UPRISING SEEDS 2015
New Varie es For 2015! “Blooming Prairie” Bush Snap Bean “Marvel of Venice” Pole Romano “Purgatorio” Bush Dry Bean *ARK* “Zolfino” Bush Dry Bean *ARK* “Annie Jackson” Pole Dry Bean “Borlo1o Gaston” Pole Dry Bean “Alaric” (Tarbais) Pole Dry Bean “Black” Len l “Matsushima #2” Napa Cabbage “Amish Bu1er” Popping Corn “Floriani Red ” Dry/Flint Corn “Roy’s Calais” Dry/Flint Corn *ARK* “Sandita” Cucumber “Vorgebirgstrauben” Cucumber “Bijella” Le1uce “Cimmaron” Le1uce “Cracoviensis” Le1uce “Reigne du Glace” Le1uce “Summer me” Le1uce “Sakata Sweet” Melon “Stu1garter Riesen” Onion “Lancer” Parsnip “Basque” Hot Pepper “Winter Giant” Spinach “De Milpa Purple” Toma llo “Czech’s Excellent Yellow” Tomato “Gardener’s Sweetheart” Tomato “Latah” Tomato “Manyel” Tomato “Ma na” Tomato “Nepal” Tomato “Northern Ruby Paste” Tomato “Cream of Saskatchewan” H20melon “Giant Yellow Herold” Foxglove “Frilled White” Poppy “Ethiopian Blue Tinge” Spring Wheat “Black Eagle” Emmer Wheat Back! “Touchstone” Beet “3 Beet mix” “Bi1erroot Bu1ercup” W. Squash “Burpees Bu1erbush” W. Squash
Ethiopian Blue Tinge Wheat
Black Len ls
Basque Pepper
Cover: Rockwell & Blooming Prairie beans, Frog Island Fava, Painted Mountain and Dakota Black Corn
Yellow Herold Foxglove Ma na
De Milpa
Blooming Prairie
Manyel
Vorgebirgstrauben
Welcome to Uprising Seeds 2015! As seed growers, a season as perfect as 2014 was more than we could have asked for. Aside from a couple mid-summer squalls, outstanding weather, fer le land, and the straight up goodness of the people around us meant such low, low levels of stress that we were able to truly revel in the work and take me to drink in the wonder of it. That luck lasted right on through to germ and gmo tes ng with an almost 100% success rate. It’s not always such smooth sailing and so like most, we are relishing in it and res ng up for whatever may come our way in 2015. We’re so happy this catalog has found its way into your hands and we’re excited to share a part in what we hope to be an incredible year of growing and ea ng. We grew many new varie es this year and, as always, it is way too difficult to pick only a few to highlight as our very favorites. OMen it is the storied moments we remember most. A jumble of memories that include the first lling; the first yellow finch aligh ng on a nearby fence post; the first sowing of cold hardy seeds; the celebra on of worms, ladybugs and all things with wings; the first emerging sprouts; the clean late June field (soon to be over-run by plant opportunists, again and again and again…); the steady sound of pounding posts intertwined with the reless buzz of the ever present myriad of bees, wasps and flies; tendrils of pole beans and peas reaching for the next hold; the way our son slows us and says, “come lay under the tall corn stalks, it is so peaceful down here”; the many gentle fingers carefully transplan ng the more delicate plants; sounds of laughter and song merging with sounds of worry and sorrow as we each pour ourselves into the body of this earth and this work; water… always the movement of water; wind…always the rush of pollen infused wind; wonder…always, always, always the wonder; the excitement of a “new” seed and the celebra on of the ones we loved first; the cuQng, piling, tarping, squeezing, stomping, whacking, body-aching craziness of harvest; the calm albeit electric “wind” of winnowing; tes ng, packing, and shipping seeds into new hands and sowing into new earth. This beau ful jumble is our seedscape. The seeds sown into the earth shake out their endless stories.
Some mes crea ng new memories and s rring old ones is as easy as a pot of beans. We invite you to read the variety stories we’ve shared in this catalog and to begin to add your very own. This year we have wonderful new purple and yellow snap beans, 6 new dry beans including black len ls, pickling cukes, 3 new corn varie es, more tasty le1uce and tomatoes, cabbage, parsnip, onion, wheat, and flowers as well as 3 returning varie es. We love them and look forward, as always, to hearing your thoughts, comments and new seed sugges ons.
