Category Archives: Heirlooms
Tomato Yellow Currant
The tiny round yellow 1/2″ fruits are produced in abundance on vigorous indeterminate plants. Large trusses hold easy-to-harvest clusters of fruit. With strong sweet-tart flavor and firm juicy texture the little yellow tomatoes are perfect for salads and crudites.
Pepper Sweet Bull Nosed Large Bell
Thomas Jefferson grew this bull-nosed pepper in his garden after it arrived here from India in the 1700s. Bull Nosed peppers popular in early America are due for a renaissance. Still grown at Jefferson’s Monticello the variety has a delectably
Pea Lincoln
Appropriately enough these peas were introduced in peacetime just after World War II. Lincoln quickly became a favorite with American gardeners thanks to its high yields and sweet tender flavor. Suited for eating fresh freezing or canning the 4-5″ pods
Nasturtium Phoenix
This glorious re-birth of 1904 Burpee heirloom- Nasturtium Golden Gem. Phoenixs rarely-seen split-petal flower form is a marvel of plant breeding. Vigorous vine plants are soon arrayed with flaming-glowing-red-orange blooms (edible by the way) Great border plant. A hallelujah chorus
Pepper Sweet Golden California Wonder
Popular since the 1920s this is the golden version of the red California Wonder. Smooth blocky and blunt-ended 5″ x 4″ fruits are thick-walled very sweet and mild. Maturing from light-green to golden-yellow the peppers grow on 22-26″ sturdy upright
Bean Kentucky Wonder Pole
HEIRLOOM. Kentucky Wonder is a brown-seeded bean noted for its exceptional flavor and its heavy crops of 9″ green pods borne in clusters. Pods are oval thick gently curved meaty and tender and they’re stringless when young. It’s been proven
Tomato German Pink
Here is one of the two Batavian heirlooms from Diane Ott Whealy’s family varieties that became the impetus for the compendious Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa. Nearly seedless the indeterminate potato leaf plants produce large meaty 1-2 lb. fruits with
Pepper Hot Tabasco
Originally from Mexico-and taking its name from a Mexican state-this small very hot pepper’s a favorite in the South and East where the plants can grow tall and are covered with the petite light yellow-green to red fruits. Best known
Bean Rattlesnake Snap
HEIRLOOM. Dark green and streaked with purple the pretty and distinctive 7-8″ pods are filled with light buff-colored seeds splashed with dark brown. Whether you harvest them as snap beans at about 60 days or as dry beans at about
Brussels Sprouts Catskill
Catskill produces outsize yields of extra-large deep green 2″ round sprouts that flank the super-strong stalks. Introduced in 1941 this flavorful long-time favorite is a good choice for freezing. Harvest at once for freezing or as needed for eating fresh.
Lettuce Cimarron
This red romaine heirloom variety has been an American favorite since the 1700s. A profound beautiful deep-red-going-on bronze the 10-12″ tall heads packed with broad flat leaves take on a lighter green tone inside. Impervious to bolting.
Bean Tenderpod
HEIRLOOM. This 1941 All-America Selections winner remains a customer favorite. Why? Because the beans stay tender stringless and ever so tasty when fully mature. Bush bean pods are 4 1/2 – 5 1/2″ long thick and round in cross section
Mustard Tatsoi
Tatsoi a long-time Asian staple forms dense rosettes of mild mustardy-flavored leaves. Enjoy the leaves raw or stir-fried. Crunchy and flavorful the midribs have a bright celeryesque taste. Extremely cold-hardy you can harvest the plants even under snow cover (mittens
Pepper Sweet Banana
Even after more than 70 years this is still extremely popular pepper. Large pointed fruits measure 6-7″ long and 1 1/2″ across. The mild yellow peppers ultimately turn brilliant red. A favorite for pickling.
Lettuce Four Seasons Organic
Heirloom. The name alludes to the remarkable cold hardiness of this very beautiful 6″ butterhead. It’s still one of the best lettuces both for early spring planting and for fall/winter harvests. Outer leaves are tinged with red. Inner leaves are
Tomato Hillbilly Regular Leaf
With lovely yellow-orange skin and flesh mottled and streaked with red this West Virginia heirloom beefsteak weighs in at 1-2 lb. Heavily ribbed fruits bring superb sweet low-acid flavor to salads and sandwiches.
Bean Blue Lake 274 Bush
Blue Lake 274 is an all-time favorite bean that’s nearly fiber-free produces prolifically over a long season and has excellent flavor fresh or frozen. A heavy producer over a long season it’s excellent fresh or frozen. Plants yield early and
Squash Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato
A favorite at our Fordhook Farm test gardens this family heirloom squash from Missouri has a flavor that is distinctly sweet potatoesque. High-yielding vines produce a plentitude of cream-colored 6-8″ acorn-shaped fruits with a wondrously sweet chestnut flavor. This squash
Lima Bean Jackson Wonder
Lovely and flavorful Jackson Wonder was introduced in 1888 quickly becoming an American favorite. A rich chestnut color speckled with maroon the beans have a bright nutty flavor. With a compact bush habit the prolific plants only grow 18-24″ tall
Onion Italian Torpedo
The most frequently used variety in Italian cooking Torpedo is beloved for its sweet mild and tender roots. This elongated torpedo-shaped onion has light rosy-red skin. The bulbs grow to about 4 to 6″ long. This onion is best suited
