Vegetables For Your Garden

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The planting itch is settling into all of us in the gardening world. This year, with the state of the economy, many people are turning to growing more their own food and we'll be carrying more vegetables than in year's past.

With spring right around the corner it's time to start thinking about what vegetables and flowers you want to plant in your garden. For 2011 we're offering a wide variety of Burpee, Livingston and Botanical Interest vegetable and flower seed, including heirlooms and unique vegetables.  Seed potato varieties include Yukon Gold, Kennebec, and Viking.  Once again, we are carrying heirloom tomato plants and a large selection of vegetable plants.  Heirloom tomato varieties we are carrying include Brandywine Pink, Cherokee Purple, Black Cherry, and Mortgage Lifter.

Brandywine Pink is a classic Amish brandywine tomato that dates back to 1885, and is named after Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania where it was first grown. It has a creamy texture with thin skin and an excellent brandywine flavor. Leaves of this tomato resemble those of potatoes. Yields are excellent, producing extra large, firm, rosy pink colored fruits, weighing from 12 ounces to 1 1/2 pounds! Brandywine Pink is considered to be one of the finest flavored large tomatoes.

Cherokee Purple is an heirloom tomato variety that is possibly over 100 years old and is said to have been grown by the Cherokee Indians. It bears up to 12 ounce globular to slightly oblate shaped fruits with dusky rose-brown coloring, purple undertones, green shoulders and dark red flesh. It can have some concentric cracking. The taste is excellent and has been compared to Brandywine. It is sweet, with a rich, somewhat smoky taste. Cherokee Purple performs quite well in high heat areas. Though it is an indeterminate the vines don't get out of control. The fruit must be eaten fairly quick when mature.

Black cherry is what some may consider the best of both worlds.  A tomato that is a convenient size for salads, but with the rich flavor of the darker tomato varieties.  Bushy plants produce bountiful crops of tomatoes that are easy to harvest.

Mortgage Lifter gets its name from its reason for existance.  In the 1940's M.C. Byles, also know as "Radiator Charlie" started cross breeding his four best tomato plants to come up with a stable plant that produced larger, better tasting fruit.  These improved plants were grown and sold by Byles for a dollar per plant and promoted as being able to feed a family of six.  With the money made from selling these plants he was able to save his home by paying off his $6000 mortgage in just four years.  Hence came the name, Mortgage Lifter.  These are not only huge, 1 to 2 lb. fruits, but have a great taste.

In addition to our large vegetable selection we will be offering a wide selection of herbs again this year to help you spice up any dish!  Stop here for the best vegetable plant prices in town!