This work is only possible with many , many hands. We are grateful for the steadfast help and renewed inspira on from so many sources. Thank you for joining us in this joyous uprising! Welcome Home. This is where you belong. Crys ne, Brian, Rowan, Katy, Rio, and Megan
CATALOG CONTENTS VEGETABLES Beans………………. 6-10 Beets……………….. 11 Broccoli……………. 11-12 Cabbage/Napa…… ... 12-13 Carrot……….…… ... 13 Chard……………..... 13 Chicory…………...... 13-14 Collards………….. ... 18 Corn………………... 14-16 Cucumber………... ... 16 Edamame…….……..10 Eggplant…………. ... 16 Fava Beans………. ... 9 Fennel…………….... 16 Garbanzos………...... 9-10 Greens…………… ... 17-18 Ground Cherries….... 28 Kale……………… ... 18 Lentils…………….... 10 Lettuce……………... 18-21 Melons……………... 21 Onions & Shallots…. 22 Parsnips……………. 22 Peas……………… ... 23 Peppers…………... ... 23-25 Pumpkins…………... 25 Radish…………… ... 25 Rutabaga………… ... 25 Spinach…………...... 26 Squash…………… ... 26-28 Tomatoes…………... 28-32 Watermelon……… ... 32 HERBS……………… 33-35 GRAINS…………….. 35-36 FLOWERS………….. 36-41 COLLECTIONS….. ... 41-42 SEED GARLIC………41 MUSHROOM KITS ... 41 BOOKS…………… ... 42 ORDERING……….... 43-44 PLANTING CHART.. 46
About Uprising Seeds: Uprising Seeds is the culmination of years of fresh market farming, variety trialing, seed production and breeding work, and most importantly, a decades-long love affair with food and its power to bring people together. Our ideal vision of seed sustainability involves farmers and gardeners as the stewards of the varieties that they depend on. We are therefore committed to strengthening the public commons of seed genetics by working to preserve and improve open-pollinated varieties keeping biodiversity strong through adaptability and resilience. Relationships are the cornerstone upon which we define ourselves as we pass on and add to the stories of these seeds. The health of our relationship with the land, the seeds, and ultimately the food that sustains us has the power to shape our present and define our future. We believe anyone can have a garden, anyone can save seed, and the more we connect to producing food, the stronger our communities become. Seeds are a gift to be shared, hard work to harvest and yours to plant. Uprising Seeds is adamantly opposed to GMO’s and considers it a challenge and honor to take part in the rebuilding of healthy and just food systems for all. We love what we do. We grow our future together.
All our seeds are Open-Pollinated and Certified Organic by the USDA. Please save and share them.
Donations: Every year we happily donate bulk seed and thousands of packets to organizations around the country who are doing great work and rely upon donations to keep their gardens growing. About the most satisfying thing to do is to fill a box with seeds and send it on its way! Many of these organizations are working with kids in school gardens, veterans , and those among us who may have otherwise fallen through the cracks. We’d like to think that reconnecting individuals with place, reinvigorating a sense of purpose and wonder, and the plain fun of watching a plant grow and then eating it can start with one small seed. You can learn more about the great organizations we donate to on our website and follow the links to discover how you can contribute or simply marvel at all the good things happening in your community!
Meet Our Network of Growers: If the modern industrial food system has done much to remove the faces behind the foods we eat, the seed industry represents the extreme of that trend. Let’s face it, it’s hard to find out where your seed comes from. We are proud to work with such a great group of Pacific North West family farms to bring you the seeds in this catalog. Many of the varieties we sell have been bred or improved upon by these skilled growers, and this list represents many, many years of experience in growing and saving high quality seed. The two letter code following “days to maturity” at the end of each variety description refers to who grew it for us, as listed below. We encourage you to read more about them in the grower profiles on our website. UO: Uprising Seeds, Bellingham, WA AC: Ayers Creek Farm, Gaston, OR AH: Ancestree Herbals, Twip, WA BB: Backyard Beans and Grains, Everson, WA CB: Canyon Bounty Farm, Nampa, ID CF: Chickadee Farm, Ashland, OR CV: Cloudview EcoFarm, Royal City, WA DT: Seven Seeds Farm, Williams, OR DW: Delhi Wind Farm, Everson, WA ER: Eel River Produce, Scotia, CA EO: Ernie’s Organics, Shoshone, ID FF: Fellowship Farms, Paul, ID
GC: Garberville Community Farm, Garberville, CA GT: Gathering Together Farm, Philomath, OR HH: Horizon Herbs, Williams, OR HW: Highwater Farm, Mount Vernon, WA LK: Lupine Knoll Farm, Williams, OR MF: Midori Farm, Port Townsend, WA MM: M&M Heath Farms, Buhl, ID NF: Nash’s Farm, Sequim, WA SB: Silver Bough Farm, Applegate, OR TR: Twisp River Seeds, Twisp, WA WF: Wandering Fields Farm, Jacksonville, OR WG: Wolf Gulch Farm, Jacksonville, OR
6
VEGETABLES BEANS (Phaseolus vulgaris)———–———— BUSH SNAP **New for 2015**
Blooming Prairie We generally regard purple beans as we do purple bell peppers or purple kale, that is, quite nice to look at, but nothing that tastes remotely as good as it looks (and often even that phrasing is too polite). Enter Blooming Prairie, passed along to us from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in BC. Named after a town in Minnesota, Blooming Prairie hangs heavy with glossy purple, slender, straight and crisp pods. The flavor is full and decidedly old-school “beany” in the best way, the texture, crisp and refreshing. This is one that may change your opinion about purple beans, it did ours. 55-60 days. UO Packet: 1/2oz.(~50 seeds) $3.25 Website orders only. Very short supply.
