The following short list contains the plant varieties offered at OAEC's May 3 & 4 Summer Biodiversity Plant Sale. For detailed descriptions of each variety, please scroll down the page beyond the short list.

Slicer Tomatoes

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Black

Striped

Purple

Pink

White

Paste Tomatoes

Red

Yellow

Orange

Mixed Colors

Cherry Tomatoes

Red

Orange

Yellow

Mixed Colors

Pumpkins

Eggplants

Pesto Basils

Purple Basils

Specialty Basils

Exotic Marigolds

Nasturtiums

Hot Peppers

Sweet Peppers

Cucumbers

Sunflowers

Swiss Chard

Gourds

Tomato Relatives

Tomatillos

Summer Squash

Winter Squash

Melons

Watermelons 

Longer Variety Descriptions follow below:

Red Slicer Tomatoes

Ailsa Craig
Medium-sized, good in cool areas. Potato-leafed variety. Allen Chadwick’s favorite red tomato variety.

Alaska
Medium-sized, very productive. Does well in cool areas.

Beefsteak
A popular, old, standard variety. Deep red and very large. Fine, rich, old-time tomato taste.

Brandywine
Large fruit, very tasty, great canner. A very popular tomato – many people’s favorite!

Burbank
3- to 4-inch fruit. Stocky plants. Good old-fashioned flavor. Developed by Luther Burbank. Hardy, productive, disease-resistant. Determinate.

Cascade
Medium-sized globe-shaped fruit. Smooth, deep red exterior. Excellent flavor. Produces well in coolish climates.

Costoluto Genovese
Red-lobed aromatic fruits up to 1 lb. Great for slicing, baking, or cooking down into sauce. Vigorous, productive Italian heirloom.

German Red Strawberry
Very large, oxheart shape. Superb taste. A favorite of many.

Imur Prior Beta
Potato-leaved plants bearing 2-ounce fruits which have good strong tomato flavor. Developed in Norway for short seasons and high altitudes. Rare. Indeterminate.

Indian River
Very rare variety. Produces small, round, tasty red fruit. Does well in marginal tomato growing areas. Quite productive.

Italian Tree
Vine can grow up to 15 feet tall! Needs to be trellised. Produces enormous yields – up to 3 bushels per plant. Tomatoes are rich red, meaty, and large.

Julia Child
The tall, indeterminate, potato-leaf plant produces lots of 4-inch, deep pink, lightly fluted, beefsteak fruits that have a robust tomato flavor and firm, juicy flesh.

Legend
Legend shows a strong tolerance to late blight fungi and is one of the earliest maturing slicing tomatoes. The big, 4-5 inch fruit are glossy red, with a uniform round shape and lots of flavor. Bred at Oregon State University.

Maria Early
The favorite red variety of Janet Brown, Marin County tomato-grower extraordinaire. She got this variety from Maria Dondero, an elderly Italian gardener neighbor and friend who brought it over from the Old Country and grew it for 50 years. Very early!

Marmande
Popular old French variety developed by Vilmorin Seed Company. Scarlet, lightly ribbed, medium to large fruit with rich, full flavor. Productive, even in cool weather.

Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter
West Virginian M.C. Byle created this legendary tomato in the 1930s by cross-breeding four of the largest tomatoes he could find. He paid off his mortgage in six years by selling seedlings of this plant. Very productive. Meaty and flavorful. Disease-resistant.

Nepal
Medium-large, globe-shaped, bright red fruit up to 1 lb. Very meaty and flavorful. Good producer in colder areas.

Oregon Spring
Large tomato, very productive. Does well in cool climates.

Pearson
Dependable red slicer with real tomato flavor. Very old heirloom.

Punta Banda
Small tomato from the Punta Banda Peninsula in Baja, California. Very productive. Great variety for dry farming. Great for making paste and for drying. Very productive!

Red Monserrat
Beauteous, ribbed fruit. Old Italian heirloom. Great flavor. Very rare.

Rouge D’Irak
Iraqi tomato endangered even in its own country, where saving seeds was made illegal under the “colonial powers” of the United States. Under a new law, Iraqi farmers must only plant seeds of “protected varieties” purchased from international corporations. This is a direct threat of loss of ancient regional varieties. How is that for “making way for democracy?”


Russia 117
Huge, delicious ox-heart-shaped tomato. Truly one of the best!

Saint Lucie
Late season French heirloom. Good producer of 1-lb. slightly fluted, red, blemish-free round fruits. Excellent flavor.

Saint Pierre
A beautiful, deep red French heirloom. Tender fruits have a full, rich tomato flavor and are large in size. Excellent producers, even in bad weather. Great fresh or canned.

San Francisco Fog
Large plant bearing abundant clusters of delicious, red, round fruit the size of golf balls. Bred for cool, overcast West Coast.

Siberian
From Northern Russia comes this ultra-early maturing tomato. Grows with clusters of medium-sized 3-5 ounce bright red tomatoes with good flavor. Sturdy determinate plants grow extremely well in cool and coastal areas.

Siletz Early
One of the best early tomatoes ever! Dwarf determinate plants produce unbelievable yields of perfectly shaped 8-oz. fruit that are loaded with old-time sweet tomato flavor. Great for container growing or backyard gardening.
Stupice
Early, tasty, potato-leafed, from Czechoslovakia. Good in cool weather.

Square
A strange curiosity from a local Sonoma country collector. Halfway between a paste and a slicer, this tasty variety has distinctly square shoulders and a flattened blossom end.

Sub Arctic Plenty
Sometimes called “World’s Earliest,” this is one of the very earliest of slicers. Compact plants produce lots of 2-oz. red fruits. One of the best for cool conditions – it has even been grown in the southern Yukon!

Super Lakota
Large, early tomato. Thick-skinned, fleshy 6- to 8-oz. fruit.

Tappy’s Finest
Red fruit, great flavor, juicy. Indeterminate. A favorite of many people. Also called Tappy’s Heritage.

Tatar from Mongolistan
Rare tomato from Iraqui seed collector Aziz Nail. Medium-sized fruit are very flavorful, red and flattened in shape. Great fresh or dried.

Thessaloniki
Greek heirloom with wonderful mild flavor – will take you back to those fabulous fresh tomato salads you so adored in sunny Greece. Nicely uniform baseball-sized fruit.

Window Box
Indeterminate. Extremely compact plants grow to only 16 inches tall. Tremendously productive with bright red, firm fruit and deep green leaves. Rich flavor is excellent balance of sweet and tangy. Developed at the University of New Hampshire.

Zapotec Pleated
Very rare variety from the Zapotecs of Southern Mexico. Deeply pleated dark-red to pink fruits with rich, earthy flavor. Delicious and excellend stuffed, baked, or sliced. Indeterminate.

Orange Slicer Tomatoes

Caro Rich
Carrot orange color. Medium fruit, great flavor. The highest carotene content of any tomato.

Farallones Beefsteak
Unique orange beefsteak, great flavor. Collected from a compost pile here in 1983.

Faribo Goldheart
Golden globe-shaped fruit. Good flavor. A gorgeous tomato! Doug Gosling’s favorite orange tomato.

Jaune Flamme
Blushed orange skin with red mottled flesh. Explosive flavor. Small fruit. Disease-resistant.

Kellog’s Breakfast
As bright as orange juice and nearly as sweet and flavorful. Huge fruit easily attain 4-5 inches. Strong indeterminate plant.

