Pequin Pepper

Rare, hardy and high-yielding variety. Once grown by Iroquoian people. The plant can reach up to 2 m in height, and has white and purple flowers. The pods can be eaten when still young as green beans. Its name, skunk, refers to the gorgeous black and white marks characteristic of the beans. They can also, although more rarely, be entirely black. Their flat-shape is reminiscent of lima beans. Once fully ripe, they are ideal for soups. We have tried them for baked beans (fèves au lard) and they are delicious mixed with some Kahnawake Mohawk beans. This bean was rediscovered by Chester in Vermont and saved by Gail Flagg from Fort Kent, Maine (U.S.). Ideal for the Three Sisters, to be grown with the Canada Crookneck squash. Package: 25 seeds

The smallest tomato you will ever eat! Currant tomatoes are cousins with the common tomato we all know, both originally from Central and South America. The plants grow clusters of several tiny sweet fruits. The seeds we are selling however have a peculiar story... Léon was a grumpy gardener who didn't like kids. Always a smoke between his lips, he would chase them with the back of his hand whenever they got too close to his parcel in Montreal community garden. Yet the kids couldn't help but want some of his tomatoes, which were shining under the sun just like rubies. Truth be told, Léon didn't really like anyone regardless of age... but how did we love his tomatoes! So, under the full moon (for real!), I sneaked into the garden, and stole a couple seeds. Ever since I've been growing them, and my kids love them!   Package: Around 35-40 seeds  

Maturity: 70 days Dwarf green bean with small, delicate pods and golden brown beans. There are 5 to 6 beans per pods. Gives early and abundant yields. It is supposedly from the Nez Perce Tribe. Maintained during generations by the Denny family in Idaho (1930), this bean will grow runners of about 3 feet that can either be tutored or left on the ground. Can be eaten either as green or dry beans. Endangered, please share! Package: 25 seeds

This bean comes from Romania. It was given to me by an old gardener from a community garden. He emigrated to Canada after the war and brought this bean with him, more than 50 years ago.

He prefers to eat the Fideluta half-dry, as shell beans, when the seeds are still young but already big in size.

Delicious in cassoulet stew.

Pkt : 25 seeds.

This pea variety was carefully preserved by Will Bonzai, in the United States. Few other varieties from the colonial era still exist today, although French colonizers did develop hundreds of pea varieties in their gardens which were well adapted to the North-East American climate. This is were the nickname 'Pea Soup', given by the English to the French, originated. This variety is a landrace, meaning its peas are of different colors. They look like small pebbles coming straight out of a river, marbled and spotted. We genuinely think those are the most beautiful peas there is. They are ideal to make jewelry. Also adorable as legume in a salad. Using a net or tutors can help with harvest. High-yielding. Package: 30 seeds. RARE, PLEASE SHARE.

Also known as the "Montreal Market Muskmelon" or "Montreal Nutmeg Melon". This mythical green flesh melon with a nutmeg flavor has almost disappeared.

 

The earliest records come from the Jesuits, who cultivated this variety in the Montreal Plain in 1684. According to the Potager d'Antan : "this melon went through many selections during the 17th Century, before being introduced under the name "Montreal Melon", in 1870. In the 1880s, it was listed as one of the best seller in New England by American seed company Burpee".

 

Very popular at the beginning of the 1900s and until the 1950s, it was largely commercialized and grown by three families : the Aubin, the Décarie and the Gorman. But lack of labour force, rises in wages and the spreading of the city triggered its decline. As highways paved the island, it slowly faded from our collective memory. When farms vanished from Montreal, it risked being obliterated. Until a journalist found its trace in a seed bank, in the United States.

 

This melon is a living proof of our seed and food diversity decline. Save your seeds and share them.

 

Heirloom variety. Listed on Slow Food Canada's Ark of Taste.

 

Pkt : 12 seeds.