The Black Beauty tomato is a visually striking heirloom variety known for its nearly black skin, which develops due to high levels of anthocyanin antioxidants. Inside, it has deep red flesh and a rich, savory, smoky, and sweet-tangy flavor that is more complex than traditional tomatoes. These tomatoes are great for slicing, salads, and cooking, and they have a long shelf life, with flavor that can even improve with storage.  

Skin: A deep, almost black-purple color on the top, often with a reddish-burgundy blush on the bottom when fully ripe. 

Flesh: Deep red to raspberry-colored. 

Shape: Typically round and meaty. 

Flavor and texture

Flavor profile: Rich, savory, and smooth, with earthy and smoky notes, and a balanced sweetness and tanginess. 

Texture: Meaty and juicy. 

Growing and harvesting

Growing habit: Indeterminate (vining) plant. 

Sun exposure: The "black" color intensifies with more sun exposure. 

Harvesting: Ripens in the mid to late season (around 80-85 days from transplant) and should be harvested when the shaded base starts to blush. 

Storage: Hangs well on the vine and stores well at room temperature, with its flavor often improving over time. 

Slicing for sandwiches and burgers

Salads

Sauces, roasting, and cooking 

Torpedo-shaped, with soft light-red flesh and mild, sweet flavor. Red onions are an Italian specialty. Their thin, red to purple skin and mild, soft light-red mild flesh make them especially popular as a decorative salad onion. Torpedo-shaped onion with soft light-red flesh has mild, sweet flavor.

Appearance: Elongated, torpedo-shaped bulbs with a glossy, deep red to maroon skin and a pale, white inner flesh.

Flavor: Exceptionally sweet and mild, lacking the strong bite of many other red onions.

Origin: Grown in a specific coastal area of Calabria, Italy, and has a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, meaning its quality is linked to its geographical origin.

Culinary uses: Versatile and can be used in many ways, including raw in salads, grilled, roasted, or cooked into dishes like pasta and frittatas. It is also famously used to make sweet jams and even savory ice cream. 

Red Pearl onions are small in size, averaging 1-4 centimeters in diameter, and are globular in shape with slightly pointed ends. The petite bulb is covered in a burgundy, thin, papery, parchment that easily flakes off when touched.

Late variety, very productive, also known as broccoli or top of turnip

It is a type of turnip whose inflorescences and the tender part of the stem with the leaves are used

The plants are cut 5-10 cm from the ground so that it can drive other numerous axillary jets from the base of the stem

Sowing: from September to the end of October in rows 30 cm apart

Harvest: about 120 days from sowing

The "Grightmire's Pride" tomato is a large, pink, heart-shaped, heirloom paste tomato that is known for its meaty, low-acid, low-seed fruit with a sweet, flavorful taste. It is a prolific and early-maturing, indeterminate variety, originating from Yugoslavia, and is excellent for sandwiches, salads, and sauces. 

Appearance: Large, heart-shaped, pinkish-red fruit.

Flesh: Very meaty, dense, and juicy with few seeds.

Taste: Delicious, sweet, and fragrant.

Acidity: Low-acid, making it a good choice for those with sensitive stomachs.

Plant Type: Indeterminate, prolific grower that is early-maturing.

Uses: Ideal for slicing, salads, sandwiches, and making sauces.

Origin: A variety from Yugoslavia that came to North America via Yugoslavia. 

Smokey (or Bronze) fennel is an ornamental herb known for its fine, feathery foliage that transitions from coppery rose to deep bronzy-purple, giving it a "smoky" appearance. It has an anise or licorice flavor, making its leaves and seeds valuable for seasoning seafood, salads, and vegetables, as well as for making tea. Growing up to five feet tall, it produces yellow flower umbels that attract butterflies and beneficial insects, adding both culinary and ecological value to gardens.  

Danish heirloom variety. Small heads 6-8". Harvest in summer.

Copenhagen Market Cabbage is a classic early-maturing variety known for its compact, round heads and dense, tightly packed leaves. The heads are medium-sized, typically 1.5–2.5 kg, with smooth, light green outer leaves and a crisp, pale interior. It’s prized for its reliability, uniform growth, and sweet, mild flavor.

Excellent raw in coleslaw and fresh salads due to its crisp texture

Great for steaming or boiling as a simple side dish

Ideal for stir-fries and sautéing with garlic or butter

Can be used for light fermentation (though better suited for fresh use than storage types)

Works well in soups, cabbage rolls, and braised dishes

Its tender leaves and mild taste make it especially versatile for everyday cooking.

A medium  to early variety. The hearts are round, medium-sized and compact. the sheaths are thick, fleshy and entirely  white with very little fibre. They are crunchy and tender white  with  a  sweet, aromatic flavour. SOWING: can be sown  in several stages from july until the beginning September for harvesting from November until February. 

Fennel is easy to grow. They prefer full sun and a well drained soil. They will do best in rich soils.Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week. Add a general purpose fertilizer once or twice a season. While classified as a herb, Fennel is a popular European vegetable too. Native to Mediterranean region, the bulbous base and stalk is popular eaten raw like celery, cooked, or boiled. Closely related to Parsley, Fennel is popular in Italian and other Mediterranean recipes. Also called Florence Fennel or Finuccio, it is easy to grow and very hardy, lasting well after the first frost. With bright green, fern-like leaves and aromatic yellow flowers, this plant will grow three to four feet tall. Plant it in the back of the herb garden or in your vegetable garden. Foliage and seeds have an anise-like flavor.

Traditional Italian herb with a wonderful anise taste. Romanesco Fennel is also called Roman or Florence Fennel. Very sweet and aromatic late maturing variety produces a large head with thick white tightly wrapped stalks.

Florence fennel or Finocchio

Perhaps the most indulgent vegetable to start off at this time of year is Florence fennel, otherwise known as finocchio or, more commonly, bulb fennel. The handsome feathery foliage of this crop is matched only by its exquisite aniseed flavour that makes a fine pairing with fish (try baking parcels of mackerel with slices of fennel and lemon for a sublime dinner). But fennel has more strings to its bow than this – pop chunks into a stew to freshen things up, or finely slice a bulb over a garden-gathered salad using a chef’s mandolin. The leaves can be used in place of herb fennel.

Bulb fennel is perhaps a slightly misleading name, as the ‘bulb’ is in fact the swollen stem base of the plant. But this is nitpicking as all you really need to know is that this is a vegetable to luxuriate in – a gourmet kitchen gardener’s treat!

Cuor Di Albenga is an heirloom oxheart tomato from Albenga, Italy, known for its large, meaty, pleated, teardrop-shaped fruits that are typically red or orangey-red. It has a sweet and savory flavor that makes it excellent for both fresh use, such as in salads, and for cooking, especially roasting, sauces, and canning. These plants are indeterminate, vigorous, and productive. 

Origin: From the Ligurian coast town of Albenga in Northern Italy.

Shape: Large, pleated, teardrop or ox-heart shaped.

Size: Fruits are large, often weighing 10–16 ounces (about 200–300g).

Color: Ranges from pinkish to red or orangey-red.

Flesh: Meaty with few seeds and little juice, with a firm and sweet pulp.

Growth: Indeterminate, vigorous, and productive plants that require staking or caging. 

Fresh: Excellent sliced and eaten raw in salads, or used in Caprese salads.

Sauces: Ideal for homemade sauces, pasta dishes, and stews due to its rich, meaty flesh.

Roasting: Roasting brings out its savory richness.

Other: Also suitable for canning and making fresh juice. 

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.