Nebraska Wedding
3- to 4-inch fruit in beautiful bright orange clusters. Productive. Determinate. From the Great Plains.

Orange Strawberry
Bright orange, beautiful, 3-inch strawberry-shaped fruit. Sweet, rich taste.

Patio Orange
Compact, stocky plants produce heavy yields and are great for growing in pots. Perfectly shaped bright orange 2- to 4-oz. salad tomato. Delicious, flavorful with smooth texture.

Persimmon
Persimmon orange color. Sweet taste, medium-sized. Beautiful tomato!

Tangerine
Heart-shaped. Great flavor, meaty and sweet. Great production.

Yellow Brandywine
Potato-leafed, flattened orange version of the Red Brandywine. Very good rich taste and large fruit. Indeterminate.

Yellow Slicer Tomatoes

Djena Lee’s Golden Girl
Golden heirloom with 3-inch diameter fruit. Delicious flavor, much like a persimmon – sweet and tart.

Golden Ponderosa
Large golden-yellow fruit, flattened and somewhat ribbed. Delicious, mild flavor. From early 1900’s.

Lemon Boy
Rich pale yellow, with excellent flavor. Productive. Beautiful sliced.

Lillian’s Heirloom Yellow
Large, yellow, potato-leafed tomato from Tennessee. Delicious!

Limmony
Bright yellow 4- to 5-oz. beefsteak. Very productive. Fantastic flavor.

Taxi
Bright yellow color, medium-sized fruit. Productive. Great flavor.

Yellow Mortgage Lifter
Impressive cousin of Red Mortgage Lifter. Heavy yields of 1-lb., 4-inch yellow beefsteak fruit with red/pink streaks in the center. Mild, fruity flavor.

Yellow Ruffles
Stunning lemon-yellow lobed fruit which are particularly beautiful sliced in cross-section. Lemony, subtle taste.

Green Slicer Tomatoes

Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Light green with pink interior. Large 1-lb. fruit. Outrageous, slightly spicy flavor! Vigorous grower.

Evergreen
Lime green flesh and skin when ripe. 10- to 12-oz. fruits. Great mild flavor. One of the best tasting and most beautiful.
Green Stripe
Originally from Carlos Santana’s garden. Actually a small slicer. Pale green fruit with dark green stripes. Smooth texture. Incredible melon-like flavor. One of our favorites!

Green Zebra
Small yellowish-green fruit with dark green vertical stripes, emerald flesh. Mild melon-like flavor.

Black Slicer Tomatoes

Black
Indeterminate. Dark mahogany color, 2- to 3-inches in diameter. Weighs 4 oz. Heirloom.

Black from Tula
Russian heirloom. 3- to 4-oz. slightly flattened fruit. One of the most delicious.

Black Krim
Superb, mahogany-colored fruit from the Crimea. One of the best - many people’s favorite!

Black Prince
Indeterminate. Originally from Irkutsk, Siberia. Brown with green shoulders. Very sweet and productive. Smallish fruit.

Black Sea Man
Medium-sized deep brown fruit. Small potato-leafed plants. Wonderful rich flavor.

Black Zebra
Small, dark red-brown fruit with subtle striping. Great flavor. Indeterminate.

Brandywine Black
Mahogany 12- to 16-oz. fruit. Rich color and flavor with vigorous potato leaves.

Brazilian Beauty
An absolute OAEC favorite. Gorgeous small mahogany fruit with sublime flavor. Extremely productive.

Brown Flesh
Brown-colored, three-lobed, medium-sized fruit with green streaks and almost hollow core.

Carbon
Winner of the 2005 “Heirloom Garden Show” Best-Tasting Tomato award. Fruit are smooth, dark, and beautiful. Very complex, fabulous flavor.

Cherokee Chocolate
Rogue heirloom originating from Cherokee Purple, a popular old heirloom from Tennessee. Four-inch beefsteak-type variety with exceptionally rich flavor and wonderful chocolate mahogany color.

Ethiopian Black
Heirloom from the Black Sea of Russia. One of the best blacks. Plum-shaped 6-oz. fruits.
Japanese Black Trifele
Originally from Russia. Attractive tomato the size and shape of a Bartlett pear. Beautiful purplish-brick color. Flavor absolutely sublime, having the richness of fine chocolate. Heavy producer.

Mr. Brown
Created by friend Jeff Dawson. Medium slicer with a beautiful chocolate color and rich, sweet flavor.

Nyagous
German heirloom. Baseball-sized black fruit with excellent, full flavor. Very productive and blemish-free.

Paul Robeson
Black flesh, sublime earthy taste. Many people report that this is their favorite black tomato.

Pierce’s Pride
Medium-sized fruit are very flavorful and rich. Nicely shaped, deep dark black-red in color. Certainly one of the tastiest black tomatoes you’ll ever eat!

Russian Black
Baseball-sized fruit with charcoal black flesh. Good flavor. Indeterminate.

Sarah Black
Originally from Germany. Attractive, uniform and crack resistant, purplish-brown fruit have darker streaks in the flesh, and are large in size. Earlier than some of the other black varieties. Very rich earthy sweet and spicy flavor- one of the best!

Southern Nights
Russian heirloom variety with potato-leafed foliage. Bears blackish-red beefsteak fruit that are sweet yet acidic, with a rich and complex flavor.

Striped Slicer Tomatoes

Ananas Noire
Sometimes called “Black Pineapple,” this tomato is from Belgium. Multi-colored (green, yellow, purple mix) smooth fruit weigh about 1 ½ lbs. Superb flavor – sweet and smoky with a hint of citrus. Heavy yielder.

Big Rainbow
Originally from the Seed Savers Exchange, these huge fruits (up to 2 lbs. each) are delicious and sweet-tasting. Yellow fruit have neon red streaking through the flesh – very striking when sliced.

Copia
New variety developed by friend Jeff Dawson and named in honor of Copia, the American Center for Food, Wine and the Arts in Napa. Very tasty, beautiful, large-striped fruit with swirling, glowing gold and neon red both outside and inside. A “must have!”

Csikos Botermo
Rare Hungarian variety. Attractive, small fruit have stunning yellow stripes on red fruit produced in clusters of five or more. Sweet red flesh-great flavor!

Gold Medal
The finest bicolored tomato. Large, yellow streaked with red – very attractive. Firm and smooth. The sweetest tomato you’ll ever taste.

Golden Pineapple
Originally from Mississippi, this beautiful yellow fruit is brilliantly streaked and splashed in pink. Weighing up to 12 oz., they have superbly sweet, flavorful flesh.

Great White-Pink Stripe
Large beefsteak. Ivory with pink stripes. Divine flavor and creamy texture. Very beautiful!

Oaxacan Jewel
Strikingly beautiful bicolored fruit is golden yellow with ruby-colored streaking. Fruit size is 6 ounces up to 1 pound. Rich, fruity taste is refreshing, almost melon-like but also accentuated with acid.

Pineapple
Huge, streaked inside yellow, red-orange. Delicious tropical fruit taste. Many people’s favorite.

Tiger
One of our all-time favorites. Grown here since 1983. A small red slicer with orange stripes. Originally from Czechoslovakia. Tart flavor. Always one of the earliest to ripen.

Purple Slicer Tomatoes

Aunt Ginny’s Purple
Deep pink 14-oz. beefsteak. Juicy, with a flavor similar to Brandywine. Vigorous, productive.

Cherokee Purple
Dusty rose color. Sweet, smoky flavor like Brandywine. Productive and good in dry conditions.

