Large 3″ + bulbs produce 8-20 cloves of good size. Mild, but lasting flavor, with a hint of hot! Dense cloves store extremely well. Flavor can get stronger in storage. This vigorous soft-necked variety won a Rodale taste test of 20 garlic strains – named “Very Best of the Soft-Necks”. Inchelium Red is also exceptionally healthy, easy to peel, and easy to grow!
Vegetables
Garlic – Lorz Italian (soft-neck)

Photo Credit: Long Shot Farm
Lorz Italian is an ‘Artichoke’ type garlic, brought to WA State’s Columbia River Basin around 1900 by the Lorz family when they immigrated from Italy. It is part of the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste, a program preserving endangered heirloom foods with unique tastes and characteristics.
This bold, spicy, and flavorful Italian garlic is hotter than most varieties and is a natural for Italian cuisine, and its easy-to-peel skin makes it popular with chefs and home cooks. It adds spicy flavor with medium heat to stir-fries, meats, roasted vegetables, tomato-based sauces and other dishes. Lorz Italian has an excellent stand-alone flavor that works well in simple pasta dishes and mashed potatoes, and makes delicious, rich roasted garlic. Stores 6-9 months.
Lorz Italian multiples very quickly. One pound of cloves at planting can easily become 8-10 pounds of bulbs at harvest. The large bulbs average 16 squarish cloves with a few small interior cloves. Soft-neck garlic doesn’t typically produce scapes, but occasionally Lorz Italian will develop a large scape with huge bulbils.
Plant the biggest cloves for the best results. Lorz Italian matures earlier than hard-neck garlic and is very easy to grow but prefers a well-drained soil. It’s a robust variety that grows rapidly, will tolerate the summer heat well and is resistant to Late Blight. Bulbs should be harvested when plants begin to ‘flop’ over. Lorz Italian is so large and ‘juicy’ that it must be carefully cured for the best storing times. Be especially careful with the biggest fattest bulbs to prevent rot. When curing this or any large soft-neck, clip off roots and spread the bulbs very thinly to ensure good air flow. Most years you can leave the garlic tops on until they dry, but if it is very wet and humid at harvest you may need to remove the tops for faster drying time. You can also direct a fan on the curing bulbs.
Garlic – Nootka Rose (soft-neck)

Photo Credit: Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
Nootka Rose is a beautifully colored ‘Silver-Skin’ garlic created at Nootka Rose Farm on the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, WA and is considered an heirloom variety. Known for its rich, warm, bold flavor and exceptional aroma, it excels as a cooking garlic. Thick, creamy white wrappers cover beautiful, red-streaked clove skins that are easy to peel, and the large bulbs tend to yield anywhere from 15-24 cloves each. Nootka Rose is very long-storing, from 9 to 12 months, is ideal for braiding, and grows well in all parts of the country except those with the warmest winters.
Nootka Rose is usually the last garlic to mature and be harvested and is often, if not usually, the longest storing garlic of all. Because it is a long storing variety, you might want to grow some and save them for the time when your other varieties have already sprouted and are no longer in an ideal eating condition.
Garlic – Chesnok Red (hard-neck)

Photo Credit: Irish Eyes Garden Seeds
Regularly wins acclaim and awards as one of the best tasting baking/roasting garlics!
Collected in 1985 in the Rep. of Georgia, this highly productive, easy-to-grow ‘Purple-Striped’ garlic makes beautiful, large deep-purple bulbs. Eaten raw, its intense heat quickly dissipates, but cooking and baking truly bring out its earthy, rich garlic complexities, very aromatic with a rich, smooth sweetness and just a touch of heat.
The cloves are more numerous (~8-20) and elongated than most hard-neck types and are initially hard to peel, allowing Chesnok Red to store much longer than other hard-necks – up to a year! But cloves become easier to peel the longer they store. Like other hard-neck varieties, it also produces curling, edible ‘scapes’ in June. Garlic is a heavy feeder, so feed your soil well!
Plants are vigorous and upright, can handle a little neglect, an are great multipliers, growing large bulbs from even medium-sized cloves.