Beans: Bush & Pole Snap length. Wonderfully nutty and rich with the intense flavor of a filet bean. Smooth and sultry. There, I said it. If a bean can be called smooth and sultry, you have found it. Smashingly productive. Brilliant green round pods. 6-10’ vines. The running favorite among our commercial and home grower friends alike. Laborious seed to produce. Get them while you can! Reddish brown seeds. 60 days. UO, TR, BB Packet: 50 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Marvel of Venice
*Heirloom* Lar ge, flat-podded, unusually juicy, wax beans that have both flavor and beauty! It took only one bite for our market customers to decide that these creamy white and purple striped beans were indeed great eating and not just a visual novelty. You will love them and they will reward you with abundance and longevity. 19th century Dutch heirloom. 55-60 days. MM Packet: 1oz (~60 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00, 1lb $13.00
*Heirloom* We have become ver y picky over the years when it comes to flavor with fresh beans and think it’s a tragically overlooked quality in modern bean breeding that focuses too much on looks and yields alone. We have tried and turned down several recommended varieties because they simply don’t taste as good as a handful we know and love. Marvel of Venice is one we have fallen in love with year after year; just so rich and buttery it may well be tops in our experience for flavor. Long, flat, golden-yellow Romano-type pods bear early and prolifically on strong climbing vines. Perfect lightly steamed and tossed with olive oil and lemon. We tried both the black-seeded and white-seeded strains this summer and strongly preferred the white seeded both for earliness and flavor. We have worked to virtually eliminate the green off-types (these taste just as wonderful by the way) that plague much of the commercially available seed. If you grow them, plan to give them 7’ or so of support. 55-60 days. UO Packet: 40 seeds $3.25
Empress
Scarlet Emperor
Dragon Langerie
Empress is simply our best bush green bean for both eating quality and yield. We usually grow Provider as our first succession for its strength in cool soil germination, and then Empress for the rest of the season. Vigorous plants hang heavy with long, straight 6-7” pods. Crisp and delicious they are slow to turn starchy and tough. Also great for canning and freezing. White seed. 55 days. CF Packet: 1oz (~90seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00, 1lb $13.00, 5lb $50.00
Provider Provider is the classic early green bean variety for northern climes, known to excel in cooler soil. Heavy yields of fleshy 5-7” pods atop compact plants are usually the first of our direct seeded green beans at market. Rich green bean taste. Maroon/Purple seeded. 50 days. EO. Packet: 1oz (~90 seeds) $3.25, 1/2 lb $6.00, 1lb $9.00, 5lb $37.00 POLE SNAP
Fortex We present you with a delicious French filet green bean that remains completely stringless, tender, and sweet while growing to over 11” in
This is a real dandy of a runner bean, vigorously growing 8-10’ and bearing a profusion of showy bright red blossoms loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. Our son Rowan has grown many an “Emperor” tepee and they are a sight to behold. Often grown just as an ornamental, the flowers are followed by long and slightly fuzzy green beans that, when picked young, are delicious in their own right. Immature bean seeds can be eaten as shelly beans, while mature dry beans are eaten like lima or kidney. Giant mottled purple/black seeds look like magic beans from Jack and the Beanstalk. Who knows where they’ll take you if you start climbing… 70 days. ER Packet: 1oz (~30 seeds) $3.25, 1/2 lb, $8.00, 1lb $14.00 BUSH DRY
Calypso *Heirloom* Known for their distinctive black and white markings, these beauties set abundant fruit and finish even in the late and cool growing seasons we “sometimes” experience in the PNW. With 4-6 seeds per pod you’ll be rewarded with steaming pots of chili and soup just when the weather begins to turn the corner from Fall into Winter. Creamy and rich with a flavor slightly reminiscent of your favorite potato they
Beans: Bush Dry will retain their shape while black markings will fade to brown when cooked. Can also be eaten in the green stage but the dry beans are most certainly worth waiting for! 80-90 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~60 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $9.00, 1lb $14.00