Morado Purple
Very rare tomato produces delicious 1 pound fruit which are dark purplish-pink in color, with green shoulders. Excellent productions with uniform, crack-resistant fruit.

Pruden’s Purple
Purplish fruit. Potato leaf. Good flavor, good production. Almost seedless.

Purple Brandywine
Much like Brandywine, but dark pink. Great acidic flavor.

Purple Calabash
Maybe the most purple of all purple tomatoes. 3-inch fruit are very flat, ribbed and ruffled. Flavor is intense, sweet and tart with a citrus aftertaste. Unique! Very productive.

Purple Prince
An heirloom from Irkutsk, Siberia. The 5 ounce fruit are round and very uniform. The color is a wonderful deep blackish-chocolate brown. Flavor is deep, sweet and rich. Productive, early variety.

Purple Russian
Ukrainian heirloom. Plum-shaped fruits are 3 to 4 inches long and weigh 6 oz. Great taste, sweet and meaty. Very productive. Good cold tolerance.

Pink Slicer Tomatoes

Andy’s Polish Pink
Huge pointed pink fruit. FANTASTIC flavor, creamy texture. Our favorite variety!

Arkansas Traveler
An excellent heirloom from Arkansas, it is tolerant to heat and humidity, and crack- and disease-resistant. A medium-sized tomato with a beautiful rose color and great flavor.

Brandywine Pink
Large 1- to 1 ½-lb. fruit. Luscious mild flavor. Potato leaves. 1890s Amish heirloom.

Caspian Pink
Russian heirloom. Originally grown in the area between the Caspian and Black Seas. 10- to 12- oz. Absolutely wonderful, very sweet rich flavor that many prefer to Brandywine.

Pink Grapefruit
Medium-sized flattened globe-shaped fruit. Up to 3 ½ inches in diameter. Yellow skin, blushing pink. Juicy flesh with delicious mild flavor. Low acid.

Pink Monserrat
A pink version of Red Monserrat that first appeared here at OAEC many years ago. Pink scalloped fruit is very beautiful in cross section. Nice smooth flavor.

Pink Oxheart
Beautiful big, oval, pointed fruit with fine, sweet old-fashioned flavor.

Rose de Berne
Swiss heirloom. Dark pink, perfectly globe-shaped tomato of medium size. Juicy fruits have thin skin and sweet, balanced flavors. Plants very productive.

White Slicer Tomatoes

Great White
Ivory/yellow flesh. Large beefsteak-like fruit. Incredible melon-like flavor. Likes heat. One of the most divine tomatoes we offer.

White Beauty
Ivory color. Fruit is fluted or ribbed. Beautiful cut in cross sections.

Red Paste Tomatoes

Amish Paste
Very large orange-red teardrop shaped fruit with excellent flavor. For fresh eating, canning or cooking. Very productive.

Eggplant Paste
An odd-looking pink paste tomato with a bulbous shape much like an eggplant. Very smooth texture.

Fino
Stubby. Indeterminate. Nice dense flesh. Good for sauce and drying.

Martino’s Roma
Italian heirloom. Mild flavored, productive, meaty paste tomato. Heavy set of 2- to 3-oz. fruit.

Principe Borghese
Tiny, dense flesh, great for drying. Very productive. Indeterminate. In Italy this tomato is strung like red pearls for drying. Beautiful!

San Marzano
Popular standard paste. Elongated, blunt-ended red fruit up to 3 ½ inches long. Interior meaty. Mild-flavored, free of juicy pulp – great for canning. Vigorous grower.

Super Italian Paste
Large scarlet-orange paste tomato that produces firm, meaty, tasty fruit. Great for making paste—very few seeds—or drying. Our favorite paste tomato. Very productive!

Yellow Paste Tomatoes

Banana Legs
Rare determinate variety. 4 inches long and 2 inches wide. Yellow. Quite dry flesh, great for paste. Very lacey foliage.

Peace Yellow Roma
Sweet flavor, very dry. Indeterminate.

Power’s Heirloom
A pale white-yellow paste tomato with great fruity flavor. Very juicy 3- to 5-oz. fruit.

Roman Candle
Beautiful neon-yellow banana-shaped fruit bursting with intense sweetness and flavor.

Yellow Bell Paste
Meaty, dry, very productive, a large “plum” tomato. Indeterminate. Sweet enough to be used as a salad or slicing tomato.

Orange Paste Tomatoes

Orange Banana
Golden-orange, 2 to 4 inches long, pointed. One of the best tasting pastes, good for slicing. High yield. Indeterminate.

Other Colors of Paste Tomatoes

Black Pear
Dark brown tomatoes are shaped like miniature pears and flavored with an excellent, rich taste. Potato-leafed plants produce an abundance of these beautiful 4- to 6-oz. fruit. Heirloom. Great as a fresh salad tomato.

Red Cherry Tomatoes

Alan Chadwick
Red cherry, very sweet, large size. Indeterminate. Named after the famous English gardener.

Camp Joy Cherry
Red, productive. Tasty, like candy. Indeterminate. Developed at Camp Joy Gardens in Santa Cruz, California.

Farallones Cherry
A very flavorful, productive cherry which grew out of a compost pile on this site in 1982. We’ve saved its seeds ever since.

Matt’s Wild Cherry
Wild tomato from Hidalgo in eastern Mexico. Small, deep red cherry packed with sweet, full flavor – high sugar content. Fantastic in salsa.

Red Currant
Tiny red species tomato with intense beefsteak flavor. Often harvested in whole clusters as beautiful garnish.

Red Pear
Heirloom variety introduced prior to 1865. Small, bright red pear-shaped fruit. 2 inches long, 1 inch diameter. Mild, pleasant flavor. Very productive.

Red Pygmy Bush
A great choice for container gardening. The red fruit is tiny, and so is the plant – the plant is only a foot tall and is loaded with flavorful red fruit the size of marbles.

Red Star
Like nothing you’ve ever seen before! Ruffled 6-lobed fruits produce a star shape when sliced. Sturdy plant yields bright red, thin-skinned, tasty 1-inch fruit.

Reisentraube
German heirloom grown by Pennsylvania Dutch as early as 1856. Name translates as “giant bunch of grapes.” Produces tasty fruits in clusters of 20 to 40, each distinctly pointed. Very productive. In the past, this variety was used to make tomato wine!

Sebastopol
Large cherry, grown by a woman in Sebastopol for over 70 years. Indeterminate. Very flavorful and productive. Very popular. Quite productive.

Sprite
Short, determinate plants produce amazingly large numbers of small, red oval grape tomatoes. Taste is refreshingly sweet.

Super Sweet 100
Hybrid. Plants produce long strands of 100 or more, 1-oz. super sweet-flavored cherries. Plants bear throughout the season.

Washington
Incredibly productive, flavorful perfectly round large red cherry. Does extremely well in cool areas.

Orange Cherry Tomatoes

Sungold
Best-tasting among 60 varieties - like candy!! Hybrid. Indeterminate. Brilliant orange. Very productive.

Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

Chello
Fruity taste, golden yellow. Slightly flattened – very cute. Indeterminate.

Garden Peach
Light yellow, with a delicate fruity flavor. Looks like small fuzzy peaches. Very productive. First introduced in 1862.

Golden Grape
Yellow, grape-shaped fruits in large clusters 9 inches across. Intensely flavored.

Golden Pygmy Bush
Tiny fruit and tiny plant. Originally from Le Marché Seeds 20 years ago. Bush tomato only a foot high and is loaded with tiny yellow tomatoes the size of marbles. Excellent flavor. Great for container gardening.

