Papa was raised speaking Hungarian because his mother was born in Budapest, emigrating to the United States in 1956 during the revolution. Many family members remained in Hungary and we visit them every chance we get. These ten wonderful varieties of vegetables and flowers are all originally from Hungary and we saved the parent seeds from the gardens of various friends and family members over the years on our trips to Hungary.
The collection includes:
Sweet Round of Hungary Pepper (Capsicum annuum)- approximately 20 seeds
Feher Ozon Paprika Pepper (Capsicum annuum)- approximately 20 seeds
Hungarian Black Pepper (Capsicum annuum)- approximately 20 seeds
Hungarian Wax Pepper (Capsicum annuum)- approximately 20 seeds
Magyar Poppi (Papaveri spp.)- approximately 100 seeds
Bachelor Button (Centaurea cyanus)- approximately 100 seeds
Uborka Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)- approximately 30 seeds
Hungarian Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)- approximately 100 seeds
Hungarian Heart Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)- approximately 20 seeds
Dill (Anethum graveolens)- approximately 100 seeds
The collection of ten seed packets comes in a cloth gift bag and we include a pamphlet with a little history of each variety and a description of where we harvested the parent seed in Hungary.
We hope you enjoy growing these wonderful Hungarian seed varieties.
Available in our catalog, $35, Free Shipping
Köszönöm szépen!
French Seed Collection
Mama spent much of her childhood in France (Her father is French) and we travel to Nice, France frequently to visit the kids’ grandparents who live there. These ten wonderful varieties of vegetables and flowers are all originally from France and we saved the parent seeds from the gardens of various friends and family members there.
The collection includes:
Marmande Garnier Rouge Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) - approximately 20 seeds
Coeur de Boeuf Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) - approximately 20 seeds
French Breakfast Radish (Raphanus sativus) - approximately 75 seeds
Mâche / Lamb's Lettuce (Valerianella locusta) - approximately 100 seeds
Ronde de Nice Squash (Cucurbita pepo) - approximately 30 seeds
Haricots Verts (Phaseolus vulgaris)- approximately 30 seeds
Arugula (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa) - approximately 100 seeds
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) - approximately 30 seeds
Cleome (Cleome hassleriana) - approximately 50 seeds
Parisian Potager Carrot (Daucus carota) - approximately 100 seeds
The collection of ten seed packets comes in a cloth gift bag and we include a pamphlet with a little history of each variety and a description of where we harvested the parent seed in France.
We hope you enjoy growing these wonderful French varieties. Merci!
Available now in our catalog! $35, Free Shipping
This beautiful yellow/orange tomato comes to us from the breeder, one of our garden mentors, Juan Dean. Juan is a master gardener here in the Asheville, NC area who selected and improved this variety in the early 1980s from seed stock that he acquired in Guatemala.
The Mountain Sun tomato is a big beefsteak variety with exceptionally low acid and beautiful yellow flesh that becomes more of an orange shade as the fruits mature. The flavor is rich and great for many applications from fresh eating to sauces and canning. The fruits generally have few seeds and they average about 1-1.5 lbs.
Origin: The parent seed of Mountain Sun Tomato was given to us by our friend Juan Dean who bred the variety from seed stock he acquired in Guatemala in the 1970s.
Mountain Sun Tomato seeds are now available in our catalog!
Monarch butterflies are a joy to have in the garden and we assembled this collection of seed varieties to both attract monarchs to your garden and to support their health. The milkweed varieties provide a critical food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars and the flowers are varieties that the monarchs rely on for nectar.
The collection includes:
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)- approximately 30 seeds
Swamp Rose Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)- approximately 30 seeds
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)- approximately 30 seeds
Tithonia (Tithonia rotundifolia)- approximately 50 seeds
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)- approximately 100 seeds
Cleome (Cleome hassleriana)- approximately 50 seeds
Orange Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)- approximately 50 seeds
Black Knight Scabiosa (Scabiosa atropurpurea)- approximately 30 seeds
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)- approximately 50 seeds
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)- approximately 30 seeds
The collection of ten seed packets comes in a cloth gift bag and we include a pamphlet with a little history of each variety and a description of where we harvested the parent seed.
- $35, Free Shipping
We hope this seed collection brings many monarch butterflies to your garden. Happy growing!
Mâche is a wonderful salad green that grows in late winter and early spring. Also called "corn salad" or "lamb's lettuce", the small florets are never bitter and are a welcome green from the garden when it's cold outside and little else grows. The flavor is nutty and this native to Europe is common in salads throughout the continent.
Origin: We brought the parent seed of this great variety home from France where we obtained seeds from a farmer at the Marché Président Wilson in the, 16th arrondissement of Paris many years ago when the kids’ grandparents lived in nearby Suresnes. The farmer has grown and saved seeds of this variety for many years on his farm north of Paris in the town of Chambly. This farm is also the original source of our French breakfast radishes and Snow peas.
