This historic variety of watermelon was developed by Mr. H.A. Halbert of Texas and introduced in 1902 by the W. Atlee Burpee seed house. That year, the Burpee catalog described it as “new to the general public” and as a selection by Mr. H. A. Halbert of Texas “who plants for his home trade thirty acres of this original pet of his, each season...”
Read MoreAs an adult, Pam tried growing many different types of lettuce, but never found anything that worked as well for the wilted salad as her family’s variety. Pam eventually called Flossie to ask what kind of lettuce they used to grow. Flossie said she still had seed in the garage (she grew and saved seed from it each year) and put some in the mail for Pam. When the seed arrived, Pam eagerly planted it and waited for it to germinate. At that time Pam was living in Arizona, and when it finally sprouted, the “lettuce” looked like grass. Pam called Flossie, who just about died laughing – she had mistakenly sent Pam grass seed which was on the same shelf as her lettuce seed.
Read MoreIt is a good snap bean, but received especially strong taste reviews as a shelling and dry bean. Jane Jensen of Utah writes, “yummy shelly bean, had the best flavor, white, creamy smooth, delicious.”
Read MoreLois Padgett began growing this variety shortly after she and her husband Jim married in 1952. It was given to them by Jim’s grandmother, Nancy Williams, who grew it since at least the 1940s near Ethel, Arkansas.
Read MoreThe ballots are in… Igleheart Yellow Cherry Tomato was selected as the best tasting tomato at Seed Savers Exchange in 2015!
Read MoreIn 1894, the Peter Henderson & Co. seed house of New York introduced Pink Plume celery. Its beautiful appearance and intense flavor inspired gardeners and seed companies to add it to their collections. By 1903, over 100 seed houses across North America were offering this variety.
Read MoreSSE listed member Hans Hansen, of Peaceable Kingdom School in Texas, sent SSE this arugula in the mid-1990s. Peaceable Kingdom School received seeds for this variety from Ric (Enrico) Rao in 1992. Ric had been growing and saving seed from his family’s heirloom arugula since finding some seeds in his grandfather’s garden shed in 1983.
Read MoreUnlike the ubiquitous “cantaloupes” in today’s supermarkets, this melon has a divine aroma and flavor whose complexities are difficult to capture in words – sweet, spicy, nutmeg-like, with a distinctive floral aftertaste. If you are looking for an alternative to today’s standard melon, look no further than ‘Nutmeg.’
Read MoreAccording to William Woys Weaver’s 1997 book Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Seed Saving, and Cultural History, the lettuce we know as 732 ‘Paris White Cos’ was "sold in this country as early as 1802 by Bernard M’Mahon of Philadelphia. M’Mahon sold it under the name White Cos." Weaver describes the lettuce as “a heavy drinker and will never develop its famous crispness unless it is kept well-watered, none of which seemed out of the ordinary to me. But Weaver goes on, “This is also one of the popular lettuces that was used for stewing..." Yes, you read that correctly. Stewed lettuce. It sounded slimy to me, but intriguing nevertheless.
Read MoreFew vegetables elicit as strong a reaction in people as lima beans. We either love them or hate them. However, most of us can agree that lima beans from the frozen foods section of the grocery store are vastly inferior to homegrown ones. So, if you have ruled lima beans out of your diet, we urge you to give them another chance. At Seed Savers Exchange, we have over 300 varieties of lima beans in our Heritage Farm Collection, displaying a tremendous array of colors and patterns.
Read MoreSeed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit, member supported organization that collects, preserves and shares heirloom seeds for our future. Since 1975, SSE and our supporters have collected the seeds and stories that would otherwise have been lost.
Seed Savers Exchange is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds.
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