Golden Sunrise
Orange, golf ball-sized. Indeterminate.

Yellow Currant
Very tiny yellow tomato, very cute, flavorful. Indeterminate.

Yellow Pear
Very flavorful and productive old variety, pear-shaped. Indeterminate.

Yellow Plum
Plum-shaped, pale yellow. Indeterminate.

Other Colors of Cherry Tomatoes

Aunt Ruby’s German Cherry
Very rare, cute and flavorful, unique green cherry which was selected from the renowned Aunt

Ruby’s German Green. The 1 to 2 ounce fruit are shaped like little beefsteak tomatoes and have that full beefsteak flavor. Very productive.

Australian Pink
Pale pink, very productive. Indeterminate.

Ben’s Ivory Pear
Unique pear-shaped ivory/yellow tomato. Very pretty! Flavorful as well!

Bicolor Cherry
Flavorful and very juicy. A beautiful yellow-and-pink-blushed bicolor variety with incredibly sweet and juicy taste.

Black Cherry
Beautiful black cherries look like dusky purple grapes. Rich, delicious flavor. Large vines yield very well.

Black Plum
Dark red, plum-shaped. Indeterminate. Delicious!

Brown Berry
The first truly brown cherry. Excellent, sweet, juicy flavor. Indeterminate.

Candy Stripe
Strange-looking marbled red, yellow and orange irregularly-shaped fruit. A large cherry or tiny slicer. An OAEC favorite because of its unusual appearance and great flavor!

Chocolate Cherry
Extremely flavorful uniform round fruit in clusters of 8, measuring 1-inch in diameter. Beautiful deep mahogany-red color.

Coyote
Incredible, sweet musty taste, pale ivory color. FANTASTIC, from Mexico. Indeterminate.
Green Grape
Yellow green when ripe. Fantastic rich flavor, a favorite. Determinate.

Lemon Bush
A determinate, bushy variety which produces abundant large, flavorful yellow cherries. Very rare, impossible-to-find variety.

Pink Pear
Pale pink pear-shaped tomato with unusually sweet, wonderful flavor. Very rare- no one else has this one!

Plum Tigris
Rare variety from Minsk, Belarus. Pretty plum-shaped variety with shining red and yellow stripes. Great flavor and very productive.

Sans Pareille
A deep red-purple cherry with great flavor. Very beautiful!

Small Pink
A very unusual, rare, tomato that produces many large pink fruit. One of the best, most flavorful varieties we offer.

Snow White
Pale yellow/ivory-colored small cherry. Delicious taste and very productive. One of the few white cherry varieties.

Yellow Cherry

Yellow Marble
An extremely productive cherry tomato that produces delicious fruit the size of golden marbles. An extremely rare variety.

Yellow Ping Pong
A productive yellow cherry tomato which produces fruit the size of ping pong balls. Very tasty! A rare variety.

Pumpkins

Big Max
Huge pumpkins can grow well over 100 lbs. Nearly round, bright orange fruit are stunning! Good for pies and canning. Thick orange flesh.

Connecticut Field
Traditional field pumpkin from New England, mainly used for carving. History goes back to 200 years. 10–18 inches by 10–14 inches diameter. Mild, sweet flavor.

Dill’s Atlantic Giant
The only variety to grow for giant pumpkin contests - it can weigh up to 400 lbs. Fruit is flattened, round, ribbed, and a beautiful bright orange. Flesh is thick, meaty and great for pies.

Jarradale
Slate blue-gray 6 to 10 lb. pumpkins of superb quality. Shape is flat, ribbed and very decorative. Good keeper. Australian heirloom.

Lumina
Ivory, white-skinned smallish pumpkin with sweet orange flesh - very beautiful! Great for baking and carving.

Marina Di Chioggia or Italian Marine Pumpkin
Italian heirloom. Very large and gray-green turban type with ridges, bumpy skin and yellow flesh. Weighs 5 to 10 lbs. each. Great for pies.

Musque de Provence
Very rare variety from the south of France. Flattened 5 to 10 lb. fruit has a smooth, orange terracotta finish, deep ridges and sweet flesh. Great pie pumpkin. Extraordinarily beautiful!

New England Sugar Pie
Heirloom from the late 19th century. Orange fruit weighing 4 to 5 lbs. Fine, sweet flesh that is superb for pies.

Rouge Vif D’Etampes
Incredibly beautiful flattened and ribbed large fruit with a gorgeous deep red-orange color. Flesh is tasty in pies or baked. A very old French heirloom, the most common pumpkin in the central market in Paris back in the 1880s.

Eggplants

Antigua
Beautiful white eggplant with streaks of violet to soft lavender. Fruit grows to 8 inches long by 3 inches wide. Delicious tender and mild-tasting flesh.

Apple Green
Developed in 1964. Productive upright 2 to 3 foot plants. Oval fruits are 5 inches in diameter with pale green skin and mild white flesh. Non-acid flavor. No need to peel. Extra early and productive.

Black Beauty
Standard old type with large black fruit of excellent quality. Very tasty. Needs a long season.

Casper
Compact plants produce snow-white 6-inch by 2-inch diameter fruit with mild flesh. Peeling not necessary.

Diamond
Excellent Ukrainian variety. Plants grow 20 to 25 inches tall and fruits are set in clusters of 3 or 4. Dark purple fruit are 6 to 9 inches long and 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Excellent flavor and texture. Never bitter.

Italian Pink Bicolor
Large, bell-shaped fruits are a creamy, purple lavender with rose-pink vertical stripes. Sweet and tender 3–11 inches long.

Listada Di Gandia
Beautiful Italian variety. Reliable, heavy yields of excellent quality. 6 to 8 inch thick-skinned fruits.

Pandora Striped
Tear-drop shaped fruits are a lovely lilac-rose with thin white stripes. Tender and delicious. Strong, thornless plants give heavy yields.

Rosa Bianca
Gorgeous Italian heirloom with delicate, mild flavor and creamy consistency with no bitterness. One of the best!

Rosita
Stunning pink-lavender fruits are 6 to 8 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. White, sweet flesh. Brought from Puerto Rico in 1979.

Rotondo Bianca Sfumata
This beautiful, round, white Italian heirloom is shaded with rose-pink color and can grow quite large. Excellent mild and delicious flavor.

Thai Long Green
Used extensively in Thai cuisine. Beautiful long slender 12-inch fruits have tender light-green skin that does not require peeling. Fine quality flesh with mild pleasant flavor. Prolific.

Udmalbet
A colorful rare eggplant from a Tamil village in India. Egg-shaped fruit are light green, streaked in purple. Used in chutneys and curries.

Pesto Basils

Fino Verde
An attractive, compact small-leafed bush basil. Ideal for container gardening or borders. Excellent for cooking or in salads. Retains sweet flavor after flowering.
 
Italian Large Leaf
Large plant with medium-dark green leaves up to 4 inches long. Compared to Genovese, the scent and taste are sweeter and less clove-like. Height 24 to 30 inches.

Lettuce Leaf
Huge 3- to 5-inch rumpled leaves. Japanese basil with a great flavor.

Mammoth
Huge wide leaves, twice as large as other Italian basils. A few leaves make a harvest. Leaves so large it is possible to stuff them like cabbage leaves.

Napoletano
Lettuce leaf type with huge frilly leaves. Spicy traditional flavor. Leaves are up to 4 inches long and tend to be lighter in color than other pesto types. Height 24 to 30 inches.

