Vegetables - Seeds
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8 products
8 products
What I love most about Cranberry Beans is their versatility (and that the pods are pink!): harvest them fresh off the vine for immediate eating, freezing, dehydrating or canning. Leave them on the vine to dry, and the seeds store perfect in the pantry for adding to soups and stews.
These Cranberry Beans (also known as borlotti) are meaty and hearty, with a richer taste than their bush bean cousins. They are vigorous pole beans, growing over 8 ft. tall in my veggie garden last year! They literally went up my trellis, then hung over the top like Dr. Seuss hair.
Beans are an excellent source of protein, fibre, starch and vitamins A & C.
Type: Vegetable, Pole Bean
Height: 8 ft+
Light: full sun
Moisture: keep soil evenly moist, but not wet or seeds will rot
Planting: 1" deep, into warm soil. I plant dense, in a container 3-4" apart
Harvest: 75-90 days
I've grown Scarlet Runner Beans for many years for a very specific purpose: the flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds! I plant them along the fence of my food garden enclosure, where I train them to wind horizontally - each seed produces a vine 10-15 ft. Ruby Throated Hummingbirds (the only type I've seen in my Zone 5 gardens) visit the scarlet flowers, then zoom to the fruit and veggie plants, herbs and native plants. It's a joy to see.
While usually grown for their splendid flowers, every part of this versatile veggie is edible! The starchy roots, young leaves and even the flowers can be eaten. (Check out the bright pink-light purple fresh seeds! So fun.) Runner beans must be thoroughly cooked before eating, as they contain traces of lectin (phytohaemagglutinin), which is toxic in large quantities. The beans are dense, with a thick texture, and slightly smoky flavour.
Dried beans store excellent in the pantry, and can be added to soups and stews after soaking.
To get the most flowers, pinch off forming pods; this sends a message to the plant to push out more buds.
Type: Vegetable
Height: 10-15ft.
Light: full sun
Soil: well draining, warm
Planting: Direct sow late spring-early summer, 1-2" deep into warm soil (too cold, and the seeds will rot), 3-4" apart.
Harvest: 75 days
Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love this plant's nectar, making Dense Blazing Star an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Birds then eat the seeds through the winter.
I love the whimsical, long-lasting, bright, feathery pop of purples as it grows and flowers from the top down - truly unique. I grow it among White (dwarf) Lavender, Lance-Leaf Coreopsis, Spotted Bee Balm and Blanket Flower.
Type: Native Perennial
Height: 5 ft.
Light: full sun-part shade
Moisture: well draining, drought tolerant
Planting: Cold, moist stratification required - see options in photos, courtesy of Northern Wildflowers. Lightly cover (1/8" depth) with moist soil, and do not let seedlings dry out. OR direct sow in late fall to overwinter in the garden for blooms the following spring
Bloom time: July-late fall
An excellent choice for small gardens and containers! Sugar Ann peas only grow 2 ft. tall, and do not require a trellis. Incredibly sweet, crisp, fresh pods about 2" long. I eat them right off the vine in the morning when they're cool.
If any sugar snap peas make it in the house, store them in a container of water in the fridge to keep them crisp. Delicious raw, stir fried or lightly steamed. Kids love 'em.
Type: Vegetable
Height: 2 ft.
Light: full sun
Soil: well drained with good organic matter; add compost before planting
Planting: Peas prefer cool temperatures. Plant as soon as the soil can be worked, from later winter-early spring (container/raised bed soil warms up quicker!). Sow 1" deep, 1-3" apart. Try for a fall crop by planting again late summer if it's not too hot
Harvest: 55-60 days