Flageolet Vert *Heirloom* On br isk Fall evenings in November we begin to share meals with friends that we have since learned are fit for nobility! A small pot of simmering Flageolet beans, a sprinkling of sage and salt, and a generous helping of good olive oil topped with freshly picked and sautéed chanterelles, crispy French shallots, and a squeeze of lemon heaped on a warmed Bread Farm baguette. The perfect sensory end to a busy harvest season. The Flageolet, a close relative of the Hungarian rice bean, which was grown on private estates to feed the European nobility during the winter months, was introduced for the International Paris Exposition in 1878 by French gardener, Chevrier of Bretigny. The shelled beans can be eaten (and celebrated!) in their semi dry stage as a shelly bean, and when they are fully dry. Reserved, as William Woys Weaver so aptly states, for elegant and sophisticated cooking (think cassoulet, crostini, risotto...), flageolets are intensely creamy, hold their shape when cooked, and cook quickly. The plants themselves are compact and loaded with slender long green pods (8-10 seeds/pod) that remain a light green even when fully dry as do the seeds themselves. As you may have sensed from our exuberant and lengthy description, these beans are a celebration unto themselves. 75-80 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $10.00, 1lb $16.00
Hutterite Bush Dry *Ark of Taste Heirloom* Once thought to have been brought over from the Ukraine by the Hutterites, a Christian sect, in the mid 1800’s, this bean is now thought by some to be a selection from the China Yellow bean, widely grown since the early 1800’s. Among the best for making quick cooking, delicious, creamy white bean soup, they are also very productive to boot. Color is a greenish yellow completed with a dark ring around the eye. Wait until ground has warmed and dried to sow as they are susceptible to rot in cold, wet soils. Weak vining tendency does not require support. 80-90 days. UO. Packet: 1oz (~85 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $9.00
Ireland Creek Annie *Heirloom* An old English heir loom var iety brought to Canada in the 1920’s, they are said to be named after the Ireland Creek Farm in BC where they’ve been grown since the 30’s. Cool season tolerant and very early maturing, they bear long pods on heavily laden bush plants. A VERY solid producer of buff yellow to mustard colored beans that cook down to a deliciously rich, creamy texture. Excellent for soups, sauces, and spreads. Dry beans this reliable in northern
7 maritime climates are worth their weight in gold. 80 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~60 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $7.00
Jacob’s Cattle *Ark of Taste Heirloom* A legendar y nor theast variety that has been shown for centuries to thrive in tough northern climates. Local stories claim this Prince Edward Island heirloom to have been a gift from the Passamaquoddy Indians to Joseph Clark, the first white child born in Lubec, ME. The rest of its legend comes from kitchens across northern New England where it is known to make a fierce pot of baked beans. The white and maroon speckled kidney-shaped beans hold up well to long cooking. Early and prolific in the field. Tried and true. 80 days. EO. Packet: 1oz (~60-70 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb 7.00, 1lb $12.00
Jacob’s Gold This beautiful bean is the product of a stabilized cross between the classic “Jacob’s Cattle” and “Paint”. Early, large, and prolific they’ve found a lasting place in our dry bean collection. The mottled, speckled gold and white beans are about the size of pintos with a rich flavor and meaty texture perfect for hearty soups and chili. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~60 seeds) $3.25, 1/2 lb $7.00, 1lb $12.00
Lina Cisco’s Bird Egg *Ark of Taste Heirloom* A family heir loom from of one of the six original members of the Seed Savers Exchange (now the largest public participation heirloom seed organization in the world). These beans are said to have been brought by Lina’s grandmother to Missouri by covered wagon in the 1880’s. Delicious smooth texture and rich flavor for soups or on their own. Great to freeze as shelly beans for wonderful winter meals! Horticultural type. 85 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~60 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $7.00, 1lb $12.00
Marfax *Heirloom* Also known as Mar afax, or Marifax, This beloved New England bean has a long but difficult to track history, said by some to have been introduced by the federal government to “downeast” Maine during the depression. Medium sized, round, buff-brown beans are rich in flavor and very well adapted to cool climate growing. It is a classic variety for baked beans and hearty soups with a toothsome texture that retains its shape even with long slow cooking. A traditional way of cooking these in old Maine logging camps was the “Bean Hole”, a rock lined fire pit in the ground where the bean pot was buried and slow cooked from the heat of the stones. We grew Marfax years ago and are happy to have it back as one of our dry bean staples. Very early and reliable. 85 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~ 80 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $7.00, 1lb $12.00, 5lb $50.00
8 **New for 2015**