(Approximately 100 seeds per packet)
The heirloom "Albenga" tomato is an ox-heart type tomato from Ligurian coast town of Albenga, just west of Genoa, in Northern Italy. The beautiful pleats and tear-drop shape of the Albenga tomato are characteristic of the variety that has many uses.
First, you will be happy to eat the Albenga tomato as a slicer and the rich flavor is wonderful in fresh summertime preparations. However, the variety is perhaps best known along the Ligurian coast as a saucing and roasting tomato. In fact, most households in this region prefer the Albenga for their homemade sauces over other popular varieties like the Roma or San Marzano tomatoes.
We like to use the Albenga tomato roasted atop fresh pasta and if you plan on canning a batch for winter the variety is a great option for your sauces. However, it might be hard to resist eating all of your Albenga tomatoes in Caprese salads or with mayonnaise on toast and the great flavor will ensure that you are pleased with the fresh choice!
Origin: We received the parent seed of our Albenga tomatoes while visiting a cousin in Ospedaletti, Italy along the Ligurian coast, just a few miles from the French border.
(Approximately 15 seeds per packet)
A heart-shaped beefsteak Hungarian heirloom variety that has wonderful flavor and is great for fresh-eating, paste or canning with very few seeds. This variety originated around 1900 and was first seen in the farmers markets around Budapest. Fruits routinely exceed 1 lb. and range from a deep pink to red color.
Origin: We brought the parent seed home to our garden from a trip to Hungary to visit our cousins who have grown this variety for many years in the town of Göd, Hungary.
(Approximately 20 seeds per packet)
Buncombe County Greasy Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Greasy beans have the unusual name because the outer shell is shiny and smooth without fuzz on the pods which give them a greasy appearance. Greasy beans originated in the southern Appalachian region and are generally thought to have been developed by Native American people.
Greasy beans are true heirlooms and folks in the southern Appalachian region have been saving seeds of their favorite varieties for generations. There are likely hundreds of sub-varieties of greasy bean and they have historically been an important source of protein and nutrition for mountain folk.
This rare greasy bean variety comes from the Sandymush Community of Northern Buncombe County here in Western North Carolina. The rural mountain community is dotted with farms throughout to coves and hollers where families have farmed for many generations and frequently each family has their own variety of favorite greasy bean.
The Buncombe County, or, Sandymush bean, grows to about 4-6" long and the vines grow up to 10 ft. The beans can be eaten cooked as a green bean or as a dried bean and the seeds range in color from white to tan.
Origin: The Buncombe County Greasy Bean comes to us from friends who farm in the Sandymush Community of Buncombe County, NC. They've grown this bean for many generations on their farm.
(Approximately 20 seeds per packet)
Origin: We received the parent seed of our Holy Myrrhbearer Tomato from a friend who gardens in Ithaca, NY. They received the seeds from a friend at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery just down the road in Otsdawa, NY.
(Approximately 15 seeds per packet)
Marigolds might just be the most underrated flower in the garden and this tall Mexican variety is our favorite. The plants grow up to 4 ft. tall with dozens of big blooms in a range of colors from deep orange to yellow. Marigolds make a wonderful cut flower, they attract lots of pollinators and they have been used as a companion plant since antiquity for their ability to deter pests. While marigolds are best know for being a great companion for tomato plants, we've found them to be beneficial planted throughout the garden among all your vegetables.
Marigolds play an important role in the cultures of Native Americans who have used the plant for religious, medicinal and ceremonial purposes for thousands of years. Marigolds are perhaps best known as flor de Muertos ("flower of the dead") in Mexico and are used extensively in the Día de los Muertos celebration on November 1-2. The fragrance of the flowers are believed to help the departed find their way home to visit their living loved-ones.
Note: There are many types of marigold and our variety is tall. Plan for the plants to grow up to 4 ft.
Origin: We were given the parent seed of these marigolds by a friend from Mexico whose family has grown and saved them for generations in their gardens in the state of Chiapas.
(Approximately 30 seeds per packet)
Ukranian farmer Ivanna Bilous bred the original red Lesya pepper about fifteen years ago and named it after a family friend, Lesya. An orange variant emerged from the original population which she selected and saved and we are excited to offer seeds in our catalog!
This gorgeous heart-shaped Lesya pepper is very sweet with not heat at all and it has a rich flavor that can be described as fruity. It is thick-walled and is great for stuffing, roasting, pickling or fresh eating.
The plants are heavy bearers and grow up to 2 ft. tall so we recommend staking them.
