A few weeks ago we asked our staff what their favorite varieties that we carry are, and we've compiled them in the list below. While we were sitting around talking about all these wonderful different vegetables that we love, we thought it would be great to hear from you, our customers - about which varieties you love and why!
So, leave us a note in the comments below about your favorite variety that High Mowing Organic Seeds' carries, and
one lucky commenter will win a $50.00 High Mowing Organic Seeds gift certificate!
- Tell us the name of the variety you love, and why you like it so much!
- Include the URL (web page address) of that variety from our website.
- Make sure you use an accurate e-mail as that's how we'll be contacting you if you win!
- Contest ends midnight (EST) 4/18/12
- We would love to share your comments with other gardeners and farmers! By commenting below, you give us permission to re-print your comments. Rather not be quoted? Send us an email to questions@highmowingseeds, with the subject line "My Favorite Variety" with the info requested above to be included in our contest and we’d be glad to add you to the pool of contestants.
The contest is now over - Thank you for everyone who entered - we truly appreciate all your comments. Pamela H. is our winner! - congratulations!
The fine print: High Mowing Organic Seeds is giving away one $50.00 gift certificate towards any of our products to one lucky winner! To enter the contest, leave a comment describing your favorite High Mowing Organic Seeds variety, why you like it, and the URL for that variety from our website on our blog post entitled "Win a $50 Gift Certificate". (To qualify you need to make sure your favorite variety is one that High Mowing sells!), or send us an e-mail at questions@highmowingseeds.com with subject line, "My Favorite Variety". The contest runs from 4/10/12 through midnight (EST) 4/18/12. The winner will be selected using random.org. The winner will be notified via e-mail, so please ensure that your e-mail is accurate. Winners must respond within 96 hours of the e-mail announcing that they have one being sent. If the winner fails to respond within that time, High Mowing Organic Seeds will select another winner through random. org and will send out another e-mail to the next winner.
High Mowing Staff Picks - Our Favorite Varieties!
Beans:
“The
Black Turtle dry beans are wonderful. I was very happy with their upright growth habit. They produced so many beans and I found that they were easy to clean. They dried well on the plant. After harvesting the beans, I dried them a little more indoors and then put them in a tote and stepped on them to break the pods open. Afterwards, I separated the beans from the organic matter. Now I have dry beans that will store a long
time!”
Brigitte Derel, Sales Associate
“
Dragon Langerie shell beans - They are beautiful and delicious. I love them in salads.”
Meredith Martin Davis, General Manager
“I discovered
Tavera Haricot Vert beans last summer. They’re tender and sweet and I picked them for weeks- we froze bags full of them! They were the first thing my eight month old son ate, and he loves them just as much as I do.”
Andrea Tursini, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager
Beet:
“The
Guardsmark Chioggia beet. Raw or cooked, shredded or sliced, its unique spiral interior is a vibrant addition to any plate or dish and best of all, it is a beet! Beets are the best, nothing better than a beet. I have nicked named it ‘the cat in hat’ beet.”
Maxine Kelly, Accounting Manager
Broccoli:
“I like the
Belstar F1 broccoli for full size heads, they have a nice dome to shed water and a tight bead that does great in the fall. Also stands up to the heat, but I usually slot it for the fall.”
Paul Betz, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Cabbage:
“
Kaitlin F1 cabbage: It holds well in the field…and makes good kraut!”
Holly Simpson, Sales Assistant
Carrot:
“
Napoli F1. My first carrot of the season. They are quick to size up, and have great flavor. The tops are strong for bunching, and stay green and beautiful for a long time in the field.”
Paul Betz, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Cauliflower:
“I like the
Veronica Romanesco for its flavor and uniqueness.”
Amber Gillespie, Accounting Assistant
Cucumber:
“The
Suyo Long is also an amazing eating cuke; thin skin and small seed cavity, once people try them they are hooked.”
Paul Betz, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Specialty Greens:
“Yukina savoy Asian greens. I plant in the fall for full size heads. The leaves are large, the stems are tender and they can take the cold pretty well.
Hong Vit radish green is a favorite as well; super tender as a young green. Let it get bigger and it can be bunched for a braising green, leave some longer and it’s a nice quality radish. Amazing!”
Paul Betz, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Lettuce:
“
Magenta head lettuce. Delicious, holds up well to rain, flooding, heat. Beautiful, crisp, dependable, and did I mention tasty?”