Nufar
A new fusarium wilt resistant basil!  Large leaf type for standard use and making pesto- almost identical to the Italian large leaf.  Leaves up to 4 inches long with sweet scent and flavor.  Height 24-30 inches.  

Poppy Joe’s
Another variety developed by Rutgers University for exceptional fusarium resistance, which can be a serious problem in our climate.  Produces aromatic, bright green leaves with superb culinary properties.  Robust, high-yielding 12-14 inches tall. 

Profuma Genovese
Popular pesto basil with a heady, spicy fragrance and taste. Uniform, tall and relatively slow to bolt with large dark green leaves about 2 to 3 inches long. Height 24 to 30 inches.

Serata or Green Ruffles
Green ruffled leaves with good basil flavor. Beautiful to pair with Purple Ruffles. Great used fresh in salads. Height 12 to 16 inches.

Sweet Green
A selection from Renee Shepherd which is extra vigorous and is especially delicious and aromatic. Has full rich spicy basil flavor with overtones or mint and clove.

Purple Basils

Dark Opal
Beautiful dark purple leaves with bronze overtones and pale lavender-white flowers. Scent and taste are more subtle and delicate than sweet basil. Good for making basil vinegar to which it readily imparts its rich purple color.

Osmin
New purple variety from Switzerland with a 100% true dark maroon color. Useful as a beautiful and fragrant ornamental, but also as a culinary herb for colorful and flavorful pesto, vinaigrettes, and salads.

Purple Ararat
The taste-test winner for purple basil, this distinctive heirloom has purplish-grey mottled foliage, fantastic aroma, and a sweet spicy licorice taste. Grows to 18 inches tall. Very beautiful!

Purple Ruffles
Ruffled Leaves smell of cloves and licorice. Striking color in the garden. Leaves are beautiful raw in salads or as a garnish. Height 16 to 20 inches.

Red Rubin
Vigorous, purple Italian large leaf type. High yields and great flavor. Large flat leaves stand out horizontally and are a copper-tinged purple color. Height 18 to 24 inches.

Specialty Basils

Cinnamon
Attractive, stocky plant with a warm spicy, cinnamon-like aroma and a flavor with a hint of cloves. It has purplish venation on the leaves and dark rose-colored blooms. Vigorous plants – hardier than other basils. Makes a fine jelly and is good in fruit salads, sweet-and-sour dishes, chicken marinades and other dishes where a sweet spicy flavor is desired.

Holy
A revered herb of the Hindu tradition, also know as sacred basil or tulsi. An immune system stimulating tea herb as well as a beautiful ornamental. Fuzzy 2-inch leaves have a uniquely pleasant aroma.

Iranian
Large plant with purplish cast to foliage. Very aromatic anise-like fragrance and flavor. Excellent for culinary purposes. Seed from this strain originally from an Iranian visitor who brought it to this garden 15 years ago.

Lemon Sweet Dani
1998 All-American selections award winning basil. Tall upright plant with yields of 3-inch long, light olive-green leaves. Has sweetly pungent lemon flavor and scent. Height 26 to 30 inches.

Licorice
Sometimes called Anise or Oriental basil. Stems, leaf veins and flower bracts are deep purple while the flower stalks are a pale violet. Very strong licorice or anise like aroma and flavor. Makes a nice addition to fruit salads and poultry dishes.

Lime
A unique lime-flavored basil from Thailand. Small leafed compact plant. Height 16 to 20 inches.

Mrs. Burn’s Lemon
A pure strain that has been grown for over 60 years in Southern New Mexico. Many people consider this cultivar far superior to the more common sweet basil. Fine for all culinary uses: in pestos, salads and soups.

Siam Queen
A 1997 All America Selections winner with a tangy, spicy hint of licorice flavor. An early maturing variety. Purple stems, large dark green leaves, and pink-violet flowers. Compact 12-inch height makes it great for growing in containers.

Spicy Globe
Small dome-shaped plants with tiny leaves, much like Greek basil. Spicy, sweet basil flavor. Decorative plants can be grown in pots or used as border plants in garden.

Thai
Spicy anise clove scent and flavor. Most commonly used in Thai or Vietnamese cooking. Attractive plants are 12 to 18 inches tall with medium-green leaves. Stems and blossoms are purple. Very good for planting in containers.

Exotic Marigolds

Cempoalxochitl
The wild species (pronounced zem-pul-so-chee-tul) originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, where the marigold is honored on the Day of the Dead. Hundreds of 1–2 inch single-petaled orange blossoms with an intense aroma occur on a large 4–5 foot plant. Hardy annual.

Lemon/Tangerine
These are Tangerine Gem or Lemon Gem marigolds which are miniatures: small plants – mounds about 12 inches across – covered with hundreds of either orange or yellow ¼ inch flowers. These are a bright addition to either a border or container. These can be used as a cheery garnish or as an edible flower in salads or savory dishes.

Nasturtiums

Alaska
Variegated leaves are light green, dappled with white, and flowers cover the full range of nasturtiums colors. An incredible eye catcher and the leaves are striking in salads.

Empress of India
Brilliant scarlet flowers and deep blue green leaves make for a striking contrast. Forms billowing 2-foot mounds. Blooms best in cool weather.

Jewel of Africa
Superb trailing variety features handsome hunter green leaves splashed with cream. Bright flowers in shades of red, yellow, peach and cream all summer and fall. Grows to 5 feet and can be trained on fences or is excellent in hanging baskets or as a ground cover.

Tall Mix
Double flowers come in many colors. Very productive flowering and tailing habit.

Whirlybird Apricot
Covered with a mass of semi-double pale orange flowers held well above dark green foliage on large 12 to 16 inch mounds.

Whirlybird Mahogany
Flowers are as bright as glowing embers. Flowers are held well above the dark green foliage on large 12–16 inch mounds.

Hot Peppers

Aji Amarillo (Yellow Peruvian)
Slender yellowish-orange fruits up to 4 inches long, tapered on both ends. Very hot, but flavorful. Plants bushy, up to 3 ½ feet tall. Very productive.

Anaheim Long Red
Mildly hot pepper is great for roasting, frying and stuffing. Prolific bearer of 6 to 8 inch slender red fruits. 85 to 95 days.

Ancho Gigantea
Heart-shaped, 3 inch by 4 inch, dark green/almost black fruit. Called Poblano when fresh and green, and Ancho when red and dried. The standard Mexican variety for sauces and stuffing, distinctive rich flavor without too much heat.

Aurora
Small 10 to 12 inch plants with purple and green foliage and upright fruiting habit. Tapered 1 ½ inch long fruits ripen from lavender to deep purple to orange and finally to red. Medium heat. Colorful ornamental very nice for containers. 60 to 75 days from transplant.

Bolivian Rainbow
Plants colorfully adorned with a rainbow of 1-inch fruits: some purple, some deep-yellow and some red as they mature. Very hot!

Chinese Five Color
Colorful plants with very hot peppers which ripen from purple to cream to yellow to orange to red. All colors occur on the plant at the same time.

Early Jalapeno
Early Jalapeno will set fruit under cooler conditions than other hot varieties. Most familiar in their green stage, they are hottest and fully ripe when they are red. 3-inch peppers are thick-walled and juicy. Use fresh, pickled, or in sauces. 65 days.

