chilled.

Their flavor profile makes them excellent for fresh preparations, such as in fruit salads or as a simple sweet snack, often after dinner.

Imperator Carrots

Imperator carrots are a widely grown, market-standard variety recognized for their long, slender, and uniform roots. Their smooth, tapered shape, crisp texture, and rich orange color make them both visually appealing and flavorful. Typically reaching 7–10 inches in length, they are prized for their sweetness and versatility, whether eaten fresh or cooked. Best grown in deep, loose, well-drained soil under full sun, Imperator carrots mature in about 65–80 days.

Appearance: Long, slim, and tapered with straight, smooth roots

Color: Deep, vibrant orange

Texture: Crisp and tender

Flavor: Sweet and full-bodied

Size: Commonly 7–10 inches, with some varieties growing longer

Uses

Fresh: Excellent for salads, snacking, and raw dishes

Cooked: Versatile for soups, stews, and side dishes

Commercial: Ideal for bunching and packaged sales thanks to their uniform shape

(60 days) Open-pollinated. Because of their cold hardiness, collards were a miracle crop that sustained many southern folks through the winters during the Great Depression. Vates is the acronym for Virginia Truck Experiment Station, a hotbed of collard research from 1907-1967. Introduced in the 1930s, this was probably the best-known of all the many developed there. Large upright 1½–2' plants give generous harvests of dark green thick crumpled leaves with a mild cabbage-like flavor. Will overwinter in high tunnels in our climate. 

The best environment to grow collard green or mustard greens is in full sun with plentiful, consistent moisture to thrive in your garden. Greens are frost tolerant, so growing them as a late season crop is ideal. Planting greens can also be done in early spring for a summer harvest, but more watering is likely necessary for them to grow successfully during the summer heat. Use insect netting to help protect from early insect infestations. Collards are best consumed in gumbo, braised, or sauteed.

COMMON PESTS: Aphids, Wihteflies

SUSCEPTIBLE TO: Bolting, Mosaic Virus, Fusarium Wilt

Plant seeds in the garden two weeks before the last frost. Transplants grown indoors will need eight to 10 weeks of growing time before planting out. In areas with less than 120 growing days, the peppers can be started earlier and grown inside until transplant time.

Choose a location with full sunlight for at least six hours per day, as habaneros LOVE the sun. Dig your hole twice the width of your pot and as deep as you can so that the soil level will be as close to the leaves as possible.

CHOCOLATE BEAUTY HABANERO

WHITE PEPPER HABANERO

ORANGE PEPPER HABANERO

RED PEPPER HABANERO

YELLOW PEPPER HABANERO

GREEN PEPPER HABANERO

Sorrel is a leafy green vegetable grown for its pleasantly tart, lemony flavor. It sometimes gets classified as an herb and sometimes as a vegetable. Either way, gardeners in the U.S. don't grow enough of it. Sorrel plants prefer the cool seasons of spring and fall, quickly bolting to seed as the weather heats up. The two most commonly grown species are garden sorrel (Rumex acestosa) and French sorrel (Rumex scutatus).

Sorrel plants have smooth, arrow-shaped leaves that grow from a center rosette. The plant will send up a tall flower stalk as the temperature warms, but it's best to remove this to promote leaf growth for a better harvest. The red flowers are rather insignificant whorled spikes, like rhubarb.

Sorrel only gets about 12 to 18 inches tall, although the flower stalks (if left on the plant) will get taller. It does spread out though, easily taking up 2 feet in width. Sorrel is typically planted in spring and has a moderate growth rate; young leaves are ready to harvest in a little over a month.

Big Max pumpkins are large, round, pale to bright orange pumpkins known for their thick, yellow-orange flesh and ability to grow over 100 pounds. They are named for their impressive size, making them suitable for carving into large Jack-o'-lanterns, use in competitions, or for canning and pie fillings. Big Max pumpkins require full sun, fertile soil, and a long growing season of approximately 120 days to reach their full potential.  

Packet: 9 grams of seed

A white onion has thin, papery white skin and crisp, juicy white flesh with a sharp, mild, and slightly sweet flavor profile. It is often used raw in dishes like salads, salsas, and guacamole due to its mildness, but it can also be cooked in soups, stews, and other dishes where its flavor becomes sweeter and it breaks down more quickly than yellow onions. 

Diamond Eggplant is a high-yielding, Ukrainian heirloom variety known for its slender, dark purple, 6-8 inch long fruits that grow in clusters. It's an early-maturing, open-pollinated plant with excellent disease resistance, making it suitable for climates with short, cool, or northern growing seasons. The firm, non-bitter, and sweet flesh is versatile for grilling, roasting, and other culinary uses.  

Yield: High-yielding and prolific, producing a steady stream of fruits. 

Fruit: Slender, dark purple, and oblong, typically 6-8 inches long and smooth-skinned. 

Flavor: Firm flesh with a sweet flavor and no bitterness. 

Maturity: Early maturing, making it well-suited for regions with short growing seasons. 

Plant: Reaches about 2 feet in height and is known for good disease resistance and overall hardiness. 

Nocera Rosso sel. Giapponese is a delicious Italian pepper variety that is long and narrow with three lobes. It has thick sweet flesh and ripens from green to red. The plants are disease resistant. 85 days.

Medium–early variety, prism-shaped fruits with 3-4 lobes, very long, average weight of 300 gr. Thick, sweet flesh, dark green and bright red when ripe. Vigorous plant with excellent coverage of leaves, good cropper. Suitable variety for outdoors cultivation. SOWING:  Under glass in winter and in open seedbed in March-April. Transplant when young plants are about 15-20 cm high, at intervals of 40 cm along rows and 50 cm between rows

21-26 days, 72°F.

Start early indoors and transplant well after last frost. Grow seedlings at 62°F night temperature and 70°F day temperature. Lower temperatures permanently reduce plant productivity.

Scovilles are a measure of heat.

NOCERA ROSSO sel GIAPPONESE - sweet; Bell Elongated; 4.5 to 5 inches long by 2 to 3 inches wide; thick flesh; matures from green to red; pendant pods; green leaves; 18 to 24 inches tall; Late Season (80-90 days); Uses: Large Stuffing; from Italy; C.annuum.

One of the oldest Italian peppers, belongs to the `giant` due to the average weight of the fruit of 400 g. Used fresh, processed or for pickles. Resistant to most diseases.