Sara Schlosser, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Onion:
“
Cortland F1 onion. I
love onions and especially onions that I can store and eat all winter long. I’m still eating these in late February and plan to keep on eating them into April.”
Andrea Tursini, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager
Peas:
“
Sugar Ann snap pea - The first thing the kids and I get to eat right out of the garden. Summer days munching on these sweet snap peas are the best.”
Meredith Martin Davis, General Manager
Peppers:
“
Oranos F1 pepper is my all-time favorite--the best sweet pepper I have ever tasted! Peppers are the sweetest treat out of the field and this one is my favorite to snack on. The flavor is sweet and full, and the color is so pretty. It has been the favorite pepper by the Trials staff for all the years we’ve grown it -- several of us were so excited to finally be able to get the seed for ourselves this year when we added it to the catalog. Yum!”
Kathryn Donovan, Marketing and Trials Assistant
“I also love
Oranos F1 pepper – don’t get sticker shock! This is the sweetest, most beautiful pepper we grew in trials last year.”
Gwenael Engelskirchen, Trials Manager
“Have to have
NuMex Joe E. Parker Anaheim peppers. Cut in half and put in a baking pan, stuff with a sharp cheddar cheese (preferably Vermont), sprinkle bread crumbs over top, bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with steamed corn, fresh sliced tomatoes and basil.”
Barbara Conn, Sales Associate
Spinach:
“
Tyee F1 spinach has always been a standby for me. Holds up to the heat that we can get in early summer.”
Paul Betz, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Summer Squash:
“
Partenon F1 zucchini. Dependable in any weather or conditions, early, long season harvest compared to other zucchinis, perfect fruit and delicious. I also really like the
Segev F1 squash. It produces for the whole season if you give it space to vine. Tender and nutty, a wonderful squash that is little know or appreciated in this country.”
Sara Schlosser, Market Grower and Sales Associate
Winter Squash:
“I really like the
Crown Pumpkin winter squash because it has a great color contrast with the muddy green outside and bright rich orange inside, the taste is nutty and the flesh is dense. Also it is very lovely in the garden growing next to other squash of different colors. The history of the Crown Pumpkin also interests me.”
Brigitte Derel, Sales Associate
“
Sugar Dumpling F1 winter squash: An easy to grow, sweet and nutty flavored squash that works well as a main meal when stuffed, but can easily cross over to dessert with a little butter and maple syrup!”
Sarah Zettlemeyer, Wholesale Sales Associate
Tomato:
“Cosmonaut Volkov tomato: The flavor and texture is out of this world! Rich and sweet that never hides in any kind of sandwich or salad, always a great compliment to everything I add it to. This tomato takes me to the moon!”
Sarah Zettlemeyer, Wholesale Sales Associate
“Matt's Wild cherry tomatoes - Sweet, plentiful, and so easy to grow.”
Meredith Martin Davis, General Manager
“
Rose de Berne! Great flavor, texture, size, and good uniformity for an open pollinated heirloom tomato. Worlds better than Brandywine, the almighty heirloom of choice!”
Megen Hall, Sales Associate
“I absolutely love
Rose de Berne tomato – it has wonderful flavor, smooth skin, dense texture, excellent slicing and salad tomato and not prone to cracking.”
Gwenael Engelskirchen, Trials Manager
Flowers:
“I really enjoy the
Jasmine-Scented Nicotiana flower. The scent of jasmine fills the air in the early evening hours. It is so pleasant to be in the garden as the sun is setting with such a lovely aroma in the air.”
Brigitte Derel, Sales Associate
“I love the scent of the
Old Spice Sweet Peas. And I always plant
Dark Orange Marigolds in our garden because that’s what my mother does - the smell of marigolds always reminds me of pulling weeds in her garden when I was little.”
Andrea Tursini, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-table-queen-acorn-winter-squash.html
thank you for the opportunity!!
Annie
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-sorrel.html
since you get amazing greens and even more amazing beets at the bottom of them! I pickle about 50 jars of these every fall for winter gifts-- their perfectly round form literally jumps out of its jacket when they've been steamed prior to the canning process (no peeling!) The added bonus for me is eating the gorgeous, nutritious greens and getting myself ready for winter. Thank you for offering this fantastic heirloom organic variety.
