Seeds

CERTIFIED ORGANIC. A unique deep, dark green, almost black, jalapeño that has mild spicy flavour with a floral note. Highly productive, the medium sized hybrid plants will produce an impressive number of 7-9cm (3-3.5"), thick walled fruits that feature some corking when ready to pick in the green stage. If left unharvested, fruits will eventually mature to red. Black Magic has intermediate resistance to Bacterial Leaf Spot.

Matures in 65 days.

This winter-hardy heirloom is a distinctive black colour on the outside with a milky white and tender interior that packs a bit of bite. Large turnip-shaped 8-10cm (3-4") diameter globes with deep black skins over solid, crisp, pungent, pure-white flesh. Black Spanish Round radish seeds have very tall tops, and are primarily grown for winter storage. They will stay fresh all winter if stored wet sand. This variety was introduced before 1824, and is listed in some old seed catalogues as Noir Gros Rond d'Hiver. Plant Black Spanish Round radish seeds in mid to late summer and eat when it is the size of a quarter. Space radishes 8-10cm (3-4") apart.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

The flowers of Black Swan poppy, with finely cut, deeply frilled, dark red petals, and fully double form. The strong, upright stems grow as tall as 120cm (48"), but the flowers themselves are just incredible.

Tropaeolum minus. The flat-faced flowers of Black Velvet Nasturtium face upwards, and are held above the pale green foliage. The flowers themselves are such a rich, dark shade of mahogany, they appear almost black from any distance. This compact Nasturtium is perfect for container growing, and it blooms continuously throughout the summer. The edible flowers look sensational as garnishes, and bring a peppery kick to salad mixes.

Annual

Tropaeolum minus. This sumptuous mixture includes flowers from solid blood red to cream with red flecks and edges. Bloody Mary Nasturtium seeds produce low growing, clump-forming plants with darker than average leaves. The edible flowers are typically spicy, but also have a certain sweetness. This annual works well in containers, and blooms continuously from June to August. It was a very popular hit in our summer trials, and drew a lot of attention.

Annual

This great tasting heirloom spinach has thick, succulent, dark-green savoyed or crumpled leaves that are very sweet in salads or cooked. Bloomsdale Savoy is best planted in early spring and fall. If Bloomsdale Savoy spinach seeds are fall-planted, it will overwinter and produce much earlier than if it is spring-planted. Very fast growing plants with upright growth that can be mechanically harvested when necessary. This spinach has high resistance to blight and blue mold (BM). We recommend sowing spinach seeds in the third week in August on the coast. Enjoy a fall harvest, but only cut the leaves from the ground level. The following spring, you will get a huge harvest of incredibly early, tasty spinach before there are any pests around to compete with.

Matures in 50 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

This early maturing popcorn has tall plants with two ears each, that average 13-15cm (5-6") long. Pink Popcorn corn seeds produce excellent popping corn that yields lots of fluffy white kernels with a great rich flavour. The beautiful pink to mauve kernels are attractive for decoration. This is not a variety for eating corn on the cob, but rather for drying and popping. The stately tall plants are attractive in the summer garden.

To harvest popcorn, allow the plants to turn brown and the ears to dry for as long as possible in the field. When harvested, the husks should be completely brown and the kernels hard. Harvest the ears and remove the husks. Hang the ears in mesh bags in a warm, dry, airy room, and let dry for several weeks. The ideal moisture content for popcorn is 13 to 14%. Once a week, extract a few kernels and try popping them. If the popcorn is jagged or chewy, it still has too much moisture. If the flavour and texture are good, remove all the remaining kernels and store them in airtight containers. They should remain in good popping form for several years.

Matures in 85 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Bolero carrot seeds are a great variety for home or market. Very sweet and crunchy, it is a good keeper in storage or in the ground. Roots are bright orange, up to 20cm (8") long, and slightly tapered, with the typical blunt Nantes tip. High level of resistance to Alternaria blights and powdery mildew. Very tasty! Our Bolero carrot seeds are also available as pelleted seeds for easier handling. This variety is something of an industry standard. Because of their hybrid uniformity, they are very attractive to market growers. We think the flavour is so superb that these carrots are a nice choice for the home gardener as well. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Matures in 75 days. (Hybrid seeds)

Large, fuzzy, cucumber-scented leaves and vivid blue flowers attract bees all summer long. Usually grown for the bees and flowers, young leaves can be cooked like spinach or used in salads. Also known as the star flower because of the arrangement of its petals, the flowers have a light cucumber flavour and will stun with their vivid blue petals. A dramatic use is to make ice cubes with the petals frozen into them and drop into cold drinks. Borage seeds contain oils with the highest concentration (20% to 30%) of the fatty acid GLA, even higher than Evening Primrose. Altogether a versatile, attractive and useful herb, add starry blue flowers to salads, drinks, berry desserts for visual appeal. Borage may self sow. It is attractive to bumblebees that must buzz at a certain resonance to release a jet of pollen.

CERTIFIED ORGANIC! Grow broccoli sprouts for health and vitality! Conveniently, broccoli organic sprouting seeds are the easiest sprout to start with. Broccoli sprouts have a very pleasing, mild flavour, and are fast and easy to grow. Widely held to be one of the premier super-foods, broccoli sprouts are a very good source of vitamins A, B, C, E and K, as well as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc. They also supply carotene, chlorophyll, amino acids, trace elements, and a high protein profile. Most significantly, they are a good source of the antioxidant sulforaphane.