Purgatorio *Ark of Taste Heirloom* Ever y Ash Wednesday, about 100k NW of Rome in the town of Gradoli, the townspeople gather for the Pranzo del Purgatorio or ‘Purgatory Lunch’ organized by the Confraternità del Purgatorio, a truly humble meal of fish, wine, and white beans cooked with salt, pepper, and olive oil. The event goes back to the 1600’s and the cultivar of beans used, known simply as “Purgatorio” (by association), are said to date back to the Etruscans. The small, round white beans retain a toothiness and texture from their skin that makes them an excellent counterpoint to the soft flesh of fish. Because of their small size, the beans do not require pre-soaking and cook relatively quickly. Threatened by shrinking and very localized production, it was boarded on Slow Food Italy’s Ark of Taste in 2013. 95 days. AC Packet: 1oz (140 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00
Rockwell *Rare Heirloom* We ar e likely the fir st company to offer this variety of dry bean in a seed catalogue ever. An heirloom from the Coupeville area of Central Whidbey Island in WA, it is named after the late 1800’s pioneer Elisha Rockwell who brought it to the area. Though it never became a commercial crop, the bean has remained popular in homestead gardens for well over a century, renowned for its ability to germinate in cool soil, mature early, and its outstanding flavor. The beans are creamy white with a mottled burgundy spot around the hilum and are great for most dishes but are especially known for making terrific baked beans. Our seed stock came from the folks at Willowood Farm in Coupeville who are working to popularize this local treasure. A first rate, productive dry bean for our maritime climate. Very rare. 80–90 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~ 85 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $7.00, 1lb $12.00
Tiger’s Eye -back in 2016!**New for 2015**
Zolfino *Ark of Taste Heirloom* Dur ing the 1999 World Trade Organization Meeting’s “Battle in Seattle”, while protests and chaos reigned in the streets, inside the proceedings Italian Agricultural minister Paolo de Castro stood up and waved a bag of beans in the faces of the assembled neoliberal bureaucrats. The meaning? To express a need to protect genetic heritage and regionalized biodiversity against the onslaught of global free trade and cultural hegemony. The Beans? “Fagioli Zolfini” from the Valdarno, a hilly region of eastern Tuscany. At one point nearly extinct, its production was resurrected by an “Associazione del fagiolo Zolfino del Pratomagno” and the bean was boarded on Slow Food Italy’s A rk of Taste in 2000. The small, thin skinned, light yellow beans (zolfo means
Dry Beans: Bush & Pole “sulpher” in Italian) cook up with a wonderful creamy texture and really only need a bit of sage, rosemary, salt, pepper and good olive oil. In the Pratomango there is a tradition, Fagioli al fiasco, where the beans are placed in an old fashioned Chianti-type wine flask (fiasco) and cooked overnight in a wood fired stone oven with the remaining embers and heat from the day’s bread baking. *sigh* Our culinary lives should be so romantic… 95 days. AC Packet: 1oz (85 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00 POLE DRY **New for 2015**
Alaric (Tarbais) In the village of Tarbais at the foot of the Pyrenees in southwest France, a cooperative of growers produce one of the most renowned white beans of Europe. The variety is called Alaric (named for a local canal), and the purpose is singular: Cassoulet. Alaric holds the unusual distinction of being a bean used to lighten the meal up! Cassoulet is truly a rich and fatty affair for the winter months, traditionally full of pork, duck fat, and sausages, slow cooked for hours, and the beans excel in this role: some softening to thicken the stock and some retaining their shape and texture in spite of their nearly nonexistent skin. The name and production is protected by the French government with the Label Rouge (similar to other protected products like Champagne and Roquefort), meaning that any bean carrying the name “Tarbais” must come from the cooperative. We’re calling ours by the variety name, Alaric, Washington grown and slowly adapting from the original French stock to its new home at our farm. Vigorous vines grow to 7+’ and set wide, flat pods filled with the large, pure white beans. For a white bean, we found them fairly resilient to wet weather around harvest time. 95-100 days. UO Packet: 40 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Annie Jackson This beautiful pole bean takes its name from the Canadian gardener who brought it from Russia to southern Manitoba, where it has been maintained since. Vigorous, fast-growing vines produce a prolific set of large, plump, stunning half cream/half burgundy beans. Said by some to be good in its fresh stage, we consider it primarily a dry bean. Very early and excellent as a baking bean. Similar markings to our Calypso, but burgundy instead of black. Short supply this year. 90-100 days. UO Packet: 40 seeds $3.25 W ebsite orders only. **New for 2015**
Borlotto Gaston Borlotto, or cranberry beans, as they are known in the US) are a staple of northern Italian cuisine, and none is prized more than the famed Borlotto Lamon of the Veneto. For years Anthony and Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston Oregon have been selecting from the Italian stock for a Pacific Northwest adapted strain of this treasure with refined culinary quali-