Kind regards, Christine Henson Thorp - Christine's Granola
It has a unique shape that made customers stop at my market table to ask about it. It also has the taste that allows you to really sell it once someone stops. It is very tender and sweet lacking any of the mild peppery bite some cabbages can have. With it's small size and slender taper we cook it by quartering whole heads and leaving the stem portion intact to hold the leaves. Then oil or butter the cut edges and grill on a medium hot grill til just tender. It should keep it's shape and be nicely sweet and easy to serve. We had tons of repeat customers for it all summer, wish I had planted more!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-dragon-langerie-bean.html
Matthew
Baldwon Organic Garden Share
http://www.facebook.com/bogs11510
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-delicata-winter-squash.html
We are expanding our gardening space and I am looking forward to trying a few dry bean verities this year!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-provider-bush-snap-bean.html
Although I have high hopes for Indigo Rose (http://www.highmowingseeds.com/Organic-Seeds-Indigo-Rose-Tomato.html), I can't quite count it as a favorite yet because this is the first year trying it.
(Might as well add a vote for Matt's Wild cherry too. I don't like cherry tomatoes, but I was enticed by the MW description one year, and I grow a plant every year now. They are delicious, and thin-skinned and so cute! I have also noticed that the MW plants are much more resistant to late blight than the other tomatoes I've grown. They are also very indeterminant. At the end of the summer, the MW is usually draped like a garland across the tops of the other tomato stakes in the garden.)
www.perkinsgoodearthfarm.com
Thanks
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-long-pie-pumpkin.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-early-jalapeno-pepper.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-napoli-f1-hybrid-carrot.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-musque-de-provence-squash.html
We were recommended this variety from an heirloom gardening friend, and she made us taste test all the varieties she grew that season. My kids went crazy over the fresh squash "chips" we munched up fresh. I would compare it's taste the watermelons we can (sometimes) grow here in northern WI. The texture is incredible and the smell is so sweet! This variety is why I order from HMO. Not many places have our beloved Musque De Provence, let alone in an organic environment.
Well it would have been my favorite had I not burned all ten seeds in the packet last week...but with $50 I could buy many seeds (wink)
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-copia-tomato.html
Sorry I got so carried away I almost forgot to add the URL.
We grew ten kinds of tomatoes the first year in our market garden in the south central Allegheny Moutains.
I sent a sample box of our tomatoes down to a catering kitchen in the DC area. The caterers enjoyed the Rose de Bernes, the Cherokee Purples and the Copias very much. And they fell in love with the Black Cherries and the Peacevines. The loved the color variations added by the Sunkists, the Green Zebras and the Yellow Perfections. But we have received contracts every season since then to grow the Gilbertie Paste Tomatoes.
The Gilbertie Paste Tomatoes are sweet and complex fresh, fabulous in sauces, and they really do make the best tomato paste I've ever tasted. Our CSA members give us better feedback when we pack more Gilberties in every share. The Gilbertie Paste Tomato is also the single most inquired-after varietal we've ever grown. Person after person asks us where to source the seeds for this all-around tomato. I'm always pleased to let them know!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-gilbertie-paste-tomato.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-mammoth-melting-snow-pea.html
Fingers Crossed :)
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-touchstone-gold-beet.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-san-marzano-tomato.html
thanks for the chance, Sage
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-cinderella-pumpkin.html
We got one for Halloween years ago when we lived in Florida and have not found them again since living in Maine. I love their unique shape and while not a pie pumpkin they still make a tasty pie!
harvested right through December - even after a foot of snow! I use it to make kale chips and lots of other great things. I am so lucky that my local hardware store stocks High Mowing seeds so I can buy great seeds AND support a local business.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-ruby-streaks-mustard-green.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-king-of-the-north-pepper.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/Organic-Seeds-Tyee-F1-Hybrid-Spinach.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-cosmonaut-volkov-tomato.html
The seeds had a great germination rate and the young spinach plants are growing beautifully. We are so excited to eat the spinach at our upcoming School Harvest Party.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-sweet-chocolate-pepper.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-brandywine-tomato.html
They are my husbands absolute favorite - it makes me happy to grow them for him :)
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-yellow-pear-tomato.html
One of our favorite's is Kaboko Chinese Cabbage. We've grown several varieties in the past. Some good, some bad, some just disappear from the catalogs. Kaboko has been an excellent, fast-growing, medium-sized napa-style cabbage that has never bolted for us in fall plantings. Crisp, sweet and a good seller at our Market. It also holds well after harvesting. I have kept some in our refrigerator for personal use clear through January. Just clean off the outside leaves and it's still crisp, crunchy and something green in the middle of winter!!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-kaboko-f1-hybrid-cabbage.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-okra-seeds.html
When I first moved to Vermont from Boston one of the (very few) things I missed was my favorite Indian dish, Bhindi Masala. I scoured my local area for Indian food and only found disappointment, unless I made the haul up to Burlington for decent-but-not-great Indian. In the grocery stores I could sometimes find frozen okra, or occassionally very sad mushy-looking okra in the produce section. Then, in the dead of winter while going through seed catalogs and dreaming of the seedlings I would start in the Spring I found okra...from a Vermont company! I'll be honest, I had no idea okra could grow in Vermont; I thought it was a delicacy reserved for the long southern growing seasons.