Bull's Blood beet seeds produce baby greens in 35 days, or wait 50-60 days for beetroot. This is the classic choice for salad and micro-green growers. The beautiful dark red, smooth leaves have a particularly pleasant flavour. Harvested as baby greens, they look spectacular in salad mixes. If the leaves are not harvested, the plants produce uniform, round, tasty, red beetroots. The deep red colour of both the leaves and root are thought to contain high levels of nutrients and antioxidants, which qualifies Bull's Blood organic beet seeds as a super-food.

Matures in 50-60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

C. maxima. Burgess Buttercup squash seeds were first introduced by the Burgess Seed Company in Illinois in 1932. Since then, this reliable heirloom has been producing small, 1.5kg (3 lb) turban shaped fruits with dark green skins and the unmistakable navel or dome at the blossom end. The golden orange flesh inside each fruit is sweet and finely textured, never watery. The thin skins are extremely hard, but that is key for long term storage. These popular squashes won't last right through winter the way a hubbard or delicata might, but you should bring one to Christmas dinner, and impress your friends and family.

Matures in 115 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Same delicious flavour as the standard delicata, Bush Delicata grows on compact, space-saving plants. The .5-1kg (1-2lb) oblong fruit start off a pale cream colour that turns yellow as fruit matures. Green stripes darken before turning orange. Flesh is smooth and sweet and very fast to cook. Edible skin makes delicatas easier to manage than other winter squash. Try cutting into rounds, scooping out the seeds, and baking on each side until brown.

Matures in 80 days

Adorable mini butternuts that are the perfect single serving size! Butterbaby is an excellent choice for home gardeners with its early maturity and high yields per plant. Uniform .5-.9kg (1.25-2lb) tan fruits have sweet, dark orange flesh and good storability. Semi-vining plants.

Matures in 80 days

We love the flavour and delicate texture of the leaves for lettuce wraps! Buttercrunch butterhead lettuce seeds are a Bibb type lettuce that forms a tight little rosette of soft, dark-green, upward-facing leaves surrounding a tender, pale centre. The small hearts don't become bitter in hot weather. Later plantings stand well into fall and make good growth in spring cold frames. Buttercrunch lettuce is a good candidate for growing all winter if you can provide cloche or greenhouse protection, or even a simple cold frame. Sow some extra early indoors in February for transplanting to the cold frame in March.

Matures in 67 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

CERTIFIED ORGANIC! Dark green plants grow 45-75cm (18-30") tall with a variable bluish green central head between 8-20cm (3-8") across. This is followed by abundant side shoots that keep coming until frost. Sow Calabrese organic broccoli seeds in early March indoors, or in May and June for a fall harvest. This heirloom broccoli variety arrived in North America with Italian immigrants in the late 1880s. It is probably centuries old. What Calabrese lacks in terms of uniformity, it more than makes up for in rich flavour.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

These big beans have big flavour. The 15cm (6”) pods are broad, flat, stringless, and medium green. The intense flavour of these Italian beans remains even after canning and processing. Or enjoy them straight out of the garden when they are sweet and crisp. Romano beans typically grow on tall vines that need to be supported by canes or trellises. Campo di Fiori Romano bean seeds produce tidy (determinate) bush bean plants that have a shorter harvest window. That is, the beans will all come at once during a two to three week period. The trade off is the convenience of smaller bush plants that will produce well in large containers.

Matures in 58 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

The vibrant oranges and yellows of Canary Yellow Swiss chard seeds bring cheerful colour to spring and winter gardens. The young stalks are a deep orange colour while the larger, more mature stalks turn a bright yellow to contrast beautifully with dark green glossy leaves. This variety has exceptional leaf quality and it lasts for ages in the fall garden. The depth of colour increases as the plants develop throughout the season. By mid-summer the stalks should be deep, golden yellow. Try Canary Yellow as gold-streaked baby leaf salad greens, or let it grow to its full glory in the garden. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Matures in 50 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Rudbeckia hirta. We did a double take when we saw this remarkable Rudbeckia during the summer flower trials. Large and very attractive bronze and chocolate coloured blooms appear over a very long flowering period from mid summer to frost. Cappuccino Rudbeckia seeds are an excellent garden performer with huge, richly coloured flowers to 10cm (4") across covering plants growing to 45-50cm (18-20") tall. This Rudbeckia would work well in a half-barrel or other large containers, and it looks sensational in big plantings. Impressive, low maintenance, and drought tolerant for xeriscaping. Deadhead spent flowers for a longer display. In very mild conditions, this plant may survive to bloom a second, or even third year. We treat it as an annual.

Annual

SUMMER HARVEST. Caraflex Organic Cabbage seeds are CERTIFIED ORGANIC! Small, very pointed, highly uniform heads that can be planted more densely. Caraflex has tight wrapper leaves that protect the tender, crunchy, sweet interior from weather and pests. Very nice flavour for a summer harvest cabbage. A shape that is becoming ever more popular in Europe and North America. Fresh, sweet, and tender cabbage leaves. These Pointed cabbages tend to be milder and sweeter, and have more tender leaves than round heads. Easier to braise, these cabbages make an excellent alternative to lettuce. Caraflex is an improvement on traditional pointed cabbage types. Has excellent holding capability and firmness. Produces 1.5-2 lb heads , storing up to 8 weeks. Presents well as a baby cabbage. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

These seeds are coated with an inert, organically certified layer which helps to minimize clumping in storage and seed sowing machines. The coating is approved by organic certifiers in Canada, the US, EU, and Japan.

Matures in 50 to 65 days. (Hybrid seeds)