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 

The Tri-Leaf Luffa is a vigorous, heat-tolerant annual vine from the cucumber family, known for its lush, deeply lobed leaves (hence "tri-leaf") and prolific, smooth, deep-green cylindrical gourds that grow 10-16 inches long and dry into high-quality, fibrous sponges for exfoliating skin or household cleaning, offering an eco-friendly alternative to plastic scrubbers. These fast-growing plants produce attractive yellow flowers and are ideal for growing on trellises, yielding both edible young fruits and mature sponges. Foliage: Large, dark green, silvery-shaded, palm-shaped leaves, often with three distinct lobes. Flowers: Bright yellow, attracting pollinators. Growth Habit: Vigorous, twining vines that can reach 20-30 feet, needing support like fences or trellises. Appearance (Young): Resembles a cucumber, deep green, smooth-skinned. Size (Mature): Cylindrical, typically 10-16 inches long and 3-5 inches in diameter. Texture (Mature): Becomes fibrous and tough as it dries, but the inner skeleton is soft and silky when wet. Culinary (Young Fruit): Edible when young, used in stir-fries, soups, and salads. Sponges (Mature Fruit): Dried and processed into natural, biodegradable sponges for bathing or scrubbing dishes. Ornamental: Attractive foliage and flowers, can act as natural sunshades. Ridge Gourd: Hero is a high yielding photo insensitive hybrid variety of ridge gourd. Fruits are vigorous in growth and resistant to biotic and a biotic stresses. Fruit length is 40 – 45 cm and weight 250-300 g each. Plant harvesting starts around 40 – 45 days after sowing. Yield is 14 – 16 tons/acre.

Daikon Summer F1 (like Minowase Summer Cross F1) refers to heat-tolerant, fast-growing, Japanese hybrid daikon radishes ideal for summer planting, producing long, white, mild, sweet, juicy roots with firm flesh, good for salads, pickling, and stir-fries, often maturing quickly (around 50-60 days) with strong disease resistance. They need deep, light soil and consistent water to prevent bitterness, offering a crisp texture and a milder, less spicy flavor than smaller radishes, making them versatile for summer-to-fall harvests. 

Type: F1 Hybrid Daikon (Japanese radish).

Appearance: Long, conical, pure white roots, sometimes with a pale green shoulder.

Flavor/Texture: Mild, sweet, juicy, crisp, firm flesh, less pungent than red radishes.

Maturity: Fast-growing, around 50-65 days.

Uses: Excellent for salads, stir-fries, cooking, and pickling (especially kimchi).

Heat/Disease: Tolerant to heat and resistant to common diseases like Fusarium. 

Soil: Requires deep, loose, well-drained soil to allow roots to grow long.

Water: Consistent moisture is key for mild flavor; avoid drying out.

Planting: Best sown in summer for late summer/fall harvest. 

Minowase Summer Cross F1: A classic for summer crops, known for its mildness and vigor.

Japana F1: Another summer-sowing option with fine, dense flesh. 

Chinese celery is an aromatic plant with a strong, peppery flavor, thin, hollow, crisp stems, and delicate leaves. It is smaller than Western celery and is often used in soups, stir-fries, and other dishes for its potent taste, which becomes milder when cooked. Also known as kintsai or leaf celery, it is commonly used in Asian cuisines. 

Appearance: It features long, narrow, hollow stems that can be white to dark green, or even pink depending on the variety. The leaves are delicate and wispy.

Flavor: It has a pungent and peppery flavor that is more intense than standard celery. The taste softens and sweetens when cooked.

Usage: It is rarely eaten raw and is primarily used for flavoring in cooked dishes. It is excellent in stir-fries, soups, and fried rice. Both the stems and leaves are edible.

Growing: Chinese celery is often easier to grow than its Western counterparts and can be cultivated in smaller spaces like pots. It is typically grown as an annual, though it is technically a biennial. 

Kintsai Chinese Yellow Stem Celery, Boly, Cutting Celery, Nan Ling, Gin Cai, Kun Choy, Kan Tsoi

Lettuce seeds can be planted directly into the garden soil.

Sow the seeds directly into the garden soil beginning in early spring starting 2 weeks prior to the last frost-free date. 

Plant the tiny seeds 1/4" deep and later thin to 10" apart. Seeds can be planted every 3 weeks for a staggered harvest or once again in late summer for a fall harvest. Fall planting can occur 10 weeks before your average first frost date.

Build up a raised row of soil about 8" wide. Scatter the seeds in a line on top and then cover with 1/4” to 1/2" of soil. Keep the soil evenly moist. Lettuce seeds will germinate in 5-10 days depending on the soil temperature. Germination is slower in the cold weather of spring. 

Lettuce has shallow roots so gently mulch around it to deter weeds and retain soil moisture.

The ways to harvest lettuce include harvesting it as a baby green by picking individual young leaves, harvesting the outer leaves as needed and letting the plants grow, or by harvesting the entire head by slicing it off about an inch above the soil.

Each packet contains 500 Little Gem Lettuce seeds. Lactuca sativa. Annual. Open-pollinated, heirloom, Non-GMO. Harvest in 50 days. 

This packet plants a 60' row with 72 plants. 

Meaty and thick, golden-orange skin with a mild flavor. A great choice for its low acidity and high Vitamin C content.

History: The Golden Jubilee was first introduced in 1943 by the W. Atlee Burpee & Co. which was established in 1876. After almost 150 years Burpee continues and has grown into a very large organization. Golden Jubilee is sweet, mild and meaty. Its mild flavor pairs well with other ingredients and it holds its orange color when cooked. An All American Selections winner in 1943.

Open-pollinated (80 days)

Plant Habit: Indeterminate.  Plant Size: 6’.  Fruit Color: Orange.  Shape: Globe.  Size: 6-8 oz. 30 seeds