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.

 Early-maturing and very tasty! Ripens quickly, resulting in heavy yields.

Dark orange, creamy texture.

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 

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.  

Basil Mix: Spicy Globe, Thai, Liquorice, Purple Opal, Large Leaf, Lemon, Cinnamon, Dwarf, Loose Leaf

Romanesco zucchini seeds produce fruits that have a very pleasant nutty taste and a presence that transcends the world of ordinary zucchini. Technically, Romanesco is a type of cocozelle squash, as it develops a bulbous end - zucchinis are traditionally evenly thick along their length.

Packet: 9-10 grams of seed

Scotch bonnet, also known as bonney peppers, or Caribbean peppers, is a variety of chili pepper named for its resemblance to a tam o' shanter hat. It is ubiquitous in West Africa. Most Scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville units.

WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING, DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES! WASH HANDS AFTER TOUCHING!

Cultivar: 'Scotch Bonnet'

Heat: Very hot

Scoville scale: 100,000–350,000 SHU

Yellow Scotch Bonnet - This pepper gives Jamaican chicken dishes their special flavor! Scotch Bonnet goes by several names including Jamaican Hot, Martinique Pepper and Bahama Mama. It is closely related to the habanero, but with a sweeter flavor and stouter shape. The pods are 1-1/2" wide and 1-1/2" long and have a citrus-like flavor with a lot of heat. They mature from green to bright yellow on very productive 24" tall plants.  Capsiucum chinense (90 days). 

Capsiucum chinense strains require a great deal of attention during the germination process. Moisture and a constant and consistent heat range must be maintained. Place the seeds in sterile media and cover 1/4” deep. Provide 85°F bottom heat, bright light and keep moist at all times. Seeds will germinate in 7 - 21 days. Transplant seedlings into pots and grow until there are 6 true leaves on the plant. Plant them directly into rich soil, 30” apart or into containers. 

ROTONDA BIANCA SFUMATA DI ROSA sel. ROMANESCA

Produces round-oval fruit that is flattened at the tip and deeply grooved. Violet with blue and white tinges near the stalk. Compact  flesh  with few seeds. Resistant to transportation and particularly suitable for industrial processing. A vigorous and erect plant with well covering foliage. Suitable for growing either in a nursery or directly outdoors.

Peculiar round white eggplant with shades of rose color. Large size fruits of 12-15cm in diameter. Italian heirloom, very productive and medium-early cycle. The flesh is white and creamy with a  sweet and delicate savor.

Eggplant should always be cooked before it is consumed, as it has an alkanoid that can damage the digestive system. It contains vitamins, antioxidants, iron, fiber and magnesium among many others.

The sowing takes place in March or April outdoors, while in the interior it is done from January. At 1cm deep and 45cm between plants. Seeds need temperature of 25ºC to germinate. After 3 to 5 months from sowing, the fruits will be ripe and can be harvested. Prefers fertile and well-drained soils.

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.