This heirloom is called Contender because it competes for the championship of all beans.  This early variety is a heavy yielder with medium-green, stringless pods that can be harvested within 50 days!

Contender is delicious straight from the garden to the table, and also retains great flavor when canning or freezing.  What a winner!  

Rich Sweetness 132 melons are delicious little gems.  This variety puts out small fruits that are perfect "one size " servings.  The fruits have beautiful orange and green stripes, and weigh only about ¼ lb.  The flesh is white and fragrant, and has a sweet mild taste that's similar to a honeydew.

Kids love to grow these, so it's a great project to share with them.

Southern Giant Curled Mustard is old heirloom from the Southern US. Even though mustard greens are a staple in the south, they will grow just about anywhere in cool weather.

The frilled leaves have a horseradish-mustard flavor that is enhanced by sweet vinegar.  This combo makes the basis for a tasty salad.  Or, try cooking a mess the traditional southern way by boiling the greens with salt pork, ham hocks, or bacon.  Serve up with some cornbread!

Who wouldn't like a sweet garden pea called Green Arrow?  This heirloom should be included in every home garden.  It's an excellent pea for fresh eating, freezing, or cooking.

This heavy yielder provides 4-5 inch pods, each loaded with 8-11 bright green peas.

Cowpeas are a beautiful, old-time southern pea.  They thrive in hot, humid weather and are favored by many Southerners.  

Purple Hull can be eaten young as a snap pea, but is mainly grown for dry peas, where the pods are left on the vine until they are mature and dry.  The young, green shoots are also edible.

The Metki Painted Serpent Melon was a great addition to my garden this year.  This exotic heirloom produces very long fruit with dark green, and pale green stripes.  The flavor is excellent, tasting similar but sweeter than a cucumber.  They are deliciously crisp.

This is an ancient heirloom, introduced from Armenia into Italy as far back as the 1400’s.  Even though this Armenian fruit is typically grown as a cucumber, botanically, it is classified as a melon.

I grew Diamond Eggplant this year with great success.  The plants grew about two feet tall and produced dark purple, teardrop-shaped fruits.

I grew them organically in raised beds, and they produced high yields and great taste.

Fine flavor and high yields… that’s what you’ll get when you grow Beit Alpha Cucumbers.  This heirloom is crunchy, very sweet, and delicious. The skins are so tender there’s no peeling required.  

Slice them for sandwiches, use them as a base for soups, or try the tangy cucumber salad recipe below.

I grew a bountiful crop of Blue Lake beans this year.  These dark green beans are tender and crisp.  The plants average 16" high and stand-up without any support.

Bush beans are determinate plants, meaning harvest will last for a certain amount of time and then the plants will dwindle.  They are prolific producers and my harvest lasted about two and a half months.  The plump pods are 5 ½ to 6 ½ inches long.  

When picked young, they are stringless.  They have excellent flavor and are one of the best beans for freezing, pickling, and canning. 

Get your heirloom seeds!  I love vintage varieties that have been handed down for generations. 

A large percentage of gardeners order their seeds through mail order companies, and we all love receiving the newest catalogs.  Get yours in time for seasonal planting by exploring some of the sources below.

I have previously ordered from the top three listings and all three provided high germination rates.