Sour Cherry Farm just placed its first order from Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds. We’ve grown a few of these varieties in the past (the speckled trout lettuce is a favorite), but this is the first time for many others. We had such better luck with our heirloom varieites of everything last year that this yaer we decided to forgo hybrids all together. Here’s what we ordered from seed. (This is not to say we won’t supplement with plantings later on!)
Beans
We ordered 5 kinds of beans this year. A little excessive, I know, but Samantha likes beans, and they’re easy to pick for supper. If we get overwhelmed, we can always pickle them and, for some of them, dry them. Here’s what we got:
We chose these for their beauty as much as their taste. We love the green and red striations, and they taste like cranberry beans.
I’ve always wanted to grow these. We had so much success with the beauty of the hyacnith bean last year, but we hated the possiblity that as the beans grew too big they could turn poisonous. Who wants poisinous in the vegetable garden? Not us! So these scarlet runner beans will take the place of the vine. They’ll dry nicely, too.
Royalty Purple Pod Bush Beans.
More for color, but also because the will produce for a long time.
Beurre de Rocquencourt Bush Wax Beans
We love yellow wax beans, and it seems that this heirloom variety has been around since the 1840s. We’re looking forward to trying them!
As regular a bean as we’ll be growing this year. Green, thin, and good for freezing, too.
Other vegetables
You would be forgiven for thinking we ordered this because of the name. I mean, crap? Please. Endless fun with that. But no, we ordered it because it’s an heirloom that Bakers Creek says may be as old as 1,000 years, and because it is prized for its excellent flavor. Yay. Craptastic.
These are the celeries you get at the farmers markets, those big, long stalks in a beautiful bunch you can’t resist, even though you know you don’t really need celery. Best part: you can just keep trimming the stalk as you need it, say, for soup or a pot of beans. It’ll grow back.
Because every garden needs onions. And these are heirlooms. And Japanese. Should be fun!
We’re going to try muskmelons this year. At least we’re going to try the kind that don’t sprout out of our compost pile. I think we have just the right sandy, sunny spot. Wish us luck!
The color is cool, and they say the flavor is excellent. Who doesn’t love a radish?
Merveille des Quartre Saisons Lettuce.
A French heirloom from the 1880s. I just love the red color. Going to be beautiful.
Austrian variety whose name means speckled like a trout. We’ve grown this one before. It’s got a very delicate leaf.
Flowers
I do love a zinna. And these green-tinged ones are stunning. They’ll be nice near the outdoor movie theater, I think because being light, they’ll pick up some of the reflection from the screen and glow in the dark.
Everyone needs a little pop of red in the garden, especially for the hummingbirds. This should be a fun one.
These will be a nice contrast near the patio, where there are lots of white flowers against the red brick.
Senstation Candy Stripe Cosmos
For filler in the perennail beds, near the purple coneflowers, Russian sage and joe pye.
Henry Wilde Sunflower and Red Sunflower
For cutting, mainly. I haven’t had much luck with sunflowers in the past, but I always try.
I try these nearly every year, too. But this year I have a new spot in mind. Maybe this will be my breakout season.
All images courtesy Bakers Creek Seeds.
