Pile up your plate with veggies this summer for the health of your body and pocket book.

My top crops to land on your dinner table this coming season are as follows: summer squash, sweet peppers, cucumbers, sweet corn, snap beans, tomatoes and lettuce. That is just 7 crops that should keep you in veg for the growing season. 

Plant: After last frost

Cucurbita pepo

20 seeds/pack   |   50 days

This bush zucchini has all the best traits. It is early to mature, prolific, tasty and drought tolerant. The dark green zucchinis are uniform and were developed under organic conditions for organic farmers. Bred by seedsman Bill Reynolds.

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Cucumis sativus

30 seeds/pack  | 65-70 days  | Heirloom

This favorite is round with yellow skin, hence its namesake. With non-bitter skin, the flesh is crunchy and slightly sweet. Good enough to eat like an apple directly from the garden or slice for salads. The vines can be trellised or allowed to sprawl. Look for new fruits frequently as they often hide under leaves and it's not uncommon to find old fat ones that have escaped notice.

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Capsicum annuum

50 seeds/pack   |   85 days   |    Heirloom

This is a long time farm favorite pepper for us. We first grew it over 10 years ago a seed contract for Fedco seeds and have kept it going. These squat little sweet peppers have thick flesh and much sweetness. The plants keep producing right up until the frost and are great to eat raw, stir-fried and roasted. I usually freeze a few gallons of these during seed harvest and we eat them all winter as well. 

 

$3.75

Plant: Early Spring or Fall

Lactuca sativa

200 seeds/pack   |   50-60 days

With origins from the desert, Jericho has been developed to endure the summer heat. Sturdy, vigorous, tall plants with dense heads. Bright green leaves with a silky texture. Bolt resistant while remaining sweet, tender and crisp. Tolerance to tip-burn, powdery mildew and downy mildew.

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Phaseolus vulgaris

25 seeds/pack | 50 days | Heirloom

The best green snap bean we have trialed to date. Prolific producer despite the summer heat. Will also perform well in cool coastal and mountain climates. Very early compact bushes yield stringless green beans. 5 ½ inches long; perfect for canning and freezing. Purple-seeded. USDA variety 1965.

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Solanum lycopersicon 

50 seeds/pack | 60-70 days | Heirloom

Classic large red cherry tomato. Fruits are 1 inch in diameter. A mouth-watering tomato that bursts open as you bite them. Prolific and disease resistant. Good choice for shorter seasons. Bred by the late Alan Chadwick of the UCSC Chadwick Gardens, who was a leading innovator of organic farming techniques. Indeterminate.

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Lycopersicon esculentum

50 seeds/pack | 70 days  l  Heirloom

This determinate paste tomato is a highly productive Italian heirloom. Fruits are large to 5 inches, very meaty with few seeds. Good flavor. Compact tomato bushes could be planted in containers for patio gardeners. For canning a determinate tomato can be a blessing since all the fruits are ready at nearly the same time. This allows the avid canner to preserve large batches all at once.

 

$3.75

Plant: After last frost

Zea mays

50 seeds/pack   |   80 days   

Top Hat is an excellent modern sweet corn variety with plump golden kernels and a super sweet corn flavor. It is the breeding work of the late Jonathan Spero in southern OR. It has been selected to tolerate cool soils, mature early and have tight husks that are effective in excluding insects. Expect 8 -10 ft plants with an average of 2 ears per plant. Ears are about 8 inches long. Top Hat is an open source variety and pledged to the Open Source Seed Initiative


     

     

    $3.75

    Plant: After last frost

    Cucumis sativus

    25 seeds/pack   | 55-65 days  

    This cucumber is a versatile one that can shine in salads, as a slicer, and even in the pickle jar. A narrow cucumber, it is mature at 4-6” long; Its dark green skin is smooth and thin, and pleasantly crisp flesh surrounding a juicy, core. It has a mild, almost sweet taste, and contains little to no cucurbitacin, as is characteristic of “burpless” varieties of cucumbers.

    $3.75

    Plant: After last frost

    Lycopersicon esculentum

    50 seeds/pack | 65 days | Heirloom

    This farm-favorite tomato is a fantastic all-around kitchen variety. We love it sliced for salads and sandwiches. An heirloom from the Ukraine, it is large and dark red and very prolific. It is the deep sweet tomato flavor that really clinches the deal though. Especially sun warmed from the vine! Indeterminate.

    $3.75

    Plant: After last frost

    Phaseolus vulgaris

    25 seeds/pack   | 60-90 days   | Heirloom

    These beans grow up to 8 inches and are green with purple streaks. We find them to be delicious raw or lightly steamed; they are always a best-seller at farmer’s markets. The vines will grow to 10 feet with a sturdy trellis. The name comes from the mottled markings on the tan and brown seeds

    $3.75

    Plant: After last frost

    Cucurbita pepo

    20 seeds/pack   |   55 days

    This vigorous variety will feed the masses with prolific and early yields of golden zucchini with superb flavor and texture. We enjoy these sautéed, steamed, grilled, grated and dehydrated as chips. Selected by Swiss Seed company Sativa Rheinau. 

    $3.75

    Plant: After last frost

    Capsicum annuum

    30 seeds/pack    |   75-90 days   |    Heirloom

    The name of this Italian heirloom means ‘bull’s horn’. With a twisted shape, these peppers certainly do resemble their namesake. The claims of 10 inch sweet and crisp fruits were true. We found this variety to be perfect for grilling, stuffing and dicing. As the summer came to an end these peppers really amped up their production. From September to the end of October we harvested a giant bounty of these great peppers. 

    $3.75

    Plant: Early Spring or Fall
    Lactuca sativa
    200 seeds/pack  I  55 days
    Drunken Woman lettuce yields beautiful green heads with red blushes but it is the flavor and crunch that will keep you coming back for more. The leaves are somewhat frilly and plants are quite bolt resistant making this a good lettuce choice for your year round salad garden. For large heads transplant to 12” spacing. For cut and come again direct seed entire packet in a row.
    $3.75