Suitable sowing period: August-September/March-May

Single fruit weight: 380g-410g

Fruit size: (29-33) x (6-6.5)cm

Long strip, pearl melon

Mid-early maturity (harvestable 45 to 50 days after planting in autumn) (harvestable 65 days after planting )

The plants are growing well

Sweet at the beginning of the harvest, bitter as it matures

Some people love it, others abhor its bitter flavor. Despite the name, the taste is actually not too overwhelming. In Chinese cuisine, bitter melon is sometimes called a “gentleman's vegetable” because it doesn't impart its bitterness on other ingredients when cooked.

Hon tsai tai is an Asian leafy plant that has dark green leaves with purple veins. Interesting to this plant are the stems, which are a rich deep purple color with tiny yellow flowers. Hon tsai tai has a flavor very similar to broccoli raab, but not as strong: it's sweeter in flavor with a more delicate textured leaf

Hon Tsai Tai is a type of leafy green vegetable, also known as purple choy sum, known for its purple stems, dark green leaves, and yellow flowers. It is a descendant of Chinese flowering cabbage, closely related to yu choy, and has a mild, sweet mustard flavor similar to broccoli rabe but with a more delicate texture. It can be eaten raw or cooked, is used in stir-fries, soups, and salads, and is entirely edible from stems to flowers. 

Appearance: Dark green leaves with purple veins and deep purple stems. It produces small, yellow flowers.

Flavor: Sweet and mild with a hint of mustard, similar to broccoli rabe but less strong.

Texture: Delicate leaves and crunchy stems.

Uses: All parts of the plant are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. It is common in stir-fries, soups, and salads.

Growth: It is a fast-growing, cold-hardy, and disease-resistant plant. 

Green Wave Mustard is a popular variety known for its upright growth, dark green, heavily curled leaves, and mildly spicy flavor. It's often used for baby greens in salads or as a cooked vegetable, where the flavor mellows. Green Wave is also slow to bolt, making it a reliable choice for summer harvests. 

Here's a more detailed look at Green Wave Mustard:

Appearance:

Leaves: Dark green, heavily curled, and frilly.

Plant Height: Up to 2 feet. 

Flavor:

Raw: Mildly spicy and peppery, similar to arugula.

Cooked: Mellows and becomes more palatable. 

Growth Habits:

Upright: Grows upright, making it easy to space out in a garden. 

Bolting: Slow to bolt, meaning it will produce leaves even in warmer weather. 

Maturity: Reaches full size in 45 days from seeding. 

Uses:

Salads: Young leaves are perfect for salads, adding a peppery kick. 

Cooked: Mature leaves can be steamed, stir-fried, or added to soups and stews. 

Microgreens: Also suitable for growing as microgreens. 

Dark green leaves, excellent home garden, cold tolerant, hybrid, great for salads!

Widely used herb from northern india and China. 

Often used to dye ginger and plums (umeboshi). Perfect for providing color to food and drinks and adds a minty aroma.

Red shiso (Akajiso) is a vibrant, aromatic herb from the mint family with deep ruby-purple leaves, known for its unique flavor blending basil, mint, anise, and citrus notes, used widely in East Asian cooking to color and flavor pickles (like umeboshi), drinks, and sushi, offering a fresh, slightly spicy taste with a crisp texture. 

Leaves: Deep purple, often with frilled edges, resembling nettle leaves but safe to touch.

Scent: Strong, fragrant, with hints of mint, basil, and sometimes cinnamon or clove. 

A complex blend: minty, basil-like, spicy, and slightly citrusy.

Milder and more basil-forward than green shiso. 

Coloring: Infuses liquids and foods with a bright red hue, especially with umeboshi (pickled plums) and their brine (umezu).

Flavoring: Used in sweet red juices, fermented pickles (shibazuke), sushi wraps, salads, and furikake (rice seasoning).

Garnish: Tender leaves and flower spikes (hojiso) can be used fresh or tempura-fried. 

Red Perilla, Purple Shiso, Beefsteak Plant, Red Mint, Chinese Basil (Perilla frutescens var. crispa). 

Grow the pepper that’s long been prized by restaurants and is a favorite among chefs. Shishito is a Japanese sweet pepper that produces handfuls of finger-long fruits. Usually used when green (though also fine to eat when red), the peppers are thin-walled, making them ideal for tempura and stir fries. On this side of the Pacific, it’s wildly popular as an appetizer—tossed with oil, then char-grilled or pan-seared to a blackened, blistered state and salted. Plants are compact and perfect for containers. Use one plant per 18-inch pot.

Demon Gold is a striking ornamental and culinary chili producing small, upright, cone-shaped pods that ripen to a vivid golden-yellow/orange. Plants are compact and highly productive, often covered in clusters of glossy, smooth peppers. The flavor is sharp and slightly fruity with a clean, biting heat, making it suitable for both fresh use and drying.

Approximately 30,000 – 50,000 Scoville Heat Units

(Medium-hot, similar to a hot cayenne or tabasco-type pepper)

Believed to be derived from ornamental Capsicum annuum breeding lines, with strong influence from Asian chili varieties. While not tied to a single traditional region, it is commonly associated with ornamental pepper development programs and is popular among growers in Asia and North America.

Great for ornamental display, fresh salsas, drying into flakes or powder, and adding color and heat to dishes.

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. 

Stems: Thick, club-shaped, pale green to yellowish, firm, crisp, and succulent.

Leaves: Usually lighter green, pliable, with prominent midribs, but tougher than the stem.

Overall: Grows tall like a leafy plant but is harvested for its substantial stem. 

Stem: Mild, refreshing, slightly nutty, subtly sweet, with earthy and vegetal notes.

Leaves: Mild, green, vegetal. 

Preparation: Peel the outer layer to reveal the tender interior; it can be eaten raw or cooked.

Raw: Sliced thin for salads, dipped in hummus.

Cooked: Stir-fried, steamed, grilled, roasted, or pickled; it holds up well in hot dishes.