Amish Paste
Heirloom, indeterminate, 85 days
Very meaty, rich, sweet flavor intensifies in sauces. Consistent taste test winner, fresh or cooked into sauce/paste. Makes “tomato candy” when dried! Droopy foliage is normal.
“Anasazi”
Open-Pollinated Indeterminate, 70-75 Days
A mysterious and delicious entry in our Taste of Tomato a few years ago, sharing second place (with Pineapple). You won’t find this tomato from seed companies, as we saved seed from the tomatoes donated by the participant who simply said that it came from the location of an Anasazi ruin. The very dark red/purple/black, 2″, round or oval fruit have rich, complex, old-fashioned tomato flavor and pleasing texture and begin ripening in mid-season. The productive plant is indeterminate, with regular leaves. It has been a star in Eve’s garden, and she collects and processes seed for us every year. If you grow this one, please let us know what you think and how it performs in your garden!
CALIFORNIA WONDER Sweet Pepper
Open Pollinated, 65 – 70 days
Big sweet blocky bells, no sunscald, ripens red, tolerates cool temps.
CHINESE GIANT Bell Pepper – NEW
Heirloom 75-85 Days
Introduced in 1900 by famed horticulturist W. Atlee Burpee, Chinese Giant is actually of American origin. It was twice as big as the largest bell peppers of its day, 4”x4” or larger. If you thin the fruits, they can grow to 5”x 6”. Fortunately, the compact, bushy plant is unusually prolific. Fruits are very sweet, thick-walled, blocky and tall, ripening from green to bright red. They are perfect for salads, stir-frying, and stuffed peppers.
CORNO DI TORO YELLOW Sweet Pepper – NEW
Heirloom 75-85 (60 days to green)
Corno Di Toro Giallo Pepper is a great old-time Italian sweet frying pepper. Nicknamed the “bull’s horn” for its distinctive horn shaped The fruits mature to rich yellow, 6 to 8″ long and 2” wide with delicious sweet flavor, thin skin and thick walls. They are ideal for stuffing, frying and grilling. The plants are very prolific.
JIMMY NARDELLO’S Sweet Pepper
Italian heirloom 76 Days
Listed on Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. Thin-walled, 8″ long frying peppers on very heavy-yielding plants. Long, curved, tapering pointed fruits turn deep red with shiny, wrinkled skin when ripe. The wonderful sweet, mild flavor is good raw, in stir-fries, and especially fried. Brought to Connecticut in 1887 from Southern Italy by Jimmy Nardello’s mother.
KING OF THE NORTH Bell Pepper
Open Pollinated 70 days
Reliable yields of large sweet blocky bells turn from green to red; prolific yields even in short-season areas and cool climates.
LUNCHBOX miniature Bell Pepper, mixed colors NEW
Open Pollinated 75-83 Days
Equal amounts of red, yellow, and orange Lunchbox snack peppers are combined in this mix. These beautiful, mini-sized peppers are remarkably sweet and flavorful. They are delicious sautéed, as an addition to salads and perfect for a healthy snack. Children love them! The tall plants yield well for snack-type peppers. Stake or cage to support. They work well in containers, planted one per 18” pot. Note: Red fruits are slightly smaller than orange and yellow.
MARCONI ROSSO Sweet Pepper
Italian Heirloom 80-90 Days
Marconi Rosso is a large sweet pepper growing to 8” long and 3” wide. The green fruits ripen to deep red and are delicious at all stages. Incredibly sweet and beautiful, these long, slim peppers with medium-thick walls and sweet skin are the gourmet’s choice. They are excellent raw, roasted, grilled and stuffed. The plants are 4’ tall by 1.5 to 2’ wide, fast-growing and prolific.
MINIATURE MIXED Bell Peppers
Heirloom, Open Pollinated 90 Days
These little, thin-walled 1-2” bell peppers ripen to gold, chocolate or red. They make colorful stuffed appetizers, and are great for pickling. Several of the short, stout, productive plants can be grown together in a large pot. Paradoxically, though small-fruited, they ripen fairly late.