Explosive Ember
This ornamental pepper variety is the very essence of purple and makes a beautiful and colorful accent in the landscape or tucked into containers.   Plants grow 10 to 14 inches tall and nearly as wide with deep amethyst fruit, stems and flowers.  Small, 1 inch peppers appear first as dark purple, then turn orange and finally mature to bright red.  The effect is quite spectacular!

Feherozon Paprika
Originally from Hungary. Short conical fruit 3 ½ inches to 4 ½ inches long borne in clusters. Thin-walled skin smooth and waxy. Yellow sweet flesh. Popular for letcho, stuffed paprika, pickles and deep-frozen paprika.

Filus Blue
Very striking ornamental pepper with violet-tinged leaves that look almost blue and are marked with faint white speckling.  Small purple round-oval fruit grow upright on the plant and hold their color for a long time before finally turning red.  Plants are compact and spreading- very striking in landscaping. 

Fish
Pre-1870s African-American heirloom. Beautiful green and white variegated foliage on 18 to 24 inch plants. Pendant fruits 2 to 3 inches long ripen from cream with green stripes to orange with brown stripes to all red. Traditionally used in oyster and crab houses around Chesapeake Bay. Great for salsa. Medium hot.

Golden Cayenne
Beautiful, clear lemon-yellow cayenne peppers on compact plants. Slightly curved peppers become about 4 inches long and ½ inch wide. Very prolific.

Long Slim Red Cayenne
Fiery hot crimson cayenne peppers, 4 to 6  inches by 1 inch which are wrinkled and twisted. 20 to 30 inch, very productive bush. 70 to 75 days.

Manzano Amarillo (Yellow Roccoto)
Fruits blocky, yellow to orange seeds look similar to bell peppers when young. When green quite hot, but mature to a sweet and crispy fruit. Seeds and attachments quite hot and spicy. Sprawling sub-shrub will bear for 15 years in mild climates.

Numex Joe Parker
Southwest favorite for stuffing (chile rellenos!), grilling, and roasting for stews and sauces. Flesh is thick and crisp with a delicious mild heat and rich chile flavor. Uniform 6 to 8 inch by 2-inch fruit ripen from bright green to mahogany to red. Medium tall plant. Very productive. 70 to 95 days.

Orange Thai
Beautiful ornamental with brilliant orange fruit. Loaded with 2 to 2 ½ inch long finger-shaped peppers. Great for drying and using for seasoning. Very hot!

Peruvian Purple (Capsicum frutescens)
Completely purple 16 to 24 inch plants, foliage and all. Very striking and often grown as an ornamental. 1-inch upright fruits are mildly hot and turn red as they mature. 85 to 95 days.

Purple Cayenne
Exceptionally ornamental. Two-foot plants covered with many purple blossoms which turn into dark purple, thin peppers about 3 inches long. Very hot!!

Purple Jalapeno
The fruit of this jalapeno turns dark purple and stays that way for a long time before finally ripening to red.  Peppers larger than regular jalapeno, but have the same thick walls and fiery heat.  Attractive in salsas and as part of a pickled pepper mix. 

Relleno
Traditional but hard to find, this large, succulent stuffing pepper is dependably mild. Broad-shouldered, 6 to 9 inch fruits taper to a blunt, rounded tip. Plant is 12 to 18 inches tall.

Serrano
Bright red flame-shaped fruits perfect for hot sauces and pickling. Distinctive flavor. Large plant (24 to 36 inches) has short fuzzy leaves and bears erect clusters of finger-sized chiles with medium-thin walls. 80 to 90 days.

Tabasco
Small, slender fruit, about 1 inch long. Yellow green turning scarlet when ripe. Extremely hot. Used to make the famous Louisiana hot sauce. Originally from Tabasco, Mexico.

Tam Jalapeno
A very tasty mild Jalapeno type with the same delicious flavor, but a lot less heat. Great yields.

Variegata
Beautiful white, lavender, purple, and green foliage with deep purple veins. Purple blossoms precede tiny (¾ inch) oval dark purple peppers that ripen to bright scarlet. Great for borders, bedding and containers. Compact plant. 50 to 75 days.

Sweet Peppers

California Wonder
Large, sweet blocky thick-walled, stuffing bell pepper. About 4 inches long and 4 inches wide. Glossy deep green to red. Upright, prolific everbearing 24 to 30 inch tall plants.

Corno Di Toro Giallo
The traditional favorite in Italy. Long, tapered, 8-inch bullhorn-shaped golden yellow peppers are sweet and spicy. Great fresh or roasted. High yields.

Golden California Wonder
Colorful golden bells that are very sweet and tasty. Superb for fresh eating.

Golden Marconi
A late Italian pepper with beautiful, big, yellow, 7-inch tapering fruit. Very sweet. Great for frying or fresh.

Gypsy
Even in cool growing conditions, Gypsy is much more productive than bell types.  The yellow fruit are thick-walled and sweet.  Gypsy’s flavor is hard to beat!  The 6 to 7 inch peppers have 3 to 4 lobes and taper to a point. 

Jimmy Nardello’s Sweet Italian
One of the very best for frying. Productive 24-inch plants are loaded with 10 to 12 inch long peppers. From Jimmy Nardello of Naugatuck, Connecticut, whose parents originally brought the seeds with them when they immigrated to the U.S. in 1887 from the Basilicata region of southern Italy.

Lipstick
Incredibly sweet red pepper. Pointed thick-walled 4-inch fruit. Use fresh or roasted. Very ornamental.

Marconi Purple
A lovely purple version of Red Marconi, elongated fruit can grow 10 inches long and turn red at full maturity. An exciting new twist on this old Italian heirloom. Mild, sweet flavor.

Orange Bell
Blocky 4 by 3 ½ inch fruits are 3 to 4 lobed, extremely thick-fleshed with excellent sweet flavor and very good yields. 60 days from transplant for green peppers and 90 days for orange.

Pepperoncini
Tapered, wrinkled fruit, 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches long, 1 ½ inches in diameter. Fruit thin-walled, sweet, green turning red when ripe. Excellent for pickling when green. Large, upright plant, 26 to 36 inches. 70 days.

Pimiento
Medium-sized, uniform, heart-shaped fruit, 4 inches long and 3 inches wide. Dark green ripening to a deep bright red. Thick walled, juicy, and very sweet. Used for pickling, canning and stuffing.

Purple Beauty
An heirloom variety that yields a nice, thick-walled pepper which is a deep, midnight eggplant kind of purple. Beautiful. Plants are compact. About 70 days.

Quadrato D’Asti Giallo
Large, blocky, almost square 3 or 4 lobed giant bell pepper from Italy. Green peppers ripen very slowly to golden-yellow. Thick, crisp flesh with delicious sweet spicy flavor. 70 to 80 days from transplant.

Quadrato D’Asti Rosso
Very thick brilliant red flesh. Fruit are huge with delicious rich, sweet taste. Excellent for frying, salads or stuffing. Large yields.

Red Beauty
A red bell pepper which will reliably turn red in almost any area of the country.   Very thick-walled, heavy fruits are blocky, 4 inches long and very productive. 

Red Marconi
A late Italian pepper that yields big, 7 inch long tapering fruits. Very sweet. Great for frying or fresh.

Round of Hungary
A specialty pimiento cheese pepper.  Ribbed, flattened fruits mature early and have very thick, sweet delicious flesh.  Distinctive fruits turn red early, and are great for stuffed peppers, in cooking and in salads. 

Sweet Chocolate
Fruit matures from green to a very attractive deep chocolate hue. Fruit incredibly sweet and are large, thick-walled and four-lobed. About 75 days.