Origin: While this variety was only released in 2021 and only in Ukraine, were fortunate to acquire the parent seeds from cousins in Hungary who share a border with Ukraine and who fortunately also frequently share seeds!
(Approximately 15 seed per packet)
This is the variety of tomato that your grandparents grew! The Classic Beefsteak tomato has big fruits, generally between 1-2lbs., deep red flesh and a classic flavor with medium acid. This wonderful variety will probably bring back great memories of the first garden grown tomato that you ate in childhood. We use this tomato for all sorts of meals and one of our favorite ways to enjoy them are on summertime tomato sandwiches.
Origin: We were given the parent seed of our Classic Beefsteak tomato by a friend whose family has been farming in the Leicester community of Western North Carolina for many generations.
(Approximately 20 seeds per packet)
Our "Jerusalem" tomato is an old heirloom variety that has many uses. It is a fantastic paste or sauce tomato but it is also great for fresh eating with a rich flavor that has hints of salt and minerals. It's a medium acid variety and it's a stand-out in many applications from pasta sauce to Caprese salads. The Jerusalem tomato grows in clusters of roughly 6 fruits are generally 4-6 oz. each. This variety is a prolific early producer.
Origin: We were given the parent seed of our Jerusalem tomato by a friend who lives and works on a kibbutz near Jerusalem in Israel. They have been growing the variety on their farm since the 1930s and it is said that the variety was originally brought to Israel by Russian Jews who fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe in the 1920s.
(Approximately 20 seeds per packet)
Marmande Tomato
In 1960 Mrs. Garnier found a variety of Marmande in tomato a market in Savigny Sur Orge in Essonne. It was grow year after year by Mrs. Garnier and a private collector named Patrick Saint Aubin. She selected the variety because it was larger than most Marmande tomatoes and had superior flavor.
Our Marmande Garnier Rouge produces large fruits frequently over 1.5 lbs and the flavor is that of a classic garden tomato with slightly less acid. The plants are robust and it is typical to have up to two dozen large fruits per plant during the growing season.
Marmande Garnier Rouge will likely become a standard in your garden and we have Mrs. Garnier to thank for recognizing and saving the superb variety!
Origin: We were given Marmande Garnier Rouge seeds by a friend and gardener who lives near Nice, France. She has grown the variety for many decades.
(Approximately 15 seeds per packet)
Toothache Plant (Acmella oleracea)
Also known as: Spilathes, Electric Daisy, Paracress, Jambú
This small flowering herb has been used as a medicinal plant because chewing on the flowers produces a tingling or numbing sensation in the mouth which can be used to treat toothaches. This species is from Pará, a northeastern state in Brazil, where it is known as Jambú. In Brazil, Myanmar, and India the leaves are eaten fresh in salads and cooked as greens.
As always, consult your medical provider before using herbal remedies!
Even if you don't use spilathes for treating a toothache, the plants are a wonderful addition to the garden and the small 8 inch tall plants look great in borders and mass-plantings. The unique little flowers have a bulls-eye pattern and they are a great companion plant because they attract pollinators. The flowers also look great in arrangements.
Toothache Plant seeds are now available in our seed catalog!
Blondkopfchen Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
- Blondkopfchen means "Little blonde girl" in German and this old East German heirloom is super-sweet with a slightly citrusy and tart aftertaste. Cherry-sized fruits grow in big clusters of 20-30 tomatoes and the plants are incredibly productive. This variety has become a favorite in our garden and it's nearly impossible not to smile after you pop a "blondkopfchen" in your mouth. Guten appetit!
We're happy to offer Blondkopfchen tomato seeds in our catalog!
]]>Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
Cucuzzi gourds, also known as, Serpente di Sicilia, are a variety of bottle gourd originally from Sicily. We got the parent seeds years ago at the Mercato Annonario di San Remo in San Remo, Italy. Cucuzzi are such a fun variety to grow! The young gourds are edible and make a wonderful soup and the mature gourds hollow and cure for crafts and containers.
Gourds grow on long vines up to 20 ft. and we recommend trellising on an arch so that the fruits hang. The beautiful white flowers have a wonderful melon fragrance in the evening and early in the morning.
Cucuzzi Squash seeds are available in our catalog!
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Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus)
Amaranth has been grown for 8,000 years as a nutritious seed grain and was a primary food-source of the Aztec people. These 6ft. -8ft plants have a regal burgundy plume and the young leaves are delicious in salad or steamed. This drought tolerant variety can be grown as a hedge or in a floral cutting garden. In late summer, amaranth attracts lots of birds!
The parent seed of our amaranth originally comes from Guatemala. In 1997, Papa was working on a farm in Fillmore, CA and a Guatemalan friend at a neighboring farm in Ojai, CA gave the seeds that she had brought from her home in Guatemala.