ORANGE SUN Bell Pepper – NEW
Open-Pollinated 80-90 Days
Very sweet and crunchy, this excellent variety ripens from green to a beautiful deep, tangerine orange. The big, thick-walled, blocky fruits up to 4 to 5” are exceptionally flavorful, and a great source of antioxidants. Plants are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.
SWEET CHERRY PEPPER
Heirloom 75 Days
Yields of 1–1.5” fruit could be described as “ever-bearing”. Small plants produce dozens of these pretty, round, flattened fruit turning from green to red. Flavor is fine and they are ideal for canning, pickling, or stuffing.
SWEET CHOCOLATE Bell Pepper
Open Pollinated 70 -80 Days
This early and productive bell pepper bears up to a dozen thick-walled 6-8” tapered fruits; ripening from green to chocolate-brown with gorgeous burgundy flesh inside, really delicious rich flavor, and good juicy crunch! Eve’s favorite!
YOLO WONDER Bell Pepper – NEW
Heirloom 75 Days
Introduced in 1952 by the Campbell Soup Company, this improved strain of California Wonder boasts larger fruit and some tobacco mosaic resistance. Thick-walled, consistent-shaped blocky 4″ bell peppers ripen from green to rich red on 24-28″ high plants. Good leaf coverage prevents sun scald.
ALMA PAPRIKA Mild Pepper
Heirloom 70-80 Days
Extremely productive plants are loaded with 2-3″ round peppers with thick meaty flesh. They ripen from creamy-white to red. The flavor is sweet and delicious, with just a hint of warmth. One of the best for drying when red and then powdering for paprika; also great fresh.
CUBANELLE Mild Pepper
Heirloom, Open Pollinated, Very Mild heat 70-80 Days
Also known as “Cuban pepper” and “Italian frying pepper”, Cubanelle is a variety of sweet pepper with just a touch of heat (-1000 on the Scoville scale), commonly used in Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisines. When unripe, the 6-8” fruit is light yellowish-green, but turns bright red if allowed to ripen. Prized for its sweet, mild flesh, rich flavor, and pretty colors. Cubanelle is thin-walled, especially suited for quick cooking and has a low water content. Best picked when yellow-green for use in roasting, stuffing, pizza topping, frying, a substitute for Anaheims, or in a yellow mole, and is one of the traditional ingredients in sofrito.
PADRON Mild Pepper
Heirloom, Open Pollinated 60 Days
These small-fruited peppers originated in Galicia, northwest Spain, where the bite-sized, thin-skinned green fruits are sauteed in olive oil and served with coarse-ground sea salt in tapas bars across the country. Most of the peppers are sweet and relatively mild, but an occasional unpredictable hot one led a New York Times writer to call eating the dish a game of “Spanish Roulette!” Also fine for pickling. For tapas, pick while small and green, less than 3” long. The heat seems to increase with size and as they ripen to red, and as the season progresses. Plants are large, vigorous and very high-yielding. Can be grown in containers. An authentic regional variety.
SHEEPNOSE PIMIENTO Mild Pepper
Heirloom 70 Days
Sheepnose is a super-sweet heirloom pimento-type pepper from Ohio. The beautiful, thick-walled, crisp, juicy fruits ripen from green to red and are shaped like little pumpkins (or wheels of cheese, or the noses of sheep), flattened, ribbed globes, 3-4” diameter and 2.5-3” tall. They keep for a long time in the fridge, if you can resist enjoying them raw, on pizza, in pasta, casseroles, antipasto or salad, roasted, sautéed, etc. They are a classic sweet pepper for canning. Plants are small (1-2’ tall), easy to grow, and heavy-yielding. They can be grown in patio containers.
SHISHITO Frying Pepper
Open Pollinated 60 Days
This early, small, mild, thin-walled glossy green pepper is popular in Japan, where they are pan-fried and salted and served as an appetizer or side-dish. The thin walls blister and char easily when roasted or grilled, taking on a rich flavor that’s delicious with coarse salt and lemon juice! The fruits grow up to 3-4″ long. The plant has a spreading habit and produces very prolifically. The peppers are typically harvested and used green, but eventually turns orange and red with sweeter flavor. Shishito can be grown successfully in large containers.