Dry Beans: Pole/Misc. Beans: Fava & Garbanzo ties and a concentrated harvest period more suitable for commercial production on their farm. They renamed it to both reflect its new home and give a nod to its roots. In his book, Beautiful Corn, Anthony describes the Gaston (Lamon): "There are several reasons why this variety is not more available commercially. Pole beans cost more to grow, and the Lamon must be handpicked and has just three or four beans per pod compared to the usual five to seven. It also ripens late, splits in the rain, and is prone to viruses. Mere details, considering that it is perfect, the most glorious of the cranberry beans. We cannot imagine winter without it". If you are like me, that is a perfect invitation for the stubbornly defiant grower. 100-105 days. AC Packet: 40 seeds $3.25, 1/2lb $10.00
Papa de Rola *Heirloom* (aka “Dove’s Breast”) This Portuguese bean is one of the most beautiful in our collection: large and plump, half pure white, the other half speckled beige and burgundy. Though we list them as a pole bean, they display more of a half-running habit to about 4-5’, thus benefiting from supprt. They make a wonderful and hearty soup bean. 90-95 days. UO Packet: 1oz (40 seeds) $3.25 MISC. BEANS/PULSES
Fava “Aquadulce” (Vicia faba) One of the oldest cultivated plants, fava popularity is on the rise! Wonderfully nutritious and delicious, they can be found in everything from elegant to rustic seasonal preparations on the tables of food lovers everywhere. Fall planted, they are one of the culinary harbingers of the spring harvest season, beginning to mature in mid-May, and are excellent in dips, stews, braises, on the grill... Spring plant in April-May for July harvest. Plants grow to about 30”+ and are heavy yielding, though the beans take some time to size up even once the pods are full size. Harvest as fresh shelly until the leaves just start to yellow. For dry beans, pods or whole plants can be pulled for further drying once leaves have browned and fallen off. While a bit of a labor of love to prepare, most will agree they are certainly worth the effort. Aquadulce produces huge yields of uniformly long pods and large beans. 80 days. UO Packet: 20-25 seeds $3.25, 1/2lb $9.00, 1lb $15
Fava “Frog Island Nation” (Vicia faba) This beautiful purple fava variety was given to us at a seed conference several years ago and likely comes from the old Abundant Life collection. Tall 4’ vigorous plants produce somewhat irregular length pods with most commonly 3-4 beans/pod. Lighter yielding than our “Aquadulce” but with a superior rich flavor. Excellent raw, as well as sautéed with olive oil, garlic, salt, and a squeeze of lemon. Purple color develops as the bean dries. 80 days. UO Packet: 20-25 seeds $3.25, 1/2lb $10.00, 1lb $18.00
9
Garbanzo “Black Kabouli” (Cicer arietinum) One of our favorite discoveries of the past several years, we still spend an inordinate amount of time keeping these pristine and weed free as they are such a priority for us. Everything from their desire to be Spring planted with the peas to their delicate leaf and plant structure and finely veined, bi-colored purple/ pink flowers kept us riveted, enraptured...I kid you not. Yes, we are easily delighted. More reliable though less productive then our other dry beans, they are Spring planted, harvested with the dry peas and yield one but more often two beans per pod. Also a rare tasty treat harvested and eaten fresh like English peas or steamed like Edamame. And while garbanzo beans can be traced back 7,500 years to Afghanistan, these were most recently improved by WA State University to be tolerant of cooler soils and light frosts. So go on. Certain rapture awaits. 95-115 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~75-80 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $10.00, 1lb $16.00
SOCCA (Chickpea crepes) A chickpea flatbread with roots in both Nice in southern France and Liguria in northeast Italy (where it is known as farinata). Traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven. Whisk together: 1c ground chickpea flour 1c + 2tbsp water 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cumin (or rosemary) 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided Let the mixture rest on a countertop for 2 hours or longer at room temp. Set the top oven rack to sit about 6-8” from the broiler. When you are ready to cook, heat a 9-10” heavy iron skillet under the oven broiler until searing hot. Remove, add 1 TB olive oil and quickly pour enough batter to just coat the bottom, swirling as you do so to spread evenly (a good 2 person step). Put back under the broiler and bake until firm and beginning to blister and burn around the edges (3-4 minutes). Remove, cut, gently salt. Repeat with remaining batter re-oiling pan each time. Perfect with black lentils... Adapted from davidlebovitz.com
Garbanzo “Hannan Pop Bean” (Cicer arietinum) Years ago, traveling through Peru and Bolivia, we came across a new-to-us leguminous oddity: Nuñas, a bean that behaved almost like a parching corn, puffing slightly when you sauté the beans in a hot oiled skillet. They made a great snack during our walks