The first year wasn't perfect. I planted too late and while I got fruit it was never enough to make more than just a couple pieces of fried okra (which went great with the fried green heritage tomatoes I also played with that year). The second year I started the seeds early under my grow lights and planted as soon as I was 100% sure the frosty nights were gone. Eureka! Okra!! I could barely keep up with it!
Year three was really proof-positive for me that not only can okra grow in VT, but it can flourish. I started early again and with eight plants I could barely keep up with picking the fruit at that sweet 2-3" point. Okra *loves* to be picked and will quickly reward you with new flowers as you rush to keep up with it. Over the past three years not only have my okra growing skills improved, but dare I say I've become a damn good Bhindi Masala chef. In fact, I feasted so often on my favorite dish last year that I was almost sick of it. Thankfully the long winter has cured me of that and I can't wait to grow more. Yay, okra!!
Costata Romanesco Zucchini summer squash. This is NOT your father's zucchini - it has a delicate, almost nutty flavor and is fabulous stir fried with a bit of garlic in EVOO. The squashes don't seem to rush to become "huge-normous" quite as quickly as the average zucchini and they keep well in the fridge. My other favorite treatment is to add them to a homemade primavera/ratatouille type sauce with eggplant, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and Costata Romanesco!
Thank you for the opportunity to win a gift certificate!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-costata-romanesco-summer-squash.html
Kakai produces lots of big, hulless, tasty seeds. Fun for the kids to scoop out and prepare. Feed the meat to the chickens and pigs for a no waste crop.
Purple tomatillo makes a nice looking, great tasting sauce. Firmer texture than Toma Verde, a little sweeter and citrusy, productive.
Trader Joe's carries this variety of beans in their frozen food section and they are like candy to us. My brother works at Trader Joe's and I asked which variety the beans they sold were and it turns out they are the Haricot Vert variety. I am ecstatic I can no grow my own!
Good tasting, good size, very productive. What more can I say?
I really like zucchini and look for varieties with good texture and flavor. Costata romanesco has both. Love the nutty taste.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-giant-winter-spinach.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-cosmic-purple-carrot.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-gilbertie-paste-tomato.html
Taste is superb, btw.
They are so tasty and easy to grow. Wonderful in salads and sandwiches. I keep a jar growing all year round on the window sill.
However, I think that my most favorite variety that I've ever grown is the Black Hungarian pepper.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-black-hungarian-pepper.html
Being on the end of a peninsula in Boston Harbor always makes getting a decent crop of peppers a challenge (I've even been forced to grow them in containers in the greenhouse a couple times!), but the Black Hungarian is always a top performer. These things are constantly loaded with buds and peppers.....the production is simply surreal and blows everything else out of the water. The flavor is also worth writing home about, and it's just the right amount of heat to be good for cooking or eating fresh. It's not overpowering, so you can use enough to get the flavor of the pepper into whatever it's put into. The color is always a conversation starter, too.
I've also been able to do some other cool stuff with these peppers that I wouldn't dream of with many of the other varieties I grow....like dig it up and then leave it in the greenhouse 24/7 through the daily 40 to 80 degree temperature swings of October and November. The most amazing part is that these things will actually be productive in that environment, whereas most of the other peppers I've tried that with have died. The durability of these plants is about as surreal as their production.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-cherokee-purple-tomato.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-cosmic-purple-carrot.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/Organic-Seeds-Fino-Verde-Mini-Basil.html
Move oven racks to highest and lowest and preheat to 500. Put ~2-3 pounds of taters in baking dish with ~3/4 c water and cover tight w/ foil. Bake on lower rack for ~25 minutes. After that, take out of oven, let em cool a little, then take them out and place them on cookie sheet (I actually use a cast iron slab, but whatever works for you). Wipe off any excess water first. Get a glass and press down on each tater to squish it into a cake (not too thick, not too thin). Cover em all with olive oil, and sprinkle em with salt, pepper, and thyme (that's what I use; plenty of other herbs will work great too--e.g., rosemary). Put sheet in oven on top rack and cook ~15 minutes. Then move em down to lower rack for ~25 minutes. Pull em out--should be crispy on outside, creamy in the middle!