ANAHEIM ‘M’ Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 85 Days
Not as hot as a typical Anaheim. High yields of 7” x 1” tapered fruits are great fresh, dried, roasted or pickled. From New Mexico.
ANCHO/POBLANO Hot Peppers
Heirloom 65 days, longer to ripen red
Very popular! Large, deep green heart-shaped medium to mild chile, the standard for rellenos, mole, soups and salsa fresca. Most of the heat is found in the ribs and seeds. It is particularly popular during the Mexican independence festivities as part of a dish called chiles en nogada, considered one of Mexico’s most symbolic dishes by its nationals, and incorporates green, white and red ingredients corresponding to the colors of the Mexican flag. After being roasted and peeled (which improves the texture by removing the waxy skin), poblano peppers are preserved by either canning or freezing. Storing them in airtight containers keeps them for several months. When dried, the poblano turns black-red and becomes a broad, flat, heart-shaped pod called an ancho chile (meaning “wide”); from this form, it is usually ground into a powder used as flavoring in various dishes.
BIG JIM Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 85 Days
A very popular chile. Medium-hot large 8” fruits are excellent roasted and stuffed for chile rellenos.
BULGARIAN CARROT (aka Shipka) Hot Pepper
Heirloom 68 Days
Glossy fluorescent orange, thin-walled 1.5” – 3.5” tapered peppers are fruity and hot, borne in clusters near the main stem on a compact plant. Use in chutney, salsa, marinade, hot sauce, or dried and ground.
CHERRY Hot Pepper
Heirloom 80-90 Days 2,500 to 5,000 SHU
Named for its pretty, cherry-like shape and color, Hot Cherry produces medium-heat peppers with a slightly sweet taste. They are very fleshy and juicy, perfect for pickling or stuffing. The 1” to 2” wide fruits grow on full, bushy, plants and mature from green to red when they have developed their full flavor. Frequent harvesting through summer will maximize the plant’s yield.
CHIMAYO Chile Pepper
Heirloom, Medium hot, 65 Days 4,000 – 5,000 SHU
This famous New Mexico heirloom chile is from the farming town of Chimayo in northern New Mexico, at 5,900′ elevation. Its great flavor is the result of hand selection over hundreds of years. The 6-7” long fruit are probably the earliest Southwestern chile to ripen to red. They are thin-skinned and dry quickly in the sun. Allow the chiles to remain on the plant and mature until almost completely red. This native strain has fantastic red chile flavor and makes great chile powder and sauces for enchiladas, burritos, etc. At first it tastes sweet and then medium hot. Since it’s not too hot, you can use it in large quantities and achieve flavor nirvana, not heat nirvana. A Renewing America’s Food Traditions variety listed with the Ark of Taste as a threatened American food tradition.
CZECH BLACK Hot Pepper
Heirloom Open Pollinated 65 Days 2,000 to 5,000 SHU
Czech Black is an heirloom chili pepper from the Czech Republic. Very juicy 2 ½”- long peppers are the same shape as Jalapeno and have a great flavor. Plants grow 2 ½ 0 3’ tall. Black when immature, the stunning conical peppers ripen to lustrous garnet. Mild juicy thick-walled flesh runs with a cherry-red juice when cut. The heat, a tad less than a jalapeño, is in the ribs and seeds. One grower, in Maine, has candied slivered Czech Blacks like citrus peel for a spicy-sweet holiday treat. Bears very early with 20 pointed thick-walled peppers per 2½–3′ plant.
EARLY JALAPENO Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 63-65 Days, 2,500-5,000 SHU
Early Jalapeno is a medium-hot pepper and the best Jalapeno variety for an early crop. The short, blunt 2 to 2.5” peppers are thick-walled and juicy. Early Jalapeno will reportedly set fruit under cooler conditions than other Jalapeno varieties. Red, fully ripe fruits are both slightly sweeter and spicier. The stocky 2-foot tall plants will not fall over or break branches.
