Cherry Belle Radish

This cylindrical orange carrot has a mild taste and a crunchy texture. It has excellent keeping qualities, and is great either fresh, frozen, or in a juice. Easy to grow. Package: 200 seeds

Delicious elongated beet, sweet and tender. It is a productive and hardy variety, and will store well in a cold room over the winter. The plentiful leaves can also be eaten, a bit like spinach. This variety is originally from Germany, and was very popular among Amish and Mennonite communities in the United States. Package: 100 seeds Photo: Semences du Batteux  

On the outside, with its pale white skin, this ball-shaped radish looks boring. But inside awaits a splash of pink-colored flesh, truly like a watermelon.

 

Crisp and sweet taste, milder than many radishes. It is better to peel the hard skin. Ideal for carpaccio, can be eaten raw, roasted or stewed. Great if you wish to cause a sensation or want the children to discover radishes ! 

 

This Chinese heirloom is of the daikon type.

 

Pkt : +150 seeds.

A Cross between the mythical Montreal Melon and the American Banana Cantaloup. Its orange aromatic flesh is exquisite. Bred in 1910 in Oka Trappist Cistercian monastery by Father Athanase, Director of the Oka Agricultural Institute. The Oka Melon disappeared after the closing of the school, in 1962, but was rediscovered on Bizard Island, near Montreal. Right where we're growing it ! Heirloom variety.   Package : 12 seeds.

Scorzonera hispanica Black salsify or Spanish salsify is a vegetable cultivated for its long black skinned taproot. The name Scorzonera derives from the Italian scorza (bark) and nera (black). As we might be able to guess from its yellow flowers, the plant belongs to the Asteraceae family. Just like the root, the leaves are edible and so are the flowers before they open, like small broccolis. The white fleshed root may be harvested during the first or second year. To develop up its full potential, the plant needs to grow in a soil deep enough. If you let it overwinter in the ground, even here in Quebec, the plant will produce flowers the following year. Once they are ripe, it will be time for you to harvest the seeds, but beware : birds, and especially goldfinch, love them! Black salsify is rich in carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

Coy in the garden, salsify can be mistaken for grass when still young. But its hardiness and lack of pests makes it a wise choice for enthusiasts of curiosities. Not the highest-yielding plant but its taste, somewhere between hazelnut and parsnip, widely makes up for it. It's also a true sundial: as soon as the first lights of the sunrise appear, the flowers will open towards the sun, and will then follow it for the whole day, until it sets. It is from the same family as dandelions. The roots are tender and do not have a hint of bitterness, as long as harvested before the flowering stem starts to grow. The leaves are also edible. When the flower buds start appearing, on the second year, it is possible to eat them just like with viper's grass. Culinary uses: -raw roots chopped for salads, -cooked roots sliced (with white wine to avoid blackening), -young leaves in a salad, -cooked leaves as vegetables, -raw flower buds in a salad, or cooked as vegetables. Package: 25 seeds