Litchi Tomato (Solanum sisymbriifolium) – Description & Uses

Litchi tomato is a unique, spiny plant related to tomatoes and eggplants. It produces small, round fruits that ripen from green to bright red and resemble cherry tomatoes. The plant features deeply lobed leaves covered in sharp thorns, along with attractive white to pale blue flowers with yellow centers. Despite its name, it is not a true tomato but has a similar juicy texture with a slightly tart, cherry-like flavor.

Uses:

Fresh eating: Ripe fruits can be eaten raw; flavor is mildly sweet-tart.

Preserves & jams: Excellent for making jellies or chutneys due to its tangy taste.

Desserts: Can be used in pies or sweet sauces similar to berries.

Ornamental: Grown for its striking flowers and unusual, spiny appearance.

Garden protection: Sometimes used as a trap crop to help manage pests like nematodes.

⚠️ Note: Only fully ripe red fruits are edible—unripe parts and foliage are toxic.

These round to oval fruits are only 3/8” wide. It is often confused with the Pequin that is a small oval with a point. The Tepin grow on 36” tall plants and have extreme heat. All peppers are perennials, so if your plant survives the winter without freezing, the shrub can get very large. Capsicum annuum  (120 days)

Heat Level: Super Hot.  Scoville Heat Units 50,000 - 100,000

~ Packet contains 10 seeds. 

In early spring, start seeds indoors 8 weeks prior to warm nightly temperatures. 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 large 5 gallon containers. Harvest peppers when they are red.

Winged beans are a tropical legume where the entire plant is edible: the pods have four "wings," the leaves can be cooked like spinach, and the roots form a tuber similar to a potato. They are a nutritious food source, rich in protein, vitamins A and C, and iron, and are a staple in many Southeast Asian cuisines. 

Growth: They are a vining plant that requires sturdy support, like a trellis, to grow.

Pods: The pods are angular with four frilly "wings" running lengthwise, and they can be green, purple, or red.

Edible parts: You can eat the pods when young, and the mature seeds can be used like soybeans.

Other edible parts: The leaves taste like spinach, the flowers can be eaten, and the roots can be cooked like a potato or sweet potato. 

Pods: Young pods can be eaten raw in salads or sliced and stir-fried.

Seeds: Mature seeds can be dried and ground into flour or used similarly to soybeans.

Roots: The tuberous roots are edible cooked or raw and have a nutty flavor.

Leaves: Young leaves are tender and can be cooked like spinach. 

Climate: They thrive in hot, humid conditions but can also be grown in temperate zones.

Planting: Seeds are frost-sensitive and should be planted after the last frost. Cooler soil temperatures can hinder germination.

Preparation: Before planting, seeds benefit from being soaked for 12–24 hours and may require gentle nicking to help with germination. 

Scoville Units: 100.000 ~ 200.000

The Jamaican Hot Red is a compact plant which will grow to 60 cm in height. The plant gets an abundance of peppers. They are similar to Scotch Bonnet peppers and the pods are 5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide and look like mushrooms. They color during ripening from green to red and are very hot. The peppers have a fruity flavor and are widely used in the Caribbean for making hot sauces.

Species: Capsicum Chinense

Wrinkled Pepper is a specific variety of hybrid hot chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) known for its high pungency and wrinkled appearance. It is a strong-growing, high-yield plant primarily used in Chinese and other Asian cuisines. 

Heat Level: It is a hot pepper with high pungency.

Appearance: The fruits are long and have a distinctive wrinkled skin. They ripen from green to a vibrant red color.

Fruit Size: Individual fruits are relatively large for a hot pepper, typically around 13-16 cm (about 5-6 inches) in length and 3.0-3.5 cm (about 1.2-1.4 inches) in diameter.

Maturity: It is an early-maturing variety, generally ready for harvest around 55 days after transplanting.

Plant Habit: The plant has strong vigor and a semi-upright growing habit, making it prolific and high-yielding.

Usage: It is suitable for both fresh markets and for drying to create chili flakes or powder. 

Thai hot peppers, also known as bird's eye chilies, are small, fiery peppers that measure between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville heat units, making them significantly hotter than a jalapeño but milder than a habanero. These peppers have a slender, tapered shape, are about 1–2 inches long, and mature from green to a bright red color. They have a fruity, earthy flavor with a pungent heat that is used widely in Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisines, often in curries, soups, and stir-fries. 

Size and shape: Small, slender, and tapered, usually 1–2 inches long and 1/4–1/2 inch wide.

Color: Green when young, ripening to a bright red.

Flavor: Fruity and earthy, with a pungent heat.

Texture: Thin, crisp, and waxy when fresh. 

Scoville units: 50,000–100,000 SHU.

Comparison: About 23 times hotter than a jalapeño and roughly one-third as hot as a habanero.

Note: The seeds and membranes contain the most heat and can be removed to reduce it. 

Thai Chili

Thai chili, also known as bird's eye chili or simply bird chili, is a small, fiery pepper variety native to Southeast Asia. 

Verde is an early variety with tart flavor when young, becoming sweeter as it ripens. Harvest in 85 days. Tomatillo Verde produces large juicy fruits that weigh 3-4 oz. Determinate plants grow 24" tall. Grow two plants to ensure fruit set because two or more tomatillo plants are required for the plants to blossom. 

Plant seeds 1/4" deep then thin to 24" apart. It is best to start seeds indoors.

Medium to large size fruits are ready to harvest when husks split and fruit color changes from a yellow green to medium green. Perfect for Salsa Verde or as a special addition to any Mexican dish.

Tomatillo seeds can be started indoors.

Tomatillos are an ingredient often present in Mexican dishes, and the fruit is grown similarly to a tomato.

Sow seeds 2-3 weeks before the last frost date and transplant when soil is warm.

Plant seeds 1/4" deep and 3" apart. Seeds should come up in 14-21 days. 

Thin plants to 24" apart after germination.

Each packet contains 50 Organic Tomatillo Verde seeds. Physalis philadelphica. Annual. Open-pollinated, heirloom, non-GMO. Harvest in 85 days.

Vaccinium angustifolium

Stratification: Cold stratify 90 days or sow outdoors in late fall or winter. Mix with vermiculite or perlite or moss and place in plastic bag and fridge for 6 weeks. Sow seed at soil tops, do not let seed dry out.

Blueberries produce clusters of small urn-shaped flowers that range in colour from white to pale pink. The fruits are true berries with many small seeds and are a deep indigo to black colour when ripe.

Size: Lowbush blueberries can grow up to two feet tall and wide. 

Leaves: Lowbush blueberry leaves are short-stalked, elliptic, and have finely serrated edges. The upper surface is pale to dark green, while the lower surface is lighter green. 

Flowers: In the spring, lowbush blueberries produce small, white, or pink bell-shaped flowers. 

Berries: Lowbush blueberries produce small, juicy, blue berries in the summer. The berries are rich in vitamin C and sugars. 

Fall color: In the fall, lowbush blueberry leaves turn bronze, scarlet, and crimson. 

Winter color: In the winter, lowbush blueberry twigs turn yellow-green to reddish. 

Habitat 

Lowbush blueberries grow in open conifer woods, sandy or rocky balds, and old fields.

They prefer full sun to partial shade and acidic, moist to dry soils.

Uses 

Lowbush blueberries are often used in jams and jellies.

They are also eaten by wildlife, such as bears.

Lowbush blueberries are occasionally used to revegetate disturbed sites.