.http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-specialty-greens-seeds.html
They are definitely hot, but not too hot, with just the right amount of burn! Not for the faint-hearted :-)
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-prize-choy.html
https://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-luscious-f1-hybrid-corn.html
Buttercup squash is an all time favorite! It takes a little longer to grow (then a tomato plant of course) but well worth the wait! I eat it any way (baked, steamed, fried, grilled, etc...)! I enjoyed watching my squash grow last year, I even attempted a plant in a huge pot I had... it still grew great!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-ronde-de-nice-squash-seeds.html
I started my garden 3 years ago, and I could not grow squash the first 2 years. We had the dreaded vine borers. Ronde de Nice was the first squash that pulled through for me. Not only did it produce, but the squash are so delicious. And they're the perfect shape for single servings of stuffed squash. I will plant these every year.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-de-cicco-broccoli.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-red-russian-kale.html
My favorite variety is the Mammoth Sunflower. They're so majestic and beautiful. They tower over everything else, and will always brighten my day when I see them. I don't know what it is about sunflowers that make me feel so warm and at home, but they do. I love to grow them, cut a few for my home and use the petals for tea.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-matts-wild-cherry-tomato.html
Aside from that, I really love Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomatoes. They are so sweet and easy to grow. They have beautiful color and wonderful flavor!
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-brandywine-tomato.html
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-goldy-double-sunflower.html
Last year I planted my first garden using these seeds. Sadly, my father became very ill and passed away in late June. I hadn't tended my garden for a while. But when I returned to find these amazing, happy flowers, it was a great moment.
Thanks to High Mowing for offering such great products!
In your veggie seeds, I'm a long-term fan of your heirloom organic Rattlesnake Pole Beans. The plants are resilient and deliver a voluminous amount of tasty beans. They're spectacular to look at and the name always creates conversation! Even my dogs love the beans...every morning we go out to the garden together and they sit for a bean. This is our second generation of rattlesnake pole bean-loving bowsers!
In your flower seed selections, I love your organic Nasturtium Mix. I've ordered it year after year because the germination rates are so high and these nasturtium grow huge and colorful in my zone 5 New Hampshire gardens. People never fail to comment on how beautiful they are and I use the blossoms in our salads.
Thanks for all that you do.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-red-sails-lettuce.html
It is the overwhelming favorite of my family on taste. It has been a very high performer here in Central Texas. With a simple greenhouse of PVC pipe and plastic, and row cover in the main garden, I have kept an ample supply non-stop through the winter. It is very slow to bolt and I can keep harvesting bottom leaves from a single plant for a prolonged time. We are almost at mid-April now and I still have a good supply that tastes great. I am providing some slight shading from afternoon sun. My experiment this year is to see how long I can keep Red Sails producing as we move toward summer. I could not be without this variety.
I recently ordered the Kitchen Herbs Organic Seed Collection from a fundraiser at my son's school (which I might add was very successful and extremely simple!). Although I just planted them, I look forward to being able to use fresh organic herbs straight from my garden. Especially because I am often disappointed with the fresh herbs I purchase at the grocery store. It also gives me peace of mind that the seeds I bought are from a local company that I can trust.
http://www.highmowingseeds.com/Kitchen-Herbs-Organic-Seed-Collection.html
I have gotten my 3 year old daughter to start veggy seeds on the window sill of my south-facing livingroom (they now take up a banquet table!).
The Cosmic Purple Carrots are exciting because my daughter asks if she can eat them EVERY DAY! (she hasn't liked carrots in the past).
The Dark Green Zucchini and Hybrid F1 Cucumbers have gotten HUGE in my front window!
I out of the 12+ variety of seeds I've planted this year, I am averaging close to 100% germination.
Thank you so much for your wholesome seeds.
It means to world to me that I can trust your seeds aren't GMO.... because my daughter's health means the world to me :)
www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-calypso-bean-seeds.html
The Brandywine tomato showed my neighbors it is possible to garden organically - with great success! Huge tomatos on giant plants were the envy of the block and even converted folks from conventional to organic gardening. It is possible to lead by example. Thank all of you at High Mowing for offering a fantastic variety of organic seeds.