We think you'll love growing these beautiful plants in your garden and seeds are available in our catalog!
Bachelor Button (Centaurea cyanus)
With a wonderful range of colors from pink to purple and a wide range of shades of blue, bachelor buttons look stunning in mass plantings. They are easy-to-grow, drought tolerant and the edible petals add a fun garnish to salads!
Bachelor buttons appear in many European folk tales and men of olden days would frequently wear a bloom on their lapel. (This is where the name "bachelor button" came from)
Also called "cornflowers" because of the tendency of the flowers to grow wild in cornfields, these flowers make a lovely addition to bouquets and attract lots of pollinators to the garden.
Bachelor Button seeds are available in our online catalog!
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Teddy Bear sunflowers are a favorite in our garden because the happy little plants grow to just 2-3 ft which make the blooms easy picking for the kids. Teddy Bear sunflowers produce numerous fuzzy blooms. This dwarf sunflower variety looks great in mass-plantings and teddy bear sunflowers are a wonderful bloom for the cut-flower garden.
Teddy Bear sunflower seeds are available in our seed catalog!
Blue GoldberryTomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
A stunning and tasty cherry-sized tomato. Goldberry plants produce fruits profusely and the gorgeous tomatoes turn from a deep blue to gold and red with dark purple shoulders. They do well in containers or trellised in the garden.
Blue goldberries have a fresh and citrusy flavor with low acid and we like to put them in salads or just eat them al fresco as a snack in the garden.
Seeds for this beautiful heirloom tomato variety are available in our seed catalog!
Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
Tulsi, also know as Holy Basil or Sacred Basil, is a perennial plant in tropical climates and is grown as an annual in our garden. Used for thousands of years in India and SE Asia as a tea or tincture to treat a range health conditions, this beautiful plant is considered sacred in Hinduism, earning the name Holy Basil. Tusli is a wonderful companion plant and hums with pollinators when blooming.
We collected the parent seeds to our tulsi many years ago on a trip to Cambodia. We harvested the seeds from a plant near the temples of Ankor Wat in the city of Siem Reap. The leaves are green and the flowers range from dark to light purple.
We hope you enjoy growing the tulsi from our seed catalog!
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Jimmy Nardello Pepper (Capsicum annuum)
When the Nardello family emigrated to the United States from Ruoti, in Southern Italy in 1887 they brought the seeds of this amazing sweet pepper along with them. The thin skin and rich flavor of this variety has won it a place in "The Ark of Taste" by the Slow Food organization. 6"-9" peppers grow prolifically and mature to a deep red color. Great for frying or fresh snacking!
The Jimmy Nardello Pepper is consistently a best-selling variety in our seed catalog and it's a variety that has a permanent place in our summer garden. While the plant do often reach 2-3 feet in height, we successfully grow them in containers by pruning the seedling when they are about 6 inches tall. The pruning encourages bushy growth and we rarely need to provide support for the plants that we grow in containers.
Jimmy Nardello Pepper Seeds are available in our seed catalog!
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)
A beautiful ribless okra from Okinawa that is as beautiful in the garden as it is tasty. Plants grow up to 6ft. tall and are quite ornamental with reddish stems and big, gorgeous blooms.
Okra thrives in hot weather and the pods are best eaten when 2-4" long. We like this variety raw and sliced very thin with a vinegar and soy-sauce marinade. This variety is also great pickled and the texture is very smooth because it is ribless.
We generally direct-sow okra in the garden but it can also be started indoors and transplanted outside after the last frost in spring. We recommend planting okra in full sun to ensure lots of tasty pods.
We hope you enjoy growing our Okinawa Pink Okra. It's truly a unique heirloom variety and we think you make it a standard in your kitchen garden.
Coeur De Boeuf Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
We bought the original seeds for this heirloom Ox Heart variety in France while visiting grandparents and it has been Mama's favorite tomato since childhood. The fruits are lobed and generally form a heart shape as they mature. These tomatoes have a classic flavor with medium acid and are great for salads and sandwiches. Bon appetit!
Ronde de Nice (Cucurbita pepo)
When we visit Mama's parents in Nice, France, one of the first things we ask to eat are Petits Farcis Niçoise, vegetables stuffed with a meat and bread filling. These beautiful Ronde de Nice squash are a star of the Provençal dish.
The round squashes are quick to grow, often ready to harvest in as little as 50 days from sowing, and the plants produce abundant squashes so you'll have plenty to share!
We recommend harvesting these heirlooms when they are about the size of a baseball for normal squash dishes (grilled with olive oil and parsley) or about the size of a golf ball if you plan to stuff them for Petits Farcis Niçoise.
We're excited to have Ronde de Nice seeds in our catalog now and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Happy growing!
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