10 around the Altiplano usually tossed with a chile sauce. Hannan Pop Bean is sort of a chick pea version of that developed by Carol Deppe in the Willamette Valley out of a landrace accession from the USDA seed collection. Bushy upright plants produce the mottled black and brown chick peas usually one or sometimes two to a pod. Selected for disease resistance, organic and dry farmed conditions, and bean size. We found them to be less prolific producers than the Kabouli, but they make a delicious snack popped and eaten out of hand salted and oiled. To pop, place the dry peas in a warmed heavy skillet and cook over medium heat, keeping them in constant motion (ala popcorn sans oil) until they burst like a parching corn. They can also be soaked and boiled like any other chick pea, or popped and then boiled to skip the soaking step. Fun and tasty! 90-95 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~80 seeds) $3.25 **New for 2015**
Lentil “Black” (Lens culinaris) We have fallen hard for growing lentils these past few years. While not as high yielding as their leguminous dry-bean cousins, if you have a bit of space to commit, we have found them very easy, reliable and rewarding in our cool maritime climate. Sometimes referred to as “the caviar of lentils”, this little black variety combines a wonderfully earthy rich flavor with a delicate fine texture. Retaining its black color through cooking, it makes for a dramatic presentation on the plate. “Poor mans caviar” perhaps but we prefer them to the latter. Growing lentils is fun! Spring sow. 100-120 days. UO Packet: 1/2oz (~550 seeds) $3.25, 2oz $5.00
Lentil “Le Puy”
Misc Beans: Lentil & Edamame Steam or boil pods in salted water for a couple minutes until the beans inside are tender but not soft (pods are not edible). We blanch and freeze these by the gallon bag to enjoy all winter long. Kids love them. Culture similar to green beans but harvest in fall when the beans inside have swollen and the pods are brilliant apple green in color. “Shirofumi” is a reliable market standard. 90 days. CB Packet: 1oz $3.25, 1/2lb $13.00, 1lb $22.00
Soybean/Edamame “White Lion” (Glycine max) Two years ago we planted a trial plot of about 10 different edamame varieties. Immediately after our mid-May planting we were hit with a week of unusually cold weather coupled with heavy rain. White Lion was the sole survivor (and by sole we mean that no other variety sprouted a single plant), suggesting a resilience to cool soil conditions for germination. We’ve grown it again since, and it proved to be a vigorous producer of plump and flavorful pods. Slightly earlier than Shirofumi. 85 days. CB, UO Packet: 1oz 3.25, 1/2 b $13.00
FREEZING EDAMAME Edamame has become one of our winter staples foods that we try to put up every year. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but store bought frozen edamame these days is either organic and from China, or domestic but nonorganic. It is such a treat to have a homegrown stash to pull out of the freezer for snacks throughout the year. Kids and adults alike love them.
(Lens culinaris) It is indeed true that these were not grown in Le Puy en Velay, France where they have been grown for over 2,000 years. They were grown here people, which means you too can grow them! (You cannot hear this but I am shouting with excitement!) Sown a bit earlier in the Spring and harvested several weeks earlier then our earliest dry bean, these began as an experiment and ended as an incredibly beautiful seed crop. A seed crop we are having a hard time not eating because, we grew lentils!! Low growing (to perhaps 1’) slender plants with seed pods encasing 1-2 beans. Speckled blue/green little lentils which readily soak up all matter of deliciousness you may throw at them. Rich, nutty, and eminently satisfying. 100-130 days UO Packet: 1/2oz (~400 seeds) $3.25
Heat a large kettle on the stove to a rolling boil. Have ready a slotted spoon, a bowl with ice water (or at least cold running water) a towel and clean freezer bags.
Soybean/Edamame “Shirofumi”
To reheat simply put a couple handfuls of frozen pods in a pot of boiling salted water and cook for about a minute to a minute and a half. Remove, sprinkle with salt, and enjoy!
(Glycine max) We think everyone ought to grow a patch of edamame in their garden. Grown for the fresh, green podded beans rather than the dry soybeans used for feed, tofu, and tempeh, edamame is a quintessential salty Japanese bar snack (there is actually a variety whose name translates to “beer friend”). 2’ tall plants produce bunches of pods containing 2-3 beans per pod.
Once the water boils submerge a freezer bag worth of beans (still in the pods). Blanch for 3-4 minutes, starting the timer as soon as they enter the water. After 3-4 min. remove them with the slotted spoon and immediately cool in ice bath or cold running water stirring to speed up the cool-down. Once thoroughly cooled pat dry on a dry towel, bag, and freeze. Multiple batches can be processed quickly this way once you get the rhythm down.
