CATALOGUE

Runner Beans (Phaseolus coccineus)
Packet = 10 seeds

Painted Lady (1600s) - Runner beans were introduced into England in 1633. A bicolor sort was one of the varieties known at the time. The Painted Lady Runner Bean has red and white bicolor flowers that are very ornamental. As with the other Runner Bean varieties, hummingbirds also are attracted to these flowers. (115 days for dry beans) Pole.

$3.00

Sadie's Horse Bean - A beautiful heirloom runner bean that was grown in the same family for over one hundred years! Huge beans have to be seen to be believed and come in a gorgeous mix of colors including pink mottled black, lavender mottled brown and pure white. The pods are also huge and can be eaten as a snap when very young. This bean is truly one of the most ornamental vegetables you can grow. The vigorous vines are covered in a mix of white and red flowers all summer long and also attracts hummingbirds. Simply breathtaking! (110 days for dried beans) Pole. (10 seeds/pkt.)

$4.95

Broad Beans (Vicia faba)
Packet = 10-15 seeds

Aquadulce (pre-1850) - Aquadulce Broad Bean originated in Spain from a selection of Haba de Sevilla Broad Bean. Aquadulce was illustrated in the Album Vilmorin in 1871. The long pods produce large yellowish green flat seed. (10 seed/pkt)

$3.95

Crimson Flowered Broad Bean (1778) - At one time, not long ago, this broad bean was on the verge of extinction. An elderly curator of precious bean seeds lost almost all of her harvest but luckily sent the remaining seed to Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA). From just four seeds, HDRA was able to successfully propagate this bean and save the Crimson Flowered Broad Bean from extinction. This is one of the true success stories when it comes to saving heirloom vegetables. The Crimson Flowered Broad Bean is an extremely ornamental plant. It is covered with crimson flowers all summer long and into the fall. It is also very productive and produces many tasty green fava beans that can be used fresh or dried for winter use. One of my all time favorite vegetables and definitely pretty enough for the flower bed! EXTREMELY RARE. (10 seed/pkt.)

$4.95

Martoc - A truly medieval variety. Few medieval varieties of vegetables are still available today and I am very happy to be able to offer this one. The small brownish beans were cooked in the dry state to produce a brown porridge. This variety is very tolerant to poor growing conditions and rather productive.

$3.95

Beets(Beta vulgaris)
Packet = 50 seeds

Albino - A nice variety with white flesh. This beet does not stain and is sweet and tender.

$3.00

Bassano (pre-1840) - (aka Chioggia, Candy Stripe Beet) A very old historic beet that was originally called Barbabietola di Bassano and was grown in Italy well before it was known in North America. In 1865 Fearing Burr included it in his book Field and Garden Vegetables of America. He stated that the Bassano beet was “An Italian variety, generally considered the earliest of garden-beets, being from seven to ten days earlier than the early blood turnip rooted.” It is documented as grown at the Red River Settlement in the mid 1800’s under the name Turnip Bassano, referring to its slightly flattened shape like a turnip. Apparently the original Bassano beet was slightly flatter and a duller red than the one that survives today, but otherwise are the same. The Bassano beet is also known as the Candy Stripe beet because of the alternating white and rose colored rings (like a bulls eye). This trait makes it a beautiful slicing beet. They are excellent if slightly steamed or baked and the young beets can be used in salads. A beautiful beet that should be more widely grown!

$3.00

Early Blood Turnip (pre-1774) - A very historic heirloom that is one of the oldest beets still in cultivation. One of the main reasons that it has had such immense popularity is that it was very tolerant of a wide variety of climates. Fearing Burr (Field and Garden Vegetables of America, 1865) stated that “The Early Blood Turnip Beet succeeds well from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico; and in almost every section of the United States is more esteemed, and more generally cultivated for early use, than any other variety.” The Early Blood Turnip Beet is said to be one of the parents of the well known Detroit Red Beet. This is an excellent beet with red flesh, often having paler red rings inside. A great all purpose beet. EXTREMELY RARE.

$3.95

Lutz Green Leaf - (a.k.a. Winter Keeper) An old variety that was popular with the Amish and Mennonites for generations. The tops are green so they were very popular as a cooked vegetable and the roots are huge and red with excellent storage qualities. The large roots are very sweet and do not get tough or woody even at a very large size. Excellent variety. One of the best.

$3.00

Broccoli(Brassica oleracea var. botrytis)
Packet = 50 seeds

Calabrese (1800s) - An early variety from Italy that was brought over to America in the 1880’s by Italian immigrants. The central head can reach 8” and many shoots form after it is cut. Great tasting. (60-70 days from transplant)

$3.00