Veggies

About My Vegetables

While I'm not certified organic I do raise all my crops and animals with an organic ethos. My goal is to produce nourishing, delicious, naturally grown foods. Many of the seeds I plant are certified organic and they're grown here without the use of herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

You may not think about herbicides and pesticides when you buy your produce because you can't see it and there aren't warning labels. "But I wash my vegetables", you say. You should wash them, unfortunately, many chemicals are sprayed directly on the plants and also remain in the soil where they're absorbed right into the very meat of vegetables - that can't be washed away. Why not start out simple and wholesome by growing your food naturally? Besides, by using a natural farming method you know the foods are more delicious and have that distinct flavor that you just can't get with 'trucked-in' veggies.

Since I don't plant acres of vegetables I can get right in the garden to care for the plants by hand. This also allows me to grow more unusual garden goodies - I love to grow new things that I've never eaten before. Below you'll see descriptions of some of my more interesting garden projects, I'm looking forward to tasting these... aren't you?

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Peppers

Chocobell Sweet Pepper 75 days, 2.6 oz. Sweet flavor with a hint of spiciness. Fruits are large, shiny brown, blocky-shaped chocolate-colored bells, 3- or 4- lobed. Adds an unusual color to salads. Has no "grassy" or "green" taste typical of peppers if harvested in the green stage. Unusual dark maroon interior fruit color. Excellent for salads and stuffing.

Seed Collecting: Hybrid - plants will not come true from seed.

Rocotillo Hot Pepper 95 days. 1" long, 1 ½" wide. Red peppers that are small, squat, and wrinkled. They offer wonderful fruity taste but only mild to medium heat despite being related to the more fiery habanero.

Trinidad Perfume Pepper 85 days, 1-in long. This wonderful seasoning pepper from Trinidad may look like a typical habanero, but it has no heat. What it does have is delectable aroma with a smokey flavor that adds so much to make Caribbean dishes or other cuisines really special. Pendant peppers that mature to golden orange-yellow.

Squash

Speckled Hound Squash 95-100 days, 4 - 6 lbs. This truly unusual winter squash is a boxy-shaped beauty with light to medium orange skin offset with green/blue green streaking and splotches - gorgeous as a gourd, but so much more scrumptious. As tasty as it is interesting, beneath the randomly patterned blue-green and orange rind is a dense yellow-orange flesh bursting that's thick and dense with a concentrated sweet, nutty squash flavor. Pumpkin-shaped, silky smooth and waxy, with shallow furrows and a strong green stem.Strong, open habit plants make harvest easy, yet offer ample leaf coverage for sun scald protection.

Seed Collecting: Hybrid - plants will not come true from seed.

Zephyr Hybrid Summer Squash 54 days, 4- to 6-in.
'Zephyr' is a straightneck summer squash. 'Zephyr' has a yellow stem end and is pale green at the blossom end. Faint white stripes run the length of this squash. It has a slightly bowed neck about 5 to 8 inches (13-20 cm) long. You can harvest 'Zephyr' at about 4 to 6 inches. It's a firm, sweet-nutty flavored squash perfect for quick cooking. Its nutty taste and firmness make this a garden standout versatile enough to serve fresh, steamed, sautéed or grilled. fruits in buttercup yellow with faint white striping and light green ends. Yields of both fruits and blossoms are high.

Seed Collecting: Hybrid - plants will not come true from seed.

One Ball Summer Squash 50 days, 5-in diameter. Chalk one up for this excellent squash! ‘One ball’ has been declared the best new squash to appear in several years. The round squashes are bright yellow & have a subtle nutty flavor. This winner will keep you stocked with its flawless, golden spheres by the bushel. Great steamed, sauteed or stuffed. Harvest them at 5" diameter, the pool ball sized fruit just keep rolling for a continuous, heavy harvest. Pair with Eight Ball and watch the table clear! If the growing conditions are just right, the fruit will bear a green star; lady luck is with you!

Piccolo Squash 56 days. A melt-in-your-mouth marrow squash with a unique, new shape. Piccolo will hit the high notes in all your summer meals. The round to oblong fruit has eye-catching, dark and light green striping and creamy colored flesh. At tennis ball size, they look like mini watermelons and are tender and delicious. Healthy, productive plants provide a summer full of delectable harvests.

White Scallop Summer Squash 54 days, 2 - 4-in. This summer squash has scalloped edged fruits that are pale green when young, turning creamy white when mature. Sometimes known as Patty Pan, it's a tender summer squash with a very mild flavor and creamy white meat. The scalloped flying saucer shape makes them a bit of a novelty but they cook and eat much like any other summer squash. Kids are sometimes more tempted to try them because of their fun shape. You can begin to eat them when they are only a couple of inches in diameter, making them perfect for individual serving.

Jarrahdale Blue Pumpkin 95-100 days, 10 - 14-in across, 9 -10 lbs. Originally from New Zealand, this winter squash is still rare in the US. The highly ornamental, pumpkin-shaped fruits of this heirloom are medium-sized, squat, and attractively deep ribbed with striking, slate-gray skin. The rich, sweet, golden yellow flesh surrounds a very small seed cavity, and is fine for baking and cooking; it's complex flavor will have you hooked after one bite! . ‘Jarrahdale’ has a thin, very hard skin and keeps very well in extended storage.

Melons

Sapomiel Melon 90 days, 3.5 to 4.5 lbs. Sometimes called Christmas melon this is a new, very large and productive Pinonet / Piel de Sapo type melon. Medium green in color with darker spots and an elongated football shape. It is a typical Spanish melon that in recent years has caught the interest of consumers all over the world. The flesh is white, very crunchy and sugary-sweet.

Seed Collecting: Hybrid - plants will not come true from seed.

Orange Krush Watermelon 78 days, 17 - 20 lb. Exceptional Flavor and Color! Big fruit features brilliant orange flesh with irresistible sugary sweet flavor and juicy texture.
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Beans

Beer Friend Edamame 85 days, 3-in. These are definitely finger food! They are sweet, buttery, and so fresh flavored that I’m sure the whole family will love them. Edamame (pronounced Ed-uh-mommy) are young soybeans in pods; they're one of the most popular snack items in the beer party and Japanese restaurants. They're packed with nutrition: the beans contain amino acids essential for good health and are naturally high in fiber, protein, and calcium plus vitamins A and B. Each pod will yield three to four beans which may be cooked like peas after shelling. To eat the edamame, give it a quick blanch in salted water and then let it cool enough to pop the beans out of the pod.

Black Pearl Edamame 85 days, 3-in. One taste and you'll forever find space in your garden for this beautiful black soybean. Black soybeans are sought after in Japan for their taste and distinctive rich flavor. The small 1/4 inch black pearl-sized beans resemble lentils in shape and size, and yield abundantly on 2 1/2-3 foot tall plants. Space this variety further apart because it is more vigorous than other edamame soybeans.