Summer Vegetables
These varieties are all ones that will produce seed in the average Pacific Northwest climate, so go crazy, and save your own!
Zea mays. 85 days.
A rich and creamy white sweet corn selected from a cross of a sugary enhanced hybrid (Tuxedo) and an Anasazi landrace corn. Large ears, large deep kernels, suitable for corn-on-the-cob, or for soups, salsas or chowder. This old-fashioned sweet corn is more filling with much more depth of flavor, but less sweet than the modern hybrids. 6.5 foot-tall plants usually bear 2 good ears. Non-GMO. This is an OSSI-pledged variety bred by Jonathan Spero of Lupine Knoll Farm.
Phaseolus vulgaris. 55-60 days.
Delicious and beautiful pencil-thin, shiny purple pods stay good as a fresh bean for a long time. The bushes are loaded and early to produce. Good raw or cooked as a fresh snap bean. The small round seeds mature in about 95 days and have a splotch of purple but are mostly creamy white. When dried and cooked, they are creamy in texture, similar to white navy beans. Named after a city in Minnesota, this one came to us via Salt Spring Seeds just over the Canadian border.
Phaseolus vulgaris. 50 days.
Provider can be planted earlier than other beans because it’s purple seed germinates well in cool soils. Compact plants are easy to grow and adaptable to diverse soil and climate conditions. Produces 5 1/2" fleshy round pod green beans. High resistance to bean mosaic virus and powdery mildew. Good flavor and texture, this one is a market-grower’s favorite.
To select a good “seed-saver’s lettuce mix for Northwest WA”, we sourced our initial stock from Wild Garden Seeds, mad genius lettuce breeders of the Pacific Northwest. Starting with dozens of disease-resistant and Northwest-adapted varieties, including originals developed by Frank Morton, we have selected those that will mature seed well for us up north. The result a mix that you can perpetuate into the future, selecting further from this diverse genepool to suit your own conditions. Frank only asks that you and I and future recipients honor this gift by not placing any patents or restrictions on any seed derived from this collection.
Cucumus melo. 75 days.
A diverse genepool mix of ultra early, cool weather tolerant melons. Small, single-serving baseball size melons vary in color as well as texture & flavor. The earliest short-season variety we have found. Ripens outdoors in Denmark! Developed by Tim Peters of Peters Seed & Research in Riddle, Oregon and further selected by Adaptive Seeds.
Variety Pack includes 10 seeds each of 5 different varieties. These are the very earliest of the batch, and did not thrive in our hottest summer on record here in Northwest Washington. We offer this grouping to our friends farther north or in more challenging micro-climates, and also as a good set to keep on hand for the more average or cooler summers we get here “normally”. The super-earlies tend to be smaller and lower yielding than other varieties, but will bring joy to the cool season gardener who previously thought she couldn’t grow tomatoes outdoors.
Variety pack will incude 10 seeds each of 5 different varieties. Dwarf tomatoes are a little-known category of tomatoes that have many of the benefits of a determinate but with the full heirloom flavor of an indeterminate heirloom. Perfect for those who choose or require container gardening, providing the array of colors, sizes and flavors that were formerly limited to those who grew indeterminate (tall growing) heirloom types. Can be planted as close as a foot apart in the field, or in a 5 gallon pot, and one sturdy stake or tomato cage appears to be all the maintenance they need. Check out www.craiglehoullier.com to learn more about what Craig LeHoullier and his all-volunteer army of gardeners worldwide have done to breed many wonderful dwarf tomatoes, including those offered here.