The 'golden' onion of Parma, Italy. A late maturing onion with golden upright top-shaped large bulbs. Excellent storage quality. Compares to any of the top yellow varieties for taste. The shape makes for great slicing. Long Day. Untreated seed.

Golden onions of Parma stand out for their refined simplicity, enclosed in a skin with a sophisticated colour. On the inside, however, it is extremely simple and genuine, so much so that it is appreciated worldwide. It is, in fact, an antique variety famous throughout Europe.

Golden onions of Parma are particularly resistant and easy to preserve. They are large and pyramid in shape and range from straw yellow to intense gold.

This variety takes a long time to develop. It is sown in mid-winter between December and February, but is not harvested until the summer, between mid-July and the end of August. One of the reasons that makes it so successful lies in its storage properties: golden onions of Parma can be perfectly preserved until well after the winter, especially if stored in a cellar or pantry, inside a basket covered with a sheet of newspaper, in a paper bag or cardboard box, where any chance of humidity that might cause the growth of micro-organisms is kept under control.

Which cooking methods bring the best out of the golden onion of Parma? Thanks to its intense taste, it is not very suitable to be consumed raw. On the contrary, its sweet taste can be best savoured in dishes that are cooked slowly, such as soups or braised meats. These qualities have earned it a place of honour on any table in Emilia, but also the Marche region – where it is popular in onion and tomato omelette – and in Umbria, the home of the “cipollata”, or onion stew. Even in simpler preparations, the golden onion of Parma will bowl you over with its sweet taste: try it baked, cut into slices and fried with breadcrumbs, served with anchovy fillets or a few slivers of hard cheese.

From a nutritional viewpoint, the golden onion of Parma is rich in vitamin C and calcium. It also has vermifuge, antiseptic and diuretic properties, being very close to the true rustic onion that are so popular with Emilian farmers.

Botanical Name Mentha × piperita

Common Name Peppermint

Plant Type Herbaceous perennial

Mature Size 1-2 ft. wide, 1-2 ft. tall

Sun Exposure Full sun

Soil Type Adaptable except extremely dry

Soil pH Adaptable

Bloom Time July to August

Flower Color Pink

Hardiness Zones 5-9

Native Area Europe

Plant is a second early variety with a deep large oblate shape. Fruit is a dark red colour. Fruits are suitable for tomato sauces and salads. A beef tomato or beefsteak tomato is one of the largest varieties of cultivated tomatoes, some weighing 450 grams or more. Most are pink or red with numerous small seed compartments distributed throughout the fruit, sometimes displaying pronounced ribbing similar to ancient pre-Columbian tomato cultivars

Vigorous tomato with exceptional disease resistance, succulent flavor, and enormous fruit size. 

This huge red beefsteak tomato is meaty and tastes both mild and sweet. Great for sandwiches. Our summertime favorite is the BLT with one thick slice of this tomato. This indeterminate plant can grow very tall and needs a cage or tie to a stake for support. A dependable big tomato with intense flavor.

Organic, Open-pollinated heirloom (90 days) 

Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Plant Size: 6-8’. Fruit Color: Red Shape: Flattened globe. Size:12-16 oz.  

Packet: 9-10 grams of seed

This "beauty heart" type Chinese radish is the most popular variety grown in the middle and northern parts of China. It is also call watermelon radish. This variety is globe-shape, green shoulder with dark pink flesh. Because of their color, they are the perfect radishes to carve into flower shapes as garnish. It has a crisp texture and is mild and sweet flavored. Try eating fresh. Just thinly slice, top with fresh squeezed lime and a little salt and pepper or with sugar. For fall season sowing only.

Round Zucchini have been popular in Europe for years. The Italians have their dark green Tondo di Piacenza, the French have the light green speckled Ronde de Nice, the Dutch have the "Roly Poly" (a loose translation from Burpee's marketers) and the British have their single serve striped marrow, Tender and True. There is even chinese produced seed of an almost white round zucchini. The common thread is that these zucchini are actually rather nice; solid, nutty, sweet, and as a bonus they are extremely early producers and are prolific if you keep harvesting the fruit. The compact plants are real workhorses of efficiency. They laughed at the limited nutrients and water of our sand lot trials!

These round zucchini from the above plants have matured to form a tough pumpkin-like or gourd-like rind. You must leave them on the plant until their colors have changed and they develop that hard skin. It takes several weeks beyond the immature stage that we usually consume summer squash at for the squash to mature. These are on the porch where they will "after ripen", for an additional month. The after ripening gives the seeds an extra amount of time to gain food reserves which will allow for healthier, more vigorous seedlings and better germination. Then they will be split with a sledge hammer (yes, the can be tough), seeds will be scooped out, washed in a mild soap solution and thoroughly dried to the "breaking" stage before storage. We used to spread out the seed on newspaper to dry but now we use drying screens which provide better air circulation.

Packet: 9-10 grams of seed

Asparagus has grown in the wild in France since the time of Louis XIV. Originally only three different types were available, they were distinguished mostly by their thickness, ‘la grosse’, ‘la commune’ and ‘la sauvage’.

Cultivation become widespread in the mid-19th century, with populations often identified according to countries and towns where they were grown. Arguably the best known asparagus was cultivated at Argenteuil, situated just 14 kilometres northwest of Paris. For centuries Argenteuil was an important asparagus-growing district: at one time several thousand persons were employed in cultivating the crop.

Asparagus 'Precoce D'Argentuil’ or ‘Early Argenteuil‘ was listed by Vilmorin-Andrieux in 1885 as a selection from 'Giant Dutch Purple'. It is one of three subvarieties of Argenteuil (early, mid, and late) and is highly esteemed for its thick, rose-purple spears with tender tips and an excellent flavour.

It is an excellent choice for the impatient gardener. Earlier and hardier than most asparagus varieties, the spears are usually produced from seed struck plants in the second year and it will shoot earlier in the season than other varieties.

In France, Asparagus D'Argentuil is the traditional variety used to create the popular white asparagus by blanching the plants. White asparagus, nicknamed ‘edible ivory’ and ‘white gold’ typically sells for two to three times as much as the green-skinned variety due to the high cost of production and the short season. However, it is simply created by mounding earth over the spears as they begin to push out of the ground, thus keeping them from sunlight and the photosynthesis that would turn them green.

This noble stalk may cost a king's ransom for much of the year but when cultivated in the garden it is affordable for even us commoners and is uncommonly delicious.

Regina Di Maggio/Boston: Plant has thick and fleshy leaves with a round core. Leaves are expanded and heavy. Seeds are white. Plant is suitable for spring and autumn growing.

This is one beautiful and tasty butterhead lettuce. Green with the edges of the leaves tinged with red. Somewhat less red than Quatro Stagioni (Four Seasons). Prefers spring & fall, but will take some summer heat. Large head; lovely soft texture. 55 days.