This morning someone asked me if Mary's Heirloom Seeds offered truly ancient seeds. Specifically, not from the 1980s but true heirloom seeds. The definition of an heirloom is a seed variety that is more than 50 years old. Some prefer a variety that is over 100 years old. An heirloom seeds is NOT a GMO and is NOT a hybrid. At Mary's Heirloom Seeds, we offer a few varieties than can be traced back as far as the 1700s! It's true! So today I'm going to highlight some of those varieties....we offer offer over 230 heirloom seed varieties so these are just a few!
90 days. Tall, 3’- 5’ plants are covered with very long rope-like
flowers that are a deep, brilliant red color. One of the most
striking plants for any garden and so easy to grow. Amaranth
is one of our favorite crops! A good seed producer, too. This
is a very old heirloom, a pre-1700 variety, that was very
popular. Leaves are tasty as cooked greens.
55 days. Old-time favorite introduced in 1900. Excellent quality and yields. Stringless pods are 5-7 inches long with delicious wax bean flavor. Good for freezing or canning.
50-55 days. Introduced in 1897 by Peter Henderson &
Co., this excellent fresh snap bean has tasty pods. Also makes a fine
dry soup bean. Great yields! A perfect all-purpose bean!
Pole Bean variety. Introduced in 1864,
this bean was originally known by the name 'Old Homestead.' What
made the 'Kentucky Wonder' a wonder was, in part, its size. The
beans are extraordinarily long. They produce beans in clusters over an extended season. 'Kentucky Wonder' beans actually mature in 58-72 days.
60 days. These juicy beets have light red skin and beautiful rings inside, almost like a peppermint candy. A pre-1840 Italian heirloom beet variety. Arrived in the USA before 1865. Flesh is tender, sweet and mild.
60 days. This loose-leafed cabbage dates back to the
early 1800’s at least. It has beautiful, deep black-green leaves that
can be 24” long. They are heavily savoyed. This Italian heirloom is popular in Tuscany and central Italy for making fabulous soups and stews.
70 days. RARE. The Vilmorins
of France mentioned this variety in 1885 and said it had been grown a
“long time” then. A large handsome variety with bright red-orange
roots; smooth, 10”-12” long & 2”-3” in diameter. Sweet &
tender.
90 days. The ears reach 7-8 inches
long and produce a sweet and delicious, white kernel. The ears have no
rows, as this is a shoepeg type, and kernels are packed in a zigzag
pattern. Country Gentleman was introduced around 1890 by Frank
Woodruff & Sons. One of the best heirloom sweet corns. *NON-GMO*
90-110 days. Released commercially in 1856. This
delicious white sweet corn is regarded as the "King of All White Sweet
Corn Varieties", has been popular for over 162 years. Stowell's
Evergreen matures slowly over a long period, extending the usual
harvest and produces 9 inch ears with 16 to 20 rows of plump, sweet
white kernels. It has a good shelf life, and is a good option for eating fresh, canning or freezing. *NON-GMO*
65 days. Yummy little striped round balls of sunshine goodness! Introduced in 1894. Lemon cucumbers are crunchy, non bitter skin and about the size of a tennis ball.
90 days. This
historic heirloom was grown by Thomas Jefferson in 1794. It was offered
commercially in the USA in 1824, and it was illustrated in color in
France in 1854 in the Vilmorin Album. This wonderful variety has become
very rare. The fruit have netted skin and light green flesh that is
firm, sweet and highly perfumed. Productive plants can be trained up a
trellis.
60 days. Delicious
cabbage-flavored bulbs that grow above ground. Purple skin and sweet,
white flesh; good cooked or raw. Kohlrabi makes a real staple crop,
with high yields; cold hardy. A pre-1860 heirloom.
45 days. Beautiful apple-green leaves speckled and splashed with deep
red. Originally a Dutch variety brought from the Netherlands to Ontario,
Canada by Mennonite immigrant Urias Martin in 1799. A beautiful
loose-leaf variety.
60 days. Vigorous bush plants, heavy yields and fine-flavored peas. A great home garden variety. An heirloom from 1908.
Pods are 3 inches with 5 or 6 peas. Fine sweet flavor when picked young. Compact 18 to 20 inch plant does not require staking.
100-110 days. Connecticut field pumpkins usually grow to around
20lbs. They reach around 12 inches in diameter and have a thick flesh. A great
pumpkin for baking pies or carving Jack-o-Lanterns. Introduced prior to 1700.
Chard was first described in 1753 by Carl von Linné as Beta vulgaris var. cicla. 50-60 days. (Beta
vulgaris) This chard originated in Australia. A beautiful chard; its
colors are brilliant (pink, yellow, orange, red and white). Very mild
ornamental. Pretty enough to
plant in the flower garden; so delicious!
80-90 days.
One of the most popular heirloom tomatoes! A
favorite of many gardeners; large fruit with superb flavor. A great
potato-leafed variety from 1885! Beautiful pink fruit up to 1-1/2 lbs.
each!
80 days. Indeterminate. An old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre-1890 variety; beautiful
deep dusky purple-pink color, superb sweet flavor, and very large sized
fruit. Cherokee Purple tomatoes are beefsteak in style.
80
days. Plant produces extremely heavy yields of
1" red cherry tomatoes. Tomatoes are very flavorful. Grows in cluster
of 20 to 40 tomatoes. Name translates to "Giant Bunch of Grapes".
Excellent for making tomato wine. Grown by Pennsylvania Dutch as early
as 1856. A heirloom from Germany. At Mary's Heirloom Seeds we also offer a very unique selection of both Medicinal and Culinary herbs, some that have been used for centuries. From our website:
All of the seeds listed are open-pollinated, non-gmo and non-hybrid, non-patented, untreated, heirloom garden seeds. Mary has signed the Safe Seed pledge. Most seed orders placed Monday-Thursday are shipped within 24 hours, (except for holidays) If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask!
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