Scientific Name: Tagetes minuta

Appearance: Unlike the short, bushy garden marigolds you might know, Huacatay is a leggy, upright herb that can grow between 4 to 6 feet (1.2–2 meters) tall.

Leaves: The leaves are long, slender, and serrated (jagged) with a deep, glossy green color. They contain numerous oil glands that release a potent scent when brushed or crushed.

Flowers: It produces very small, inconspicuous pale yellow or green flowers that grow in clusters at the top of the stems.

The flavor is incredibly complex and difficult to replicate with a single substitute. It is often described as a bold fusion of:

Spearmint & Basil: For sweetness and herbal freshness.

Tarragon: Providing a subtle anise or licorice-like finish.

Lime/Citrus: Giving it a bright, zingy punch.

Earthy/Pungent: It has a resinous depth that is much stronger than common garden mint.

In Peru, this herb is rarely used as a garnish; it is almost always ground into a thick, vibrant green paste.

Ocopa: The most famous use of Black Mint. It’s a creamy, spicy sauce made with Huacatay, peanuts, cheese, and crackers, served over boiled potatoes.

Pollo a la Brasa: It is a key ingredient in the marinade for Peruvian rotisserie chicken.

Pachamanca: A traditional Andean feast cooked underground, where Huacatay is used to season the meats and tubers.

Medicinal Tea: It is commonly brewed as a tea to aid digestion, relieve stomach cramps, or treat respiratory issues.

This heirloom pepper originated in Bulgaria and was introduced to the United States in the 1970s. 

The Bulgarian Carrot pepper is known for its long, tapered, orange fruits that resemble carrots. The peppers are crunchy and thick, and have a sweet and tangy flavor with a heat level of 20,000–30,000 Scoville units. 

The Bulgarian Carrot pepper plant can grow in containers and does well in cooler spring temperatures. The plants can grow to be about 18 inches tall and produce a large number of peppers. 

The thick flesh of the Bulgarian Carrot pepper makes it ideal for pickling or using in salsa.

Orange cayenne peppers are a hybrid variety of chili pepper that are larger and hotter than standard cayenne peppers, with a more vibrant color and smooth skin: 

Orange cayenne peppers are long, slender, and conical, with a pointed tip. They are smooth and glossy, and turn from dark green to bright orange as they ripen. 

Orange cayenne peppers have a fruity and citrusy flavor, and an intense heat that dissipates quickly. They can range from 30,000–50,000 units on the Scoville scale, which is 5–10 times hotter than a jalapeño. 

Orange cayenne peppers can be eaten fresh or cooked, and can be used in salads, salsas, soups, or with chicken or pork. They can also be dried and sprinkled over meats, stews, and rice dishes.

Mortgage Lifter is a famous heirloom beefsteak tomato variety celebrated for its enormous fruit size, rich flavor, and legendary origins during the Great Depression. It was developed in the early 1930s by Marshall Cletus “Radiator Charlie” Byles of Logan, West Virginia, who, despite having no formal plant-breeding training, spent six years hand-pollinating and crossing four large-fruited tomatoes, including German Johnson and other Italian and English varieties. He sold the resulting seedlings for one dollar each—a premium price at the time—and their exceptional productivity and popularity allowed him to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in just six years, giving rise to the name “Mortgage Lifter.” While other strains exist, such as the Estler Family strain from 1922, Charlie’s version remains the most well known. The plants produce massive pinkish-red, slightly ribbed beefsteak fruits that typically weigh 1 to 2 pounds, with occasional fruits reaching up to 4 pounds. The tomatoes are meaty with few seeds and offer a mild, sweet, low-acid flavor, making them especially prized for slicing, sandwiches, and fresh eating.

Japanese carrots, are heirloom varieties known for their deep scarlet color, long, slender shape, and exceptional sweetness with caramel notes, often harvested in cool weather, offering rich nutrients and a tender, crisp texture ideal for raw, cooked, or juiced uses. They thrive in loose, well-draining soil and are highly valued as specialty vegetables (dento yasai) in Japanese cuisine. 

Color & Appearance: Deep, vibrant scarlet red skin and flesh.

Shape: Long, tapered, and cylindrical, sometimes growing quite large.

Flavor: Exceptionally sweet, often with a distinct caramel undertone and pleasant aftertaste.

Texture: Smooth, tender, and crisp.

Nutrients: Rich in lycopene, potassium, fiber, calcium, and Vitamins C & E. 

Popular Varieties:

A classic heirloom, known for intense sweetness and deep color when young. A popular, high-performing variety with a crisp, sweet taste, great for juicing and storage. A legendary, very long variety that can grow significantly large, drawing deep nutrients from the soil. 

Excellent for salads, stir-fries, steaming, boiling, and tempura.

High water content makes them great for juicing.

Used in traditional Japanese dishes and even carved for New Year celebrations. 

Spoon Cherry Tomato (Currant Type) produces tiny, vibrant red fruits just 5–10 mm in diameter—so small they fit perfectly on a spoon. These bite-sized tomatoes are bursting with intense, sweet-tart flavor and have a juicy pop that makes them irresistible for fresh snacking. Prolific and easy to grow, they form long trusses loaded with miniature fruits, ideal for salads, garnishes, lunchboxes, and garden grazing straight off the vine.

Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Plant Size: 4 ft’.  Fruit Color: Red. Shape: Round. Size: less than 1 cm. 

Grow without maintenance. 

 The Golden Primotalii starts green, then ripens to an orange or mustard color, and finally develops a golden skin. The peppers have a contorted surface and thin walls that make them feel lightweight. 

The Golden Primotalii is believed to be hotter than 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), and some say it can reach as high as 2,200,000 SHUs. This makes it comparable to some of the world's hottest peppers, such as the Carolina Reaper. 

The Golden Primotalii has a complex flavor profile that's fruity and slightly floral. 

The Golden Primotalii is great for spicy salsas and hot sauces.

LIABILITY WARNING STATEMENT:

We are not liable/responsible for use of this seed. It is sold 'as is' and use/responsibility/liability is entirely up to the consumer whom purchases these packets. 

Capsicum chinense

Aromatic and hot. Pepper is 70 mm in length and wrinkled like a volcano.

Ripens from green through to red. 

Grow in containers.

Heat level: very hot (approx. 150,000-200,000 SHU)

Can be eaten fresh or dried.

Mexico Midget

This south of the border favorite continues to always prove its value as a salad tomato.  These tiny red cherry type fruits have big heirloom flavor and are sure to surprise your taste buds. The plant gets overloaded with trusses of 1/2" fruit that weigh it down. Needs staking.

The original seeds were collected in Mexico by Barney Laman in the 1990s. He brought them home to North America and grew the plants and found them to be the same addictive luscious flavor he had found in the wild.

Open-pollinated heirloom (65-70 days) 

Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Plant Size: 4 ft’.  Fruit Color: Red. Shape: Round. Size: 1/2”.