GUAJILLO/MIRASOL/PUEBLO Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 80+ Days 3,000 to 5,000 SHU
Mirasol means ‘looking at the sun’, which describes the way these chile peppers grow on the plant. Conical pods grow upright 4-5“ long and 1/2” to almost 2“ wide on 18-24“ tall plants. They are one of the main chiles used in traditional Mexican mole sauces and very common in Peruvian cooking. This red/dark red pepper has thin skin and a unique spicy flavor that is compared to berries and other fruit, and moderate heat that is direct and very flavorful. Mirasol chiles are also commercially grown in S. Colorado, where they are known as Pueblo or Mosco peppers. When dried, they are known as Guajillo chiles, with dark, reddish brown, leathery skin. Guajillo chile blends very well with other chiles like Ancho, Mulato and Pasilla.
HABANERO (aka SCOTCH BONNET) Hot Pepper
90-120 days, Heirloom 90-120 Days 200,000 to 325,000 SHU
By popular demand: one of the most blisteringly fiery peppers, from 200,000 to 325,000 Scovilles (compare with Early Jalapeno at 4,000 to 6,500 Scovilles!). Small plants to 18” tall will set 10-20 pendulous dark green fruits which mature to bright orange. Great for greenhouse and container growing. Likes night-time temperatures 70 degrees and above. Key ingredient in West Indian jerk sauce.
JALAPENO Chile Pepper
Heirloom, 72 Days 2,500 – 10,000 SHU
Perhaps the world’s best known, most versatile and most popular hot pepper, the Jalapeno pepper originated in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Smoked and dried jalapenos are called chipotles. The blunt, tapered, 3” by 1” fruits are usually used when dark green; they turn red (and hotter) when mature. They have thick walls and do not dry well as whole peppers, but are excellent for canning, pickling or used fresh in salsas and many other Latin American and Southeast Asian dishes. The plants are erect and sturdy and although very productive, generally do not require caging or other support.
LANTERNA PICCANTE Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated, original seed brought to Eve from Italy, 85 Days or longer
Unique, brilliant scarlet, small, pendant peppers shaped like flaring bells are gracefully borne mostly on the main stem of tall, exceptionally pretty plants. Flesh of the fruits is tasty and mildly piquant, seeds and ribs are hotter. Traditionally used to season pasta dishes, but they’re so ornamental, we recommend growing some for arranging in a vase too! If season is cut short, harvested green they will ripen to scarlet quickly indoors. We grow ours 2 to a big pot – some years the plants have reached over 5′ tall and born over 90 peppers!
LARGE RED THICK CAYENNE Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 75 Days 2,000-4,000 SHU
A Cayenne pepper with distinctly larger and thicker-walled fruits, which are moderately hot and turn fiery red at maturity. The plant is fairly open in structure, so plant 2 together for better sunscald protection. The long, narrow peppers dry easily and are great for hot sauces, pickles, curries, chili and salsa.
NEW MEXICO #6 Chile Pepper
Heirloom 70-80 Days
A New Mexico heirloom that produces long, smooth, pendant fruits with a mildly hot flavor that ripens green to red. Loves the hot days and cool nights of New Mexico and Colorado. Vigorous, compact plants have heavy foliage that prevents sunscald. Performs well in containers.
NUMEX JOE E. PARKER Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 75 Days 500 – 2,500 SHU
An 8”-long, thick-walled, mildly hot Anaheim type pepper excellent for stuffing or roasting. Turns red when mature and is used in New Mexico for dried pepper wreaths and ristras. A unique feature of this pepper is its incredible continuing production after the initial harvest.
PASILLA BAJIO Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 78 Days
Easy, prolific 4-8″ long dark brown, smoky, fruity, a ‘secret’ ingredient in award-winning chili.
PURPLE CAYENNE Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 70 Days, 30,000 to 50,000 SHU
A twist on the classic Cayenne pepper, this exceptionally ornamental pepper is one of the hottest Cayennes, with excellent flavor. Elegant 2’ tall plants are covered with dozens and dozens of light purple blossoms which turn into dark purple, thin peppers about 3” long, a bit smaller than a regular cayenne, that eventually ripen to deep red. They can be used fresh, pickled, dried, or ornamentally, as hot pepper flakes, in salsa or hot sauce, and in countless Latin American, Indian, Caribbean, African and Asian dishes. Eve has enjoyed growing Purple Cayenne in a 16” diameter pot in her front yard.