Tangerine Pimiento
2 to 3 inch, round to slightly flattened lobed fruits are thick walled, sweet, juicy, and delicious eaten fresh. Ripens to a lovely tangerine hue. Vigorous, productive, and early maturing.

Tequila Sunrise
Very ornamental peppers on sturdy plants, 12 to 16 inches tall by 12 inches wide. Carrot-shaped fruits, 4 to 5 inches long and 1 inch at the shoulder. Fruits ripen from deep green to golden-orange. Firm crunchy flesh with sweet flavor. Great for adding color and texture to salsas. 60 to 80 days from transplant.

Yolo Wonder
Best strain of California Wonder- an American classic.   Large, thick-walled blocky lobed fruit are mild and juicy.  Green ripening to a sweet tasting bright red. 

Cucumbers

Bushy
Old variety that originated in Southern Russia.  Has compact bushy plants with 3 to 5 foot vines.  Good production.

Lemon
Heirloom introduced in 1894 in Pennsylvania.  Similar in size and appearance to a lemon, averaging 2 inches by 3 inches.  Once a well-established market variety in Australia.

Marketmore
Disease-tolerant variety with dependable set of even 8 to 9 inch dark green fruits.
Straight Eight
Uniform, straight, deep-green fruit, 8 inches long, 2 to 2 ½ inches in diameter. Well rounded at ends, white spined. Excellent for slicing, used for pickling when small. Vigorous, productive vine. Popular home garden cultivar. All American Selection winner in 1935.

Striped Armenian
Unusual, slight fuzzy S-shaped fruit are slightly ridged with alternating dark and light green stripes. Harvest 8 to 18 inches. Delicious!

Suyo Long
Traditional long-fruited curvaceous variety from China. A sweet flavored, ribbed fruit growing up to 15 inches long. Widely adapted, sets early. Excellent burpless and bitter-free variety for pickles and slicing. Delicious, non-bitter, crisp, and tender.

Telegraph Improved
Smooth, straight dark green fruit up to 18 inches long. Flesh is very crisp, tender and mild—superb flavor! Very few seeds. Vigorous, high yielding vines. Excellent English variety.

Sunflowers

Inca Jewels
Sunflowers like these were revered by the ancient Incas.  Flowers come in a wonderful range of colors from bright gold through orange, burgundy and bronze.

Lemon Eclair
Produces extra large 6 to 7 inch lemon yellow crested blooms with chocolate pollen-free center. The 4 to 5 foot, well-branched plants produce many stems which are perfect for cutting.

Mammoth Russian or Giganteus
Standard giant headed flower up to 12 inches wide on an 8 to 10 foot plant.

Mexican Sunflower
Also known by its genus name, Tithonia, this Mexican native is a must-have!  It grows to 6 feet and produces dozens of brilliant 2 inch orange flowers which are guaranteed to attract Monarch butterflies.

Moonwalker
Heavy blooming and branching and growing 7 to 10 feet tall, Moonwalker produces large soft creamy-yellow flowers with dark chocolate centers.  Very attractive plant!

Prado Gold
The large 5 to 6 inch golden blooms are excellent cut flowers and are produced freely on 5-foot well-branched plants.

Sonja
Big butter yellow flowers with dark brown centers on 3 ½ foot plants.

Soroya
Halos of luminescent orange petals surround dark mahogany centers. Thick, sturdy 20 inch stems support many 4 to 6 inch blooms. Grows to 6 feet tall.

Terracotta
Large flower heads of golden russet petals with a dark brown central disc.  Plants are well-branched for cutting and grow to 6 feet.

Velvet Queen
Striking sunflower has velvety, dark mahogany-red petals with an almost black center. Well-branched, free-flowering plants make this an ideal sunflower for borders or cut flowers. Plants fro 5 to 7 feet tall.

Swiss Chard

Chadwick's Choice
Originally from Alan Chadwick. Naturalized for over 20 years at Mariposa Ranch. Wide green leaves with thin white stems.

Fordhook Giant
Introduced in 1924 by W. Atlee Burpee.  Has very large green leaves and white stems- very tasty!

Golden
55 to 60 days. Rare heirloom from 1830s France. Beautiful brilliant yellow stems, midribs and venation. Delicious picked in the baby stage for salads or steamed when mature. OAEC seed.

Monstruoso
A huge chard with broad white petioles – great for stir-fry, as crudité, or baked. The best looking and tasting strain there is.

Vulcan
An improved rhubarb chard developed in Switzerland.   Very attractive and uniform red chard.  Great flavor.

Gourds

Bali Sugar Trough
This variety was found at a market on the island of Bali.  Gourds are trough-shaped and measure 20 inches long by about 8 inches in diameter.  A rare gourd which is hard to find.

Birdhouse
Can be made into small wren houses or purple martin houses or other whimsical objects.  Bottle neck shape 12 inches tall and 6 to 8 inches wide.  Vine will sprawl up to 25 feet.

Bottle Martinhouse
Similar in shape and size to the Birdhouse gourd, except this variety has a slightly longer neck. Perfect for making hanging birdhouses to attract colonies of Purple Martins.

Bushel Basket
Huge round gourds up to 24 inches across. Can be used for all kinds of artwork and storage containers. Very long vines. Thick, hard shell.

Calabash
Large bottle-type gourd, great for making crafts and water jugs.

Corsican
Used in Peru for carving decorative bowls.  Produces attractive, round, flattened gourds 3 ½ to 5 inches deep and 6 to 12 inches in diameter.  Pleasingly proportioned.

Extra Long Handled Dipper
A very long handled variety -- up to 6 feet long -- with a 5 to 8 inch bowl at the bottom. Can be used as a water dipper or other crafts. Spectacular!

Koshare
A small dipper shaped gourd with random green and yellow bands.  The semi-bush plant produces very abundantly.

Long Handled Dipper
Long necks make perfect handles for dippers or ladles. Grows up to 48 inches. Grown on a trellis for straighter, longer handles.

Maranka
Also known as Dinosaur gourd.  Bizarre and wonderful, it looks like some disturbing alien weapon.  Originally from Zimbabwe, and used to make shekeres, a kind of musical instrument.

Mayo Bilobal
Two chambered gourd with constricted neck:  small upper chamber, larger lower chamber.  From Mayo River, Sonora, Mexico.

Mayo Deer Dance Rattle
Fruit shapes vary slightly from tear-drop to short handled dipper. Used to make rattles for the Deer Dance.

O’odham Dipper
Dipper gourds vary from 8 to 18 inches long. From Tomawa on the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Penguin
Gourds shaped like a penguin – great for craft people! 5 inches in diameter and 12 inches long.

Santo Domingo Striped Dipper
These gourds are dark green with lighter green stripes. 6 to 8 inches long with 3 to 5 inch bulbs. When dry, fruits are cut, insides scraped and simmered in warm water to harden. Once clean they are used to dip water for Pueblo dancers.

Snake
Gourds grow up to four feet long and 8 inches around. Light green mottled skin. Great conversation piece.

Speckled Swan
Vigorous vines produce beautiful 4 to 6 lb. gourds whose green skin is overlaid with creamy speckles.  The large bases taper gracefully to slender swan-like necks.

Tomato Relatives

Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry (Prunus pruinosa)
Ground cherries were recorded as early as 1837 in Pennsylvania. This Polish variety has an excellent citrus flavor, and can be used for preserves, pies, over ice cream or in fresh fruit salad. Fruits are ½  to ¾ inches in diameter and encased in a papery husk. Very productive plants are 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide.

