New Seeds!

We've received our order of new seeds from Solana Seeds: www.solanacom.com

Lots of new and interesting plants:

- Mizuna: Oriental green with thin, finely cut leaves that are picked young and added to salads. Subtle peppery flavor. Grows back when cut.

- Agretti: (Salsola soda) Novelty Italian vegetable with small thin leaves. Crunchy texture and salty taste. Very nice presentation on plates. Can be used fresh in salads, steamed, or cooked in olive oil. Still popular in Italy and now sought after by chefs around the world. Bushy plants, 35-40 cm high. High tolerance to wet soils. Easy to grow. Cut and grows back.

- Mitsuba: Japanese Parsley (Cryptotaenia japonica) Small aromatic leaves with unique and distinctive taste. Used like parsley to flavor soups, salads, stir fries. Used in japanese cuisine. 60 cm plant looking somewhat like parsley. Perennial in zones 4 to 9. Commercially grown in Japan.

- Shiso Green: Perilla, Japanese Basil (Perilla frutescens, var. crispa) Typical green leaf variety used extensively in Japan and all over Asia to season vegetables, rice, soups, fish, etc. It is also often finely sliced with ginger and added to salads, sautéed vegetables, sashimis, tempuras and sushis. Can be used dried to flavor rice. Wonderful complex aroma, like parsley, mint and cinnamon. Also known as Perilla or Japanese Basil.

- Shiso Purple: Perilla, Japanese Basil (Perilla frutescens) Oriental herb with spicy scent reminiscent of cinnamon and cloves (the fresh leaves actually taste like Big Red cinnamon gum!). Popular in Japan, where it is used fresh or pickled, along with fish, rice, vegetables and soups. In Vietnam and Korea, the leaves flavor noodle soups and spring rolls. Nice purple ornamental foliage with iridescent shades. Was once used as an ornamental. Height: 30-50 cm. Full sun, part shade.

- Red Russian Kale: Mustard type plant with long 40 cm leaves and purple stalks. Peppery cabbage flavor like other mustards, but less pronounced. Use like mustard greens. 50 days.

- Purple Orach: (Atriplex hortensis, "purple savoyed") Beautiful ornamental variety, with slightly crinkled purple leaves. Orach is a great spinach substitute, with a flavor similar to swiss chard or spinach. Leaves can be cooked like spinach and they retain their color. Production is spread out all season. Pick smaller leaves for extra tenderness. Tall plant, about 1,5 m high. Striking plant in the vegetable garden. About a quarter of seedlings will sprout green (select purples for final planting).

- Rampicante Zuccherino Melon: Italian strain with tiny round melons. About baseball size. Salmon flesh is very sweet. Green skin turns yellow when ripe. Often served with Parma ham in Italy. Easy to make the vines climb. Early: 65-70 days. Rare!

- Minnesota Midget Melon: Incredibly small cantaloupes, the size of an apple! Very compact vine too: 1 to 1,5 m. And also very early: 65 days! The perfect melon for small gardens, trellises, balconies and northern climates with short seasons. This one will produce everywhere cucumbers can be grown. Early: 65 days.

- Ogen Melon: (Hogen, Haogen, Ha'Ogen) Wonderful melon from Israel with superb fruity flavor. Aromatic, sweet, thick pale green flesh with incredible tropical flavor. Small size: only 15 cm. Can easily be grown on a trellis. Thin rind turning gold when ripe. Undoubtedly, one of the best! Can be successfully grown in southern Quebec (zone 5). 85 days.

- Rainbow Quinoa: (Chenopodium quinoa) Annual. Variety with nice multicolored seed heads. Can be used for food or just as an ornamental. Plants are about 1,2-1,8 m high. They have been grown in the Andes for centuries for their nutritious grain. Selection that can be grown at lower elevations. Blend of pink-red and orange varieties. Start plants indoors a few weeks before last frost. 90-110 days.

- Strawberry Spinach: (Strawberry Sticks) (Chenopodium capitatum) Interesting plant bearing bright red, strawberry-like fruits along its stems. Flavor is unusual, somewhat like a mix of watermelon and beet (thus its other common name: "beetberry"). Add sugar to taste. Height: 16". Full sun. Sow directly outside or start 2-3 weeks before last frost. Easy to grow. Can be used for borders or in containers. Reseeds itself. 60 days.

- Pruden's Purple Tomato: An earlier Brandywine type with large, dark pink fruits. Flavor is often considered superior than that of Brandywine. Better adapted for culture in Canada. One of the best tasting varieties in 2003. Slightly ribbed fruits, sometimes lobed. Long sepals. Large, vigorous potato-leaf plants that can reach 2 m. Recommended. 80 days.

- Oaxacan Jewel Tomato: This little gem from Oaxaca has a wonderfully intense, lingering fruity flavor. Exceptional! Bicolored, medium to large size fruits covered with very long petioles (left picture). Marbled flesh. Medium size, potato-leaf plant. From the mountains of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico (zapotecs). One of the few bicolored that will develop its full taste even when grown in the north. Highly recommended. 75 days.

- Cherry Brandywine Tomato: Wonderful Brandywine flavor, but a month before its big sister! Cute little dark pink cherry type fruit, round, slightly flattened, ranging in size from 2,5 to 4,5 cm. Juicy, with that sharp and complex Brandywine flavor. Potato leaf plants, medium size. Early: 65 days. There are no reasons now not to enjoy the Brandywine flavor, even in zones 2 or 3! Rare.

- Stupice Tomato: Bright red fruits with excellent, rich and intense tomato flavor. Salad size. Potato leaf type. Adapted to cold climates and quite early: 63 days. From the ancient Czechoslovakia. Highly recommended.

- Chianti Rose Tomato: Wow! Without a doubt, one of the best tasting tomato around! Incredible flavor, delicious and bursting with taste. To be ranked up there with Brandywine and Prudens Purple. Potato-leaf type. Beefsteak style tomato, medium to large, with deep pink-reddish skin. Early enough to be grown in the north, at around 80 days. Said to be tolerant to cool or bad conditions. Exceptional flavor.