SANDIA Hot Pepper
Open Pollinated 85-100 Days
Early maturing, productive, mildly hot 7 x 1” high-quality fruits ripen from green to red. Often used green, fresh or pickled, or dried when red.
SANTA FE GRANDE Chile Pepper
Heirloom 75-80 Days 500-750 SHU
Also known as Yellow hot chili pepper and Guero chile, the Santa Fe Grande chile pepper is a very prolific cultivar from New Mexico, typically producing 20 to 50 peppers. The pretty, conical, blunt fruits are about 2” long growing upright on 24” plants. They mature from pale yellow to bright yellow to orange-red with mild heat and slight sweetness. Works well either cooked or fresh for salads, salsas, pickling, and other dishes based on chile peppers. Resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.
SERRANO Hot Pepper
Heirloom 85 Days
Originated in the mountains of Mexico. Plants are 2-3’ tall, and the 2.5-4” blunt peppers are about 5 times hotter than Jalapeno. Use fresh, no steaming or peeling required.
SONORA Chile Pepper – NEW
Open Pollinated 75 Days 300–600 SHU
An Anaheim-type variety with very mild flavor, making it a great choice for chili rellenos. The exceptionally long, green peppers can grow to 10″ by 1.5” and weigh ¼ pound. They mature to red, but are commonly used in the less mature, green form. The heavy-yielding plant is known to be very disease resistant, making it easy to grow. Great for stuffing, drying, salads, salsas or pickling.
TABASCO Hot Pepper
Heirloom, 85 days.
Imported to the US in 1846 from Tabasco, Mexico, this pepper made its way to Avery Island, LA, where the McIlhenny family used it in a hot sauce that became so popular and famous that now Tabasco sauce is synonymous with hot sauce. The 2”-long, tapered Tabasco is a very hot pepper, borne in copious quantities on a short, compact plant.
THAI Hot Pepper
Heirloom 85 Days 25,000 to 40,000 SHU
Thai Hot pepper is seriously hot, and gorgeous in a container. The 8”-12” plants are ornamented with up to 200 small, upright, conical fruits that ripen to bright red. Early pinching will produce a bushy 8″ plant that can be pulled, roots and all, and hung to dry for winter use or grown inside for ornamental and edible enjoyment. Extremely hot, Thai peppers can be used fresh or preserved in oil or vinegar. They are used in many Thai and South Asian dishes.
Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Indeterminate, Heirloom Open Pollinated 85 days
Just delicious, and one of the largest green beefsteaks, with fruits often weighing over 1 pound. Brilliant, neon-green flesh, both meaty and juicy, with a strong, sweet, and fruity flavor, at least as tasty as the best red tomatoes. Ripens early for its size, on strong healthy, productive vines. The winner of the 2003 Heirloom Garden Show’s taste test, and a star at our 2018 Taste of Tomato!
Azoychka
Russian Heirloom, Indeterminate 60 days
Highly productive, reliable plants typically bear 40 to 50 tasty, gold beefsteak tomatoes that have a citrusy flavor with a good balance of sweet and acid. Many people prefer these to the milder and sweeter flavor of most other yellow tomatoes. Fruits are smooth, round and slightly flattened, weighing from 10 to 16 ounces.
Beam’s Yellow Pear
Heirloom, Indeterminate 70-80 days
Introduced to Seed Savers Exchange in 1983 by John Hartman of Indiana. Superior to other yellow pear varieties in flavor, texture and performance. Provides a seemingly endless supply of 1½” fruits with great flavor. Ideal for salads. Kids love them!
Bella Rosa
Hybrid, Determinate 75 days
Bred for excellent disease resistance, this high-yielding variety produces 10-12oz. flavorful, firm, round red fruits with a good balance of tart and sweet. It is also heat-tolerant, continuing to set fruit in hot weather. The determinate plants are vigorous but relatively compact. Considered the best-tasting of the varieties resistant to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, which has become an issue in Front Range gardens. If you’ve had TSWV problems in your garden, Bella Rosa may enable you to grow tasty tomatoes again!