Cape Gooseberry
The cape gooseberry, or goldenberry, is grown for its delectable fruit, and is found in markets from Venezuela to Chile. It is not a true gooseberry but is in the tomato family. Cape gooseberry is a shrubby perennial which if planted in a frost-free location will persist or come back from its roots year after year.

Tomatillos

Purple de Milpa
Rare heirloom variety. Prolific and productive. Small fruit,
1 to 1 ½ inches, with dark purple skin in paper husks. Sharper flavor than green tomatillos. Very sweet—makes an attractive purple salsa.

Toma Verde
Large sprawling plant up to 7 feet across! Light green-yellow fruit up to 2 oz. each. Early. Great for salsa.

Summer Squash

Benning’s Green Tint
Colorful, light green scalloped fruit. Tender and good quality. Excellent yields and easy to grow.

Costata Romanesco
Famous Roman zucchini. Distinctive long fruit are fluted and ribbed—the cut slices are scalloped. Medium green striped skin. Rich and very flavorful, popular to fry with the flower still on.

Golden Zucchini
Slender bright golden yellow zucchini. As delicious as they are attractive. Bush plants.

Lebanese White Bush Marrow
Rare Lebanese variety. Cream colored oblong fruit – harvest when 7 inches long. Tasty and mild, good fried or baked.

Lemon Squash
The size, shape, and color of a lemon. Huge yields and very insect-resistant. Very tasty—great fried.

Pattissons Jaune Et Verte
Beautiful scalloped fruit are a lovely creamy yellow with contrasting deep green radial streaks. Stunning displayed with other scallops. Flavor is delicious. French heirloom.

Pattissons Golden Marbre
A rare French heirloom. A scallop type, fruit is bright golden orange. Very tender with excellent flavor. High yielding bush plants.

Pattisons Panache Blanc Et Vert
A stunning pure white scallop with deep green radial streaks. Delicious flesh is great fried or baked. A pre-1885 French heirloom.

Ronde de Nice
Delicious Italian heirloom. Round pale green zucchini. Fruits are tender and fine flavored – the ideal squash for stuffing. Vigorous quick growing plant.

Tromboncino
Fruits grow long, thin and curved to a bell at the flower end. Pale green. Vigorous vining plants best grown on a trellis. Harvest fruit 8 to 18 inches long. Very sweet taste and smooth texture—the best summer squash of all!

Yellow Crookneck
Bush plants produce extended crops of smooth light-yellow fruits with curved necks. Best eaten 5 to 6 inch long. Creamy-white sweet mild flesh has excellent flavor.

Yellow Scallop (Golden Custard)
Beautiful bright yellow fruit with a rich mellow flavor. Likely predates Columbian times. A rare Native American squash. Bush plants with good yields.

Zapallo Del Tronco
Huge bushy plants give you both summer and winter squash. 2 to 4 inch dark green young fruit are bountiful and taste delicious—another fabulous summer squash! Let mature to a winter squash. It keeps well and has good, dry winter flesh.

Zucchini Black Beauty
Classic dark green summer squash. Delicious fried or baked, best picked young. Introduced in U.S. markets in the 1920s, and seed companies started listing it in the 1930s.

Winter Squash

Black Forest Kabocha
Kabocha-type dark green flat-round buttercup type fruits. Very dry and sweet orange flesh. Used in Asian cuisine.

Blue Ballet
A smaller version of Blue Hubbard with a blue-gray, teardrop-shaped 3- to 6-lb. fruit. Sweet, deep orange flesh.

Blue Hubbard
Gregory Seed Company introduced this fine New England variety in 1909. Huge, teardrop-shaped fruit weigh 15 to 40 lbs. and have sweet, fine-grained golden flesh. Great for baking, pies, and soup. Great for long-term storage.

Delicata
Heirloom introduced in 1894 and prized for its wonderfully sweet orange yellow flesh and striped edible skin. Many people’s favorite squash, and kids love it!

Galeux D’Eysines
Sweet, orange moist flesh great for baking and soups. Pink salmon colored fruit covered with peanut-like warts—great for decoration in the fall. Fruits weigh between 10 to 20 lbs.

Jumbo Pink Banana
Variety is about 100 years old. Large, pink, banana-shaped fruit can weigh 10 to 40 lbs. Fine-flavored, dry, sweet orange flesh. Great yields.

Queensland Blue (Australian)
Pale, slate blue 8-lb. fruit with thick orange flesh - great flavor.

Red Kuri
Very beautiful red-orange teardrop shaped Japanese squash.  Very sweet - great for pies and baking. Also known as Orange Hokkaido.

Spaghetti
Pale yellow oval fruit with stringy sweet yellow flesh which can be used as a substitute for pasta.

Table Queen
Introduced by the Iowa Seed Company in 1913. The Arikara tribe grew a similar heart-shaped squash, and this variety is believed to have been developed from the Arikara strain. Typical dark green acorn. Deep orange flesh is sweet, dry, thick, and great for baking. Vines grow 6 to 8 feet long. Good keeper.

Triamble
Also known as Triangle, Tristar or Shamrock. Extremely rare and unique heirloom from Australia. Unusual three-lobed slate gray fruit with very thick flesh. An excellent quality vegetable or pie squash.

Waltham Butternut
Prized for its uniform shape, rich dry yellow-orange flesh, nutty flavor and high-yielding vines. Fruits are 3 to 6 lbs. and are exceptional keepers. All American Selection winner of 1970.

Melons

Crane
The famous California heirloom, introduced in 1920 by Oliver Crane whose family has been farming near Santa Rosa for six generations. Delicious Crenshaw-type melons have pale orange flesh that is very sweet and fine flavored. Green skinned. Fruit 4 lbs.

Crenshaw
Large melons with wonderful, sweet flavor. Grows well in our warm, dry climate. Fruits are oval-shaped and yellow-green with salmon-pink flesh. Good yields of delicious melons.

French Charantais
A famous superb heirloom French melon. Super sweet and very fragrant. Very small melon.

Honeydew
Beautiful ivory-green fruit with very sweet flesh and classic honeydew flavor! A superb variety.

Sharlyn
Very sweet honeydew-type, popular with heirloom market growers. Healthy disease-resistant vines produce 5-lb. fruit. Cream-colored flesh is tasty and aromatic.

Sierra Gold
Well-netted, 3-lb. fruit with thick salmon-colored flesh. Sweet and of superb flavor. A good home and market variety. Resistant to powdery mildew.

Watermelon

Gold Baby
Very sweet creamy-lemon flesh. Fruits weigh around 5 lbs. and are perfect for small gardens. Thin green striped rinds. Vines productive. Delicious and rare!

Golden Midget
Introduced in 1959. The product of a cross between New Hampshire Midget and Pumpkin Rind. Entire plant and fruits turn golden yellow when ripe. Salmon pink flesh is pleasantly sweet. Black seeded. Very early.

Orangeglo
Beautiful deep orange flesh. Very sweet, almost tropical flavor – one of the best! High yields. Very resistant to wilt and insects. Strong healthy vines.

Petite Yellow
Very Sweet, bright yellow flesh is of excellent quality. Fruits are small at
6 to 10 lbs. and perfect for a small family.

Sugar Baby
The #1 icebox sized melon! Early 6 to 10 lb. melons great for cooler areas and have sweet deep red flesh.