“So I sing to my seeds. What about it?” ~Leslie Gaydos
Beet/Broccoli BEETS (Beta vulgaris)————————— Bulls Blood *Heirloom* A standar d in salad mixes, bulls blood is often grown just for its beautiful dark burgundy greens alone. This strain was selected for leaf color and is darker red than most other bulls bloods on the market. While the leaves garner a lot of the attention, they also make great mildly flavored and sweet mature roots. 30 days baby greens, 55 days roots. GT Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $6.00
Chioggia *Heirloom* Beets don’t get much more beautiful than this early 19th century Italian heirloom from the Veneto. The bright red roots reveal the classic red and white bull’s-eye patterned interior when sliced crosswise. One of the most beautiful dishes we’ve ever made was a beet carpaccio, a pine nut pate sandwiched between two paper thin marinated Chioggia slices and topped with pesto oil. The flavor is milder but sweeter than traditional dark red beets. We’ve been wanting to sell this beet for years but have been waiting to secure a worthy strain. Chioggia has been well known to be variable and funky in its genetics. We find ours to be as uniform yet more vigorous than the other “improved” entrant in this class, Guardsmark. 60 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $9.00, 1/4lb $24.00, 1lb $75.00
Feuer Kugel German for “Fire Ball”, this beet has come out on top of the beet trials at Whidby Island’s Greenbank Farm Center for the past two trials. Vigorous plants yield refined red round roots and a healthy top of greens. Milder in flavor than “Shiraz”, the roots feature a very light zoning to the flesh when cut crosswise. Excellent as a market bunching variety. 60 days. UO, HW Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $9.00, 1/4lb $28, 1lb $80
Lutz Green Leaf *Heirloom* Lets get this out of the way r ight from the start, Lutz is not a pretty beet. Perfectly round and “refined” it is not. However, nowhere in the world of beets is its common history with Swiss chard more apparent. Lutz is like a full sized chard plant sitting on top of each beet. It has easily twice the greens of other “tall top” beet varieties. And the root can grow enormous while maintaining excellent eating quality. Very winter hardy and excellent for storage, Lutz has a devoted following and we have received requests for it nearly every year we’ve been in business. Once popular, now becoming somewhat rare. 65-70 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $12.00, 1/4lb $30
11 Shiraz Tall Top Uniformly smooth and shapely, delicious red roots with strong, lush green, fast growing tops, and excellent disease resistance. A top quality all -arounder and taste test winner from Dr. Navazio. We like them slathered in olive oil, lemon and sea salt with a touch of sweetener and a handful of pistachios. These are starting to garner more attention as a superior market variety for organic systems and expect to start seeing them from some of the larger seed companies soon. As of last year we were the only company selling them in bulk sizes. Tops for taste. Perfect for market. Perfect for the roots. Perfect for the greens. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. 55-60 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $9.00 **Back**
Touchstone Gold Touchstone came on the scene a couple years ago and took the golden beet category by storm! Golden beet varieties had been plagued by low germination, wonky shapes, and inconsistent performance. Here's a new standard: lush and vigorous leaf growth, beautifully shaped round smooth roots, great mild, sweet flavor. Nice to see such a solid breeding effort go into an OP when so much of the beet market has gone hybrid. Golden beets are a thing of culinary beauty and make for a very classy presentation in any beet dish (and no migrating color!). Grate them, grill them, steam them, roast them… 55-60 days. GT, WG Packet: 100 seeds $3.25 **Back**
3 Beet Mix Sounds like a DJ demo but is our mix of Touchstone, Shiraz, and Chioggia beets in equal parts. For those or you that have a hard time deciding, limited space... Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
BROCCOLI & RAPINI (RAAB) (Brassica sp.)———–——————–Solstice (Brassica oleracea) The (justifiably) much maligned public opinion of open pollinated broccoli among commercial growers is about to be turned on its head by a couple of new releases in the category. “Solstice” comes out of a gene pool started at OSU and later selected by Jonathan Spero of Lupine Knoll Farm in Southern Oregon. A more refined variety, Solstice features tight, dark, uniform heads and excellent side shoot production. Maturity is much more uniform than most OPs while still giving about a week+ harvest window, a feature we find to be positive attribute. For growers used to the hybrid “look” and performance, this is the best OP entrant we’ve seen and we encourage you to try it. Bravo! 70 days. LK, UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $8.00, 1oz $25.00
12
Broccoli & Rapini/Cabbage/Napa
Umpqua (B. oleracea) Open pollinated broccoli has been long neglected in the realm of seed breeding. Several years ago, our extensive trials of all the OP varieties then available proved to be fairly discouraging, with one exception. Umpqua was simply head and shoulders above the pack in growth and flavor. We have often seen Umpqua described in catalogues with the kiss-of-death descriptor, “best suited for home gardens.” Really? We happily grew Umpqua for fresh market and CSA for years and were impressed with its color, taste, vigor, and head size. Growing quite large when given good fertility, it matures over a period of about two weeks with strong side shoots for a couple weeks more. We’ll leave the “farm suited” weirdly dense, month-long shelf life, tastes-like-cardboard, 10-acres-ready-to-cut -at-7:42AM-sharp-on-Tuesday-July-6th-just-intime-to-meet-the-truck, modern hybrids to those whose businesses require such qualities. Great for fresh market but not a shipper. 65-80 days. UO, WG Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $14.00
Rapini “Novantina” (Brassica rapa) Novantina performed well in our trials of several varieties of Rapini. Slightly less uniform than our standard “Spring Raab” it had similarly appealing large floret size and excellent branching and productivity, while showcasing a superior flavor and milder, less assertive mustard pungency. Re-sprouts from early cuttings. Best sown in Spring and Fall. Italian variety. 40-45 days. UO Packet: 1g (~450 seeds) $3.25, 1/4 oz $5.00
Rapini “Spring Raab” (Brassica rapa) Prized in its homeland of Italy and by chefs worldwide, this broccoli relative is a culinary treat. Rather than a large central crown ala broccoli, rapini (aka broccoli raab) sends forth more graceful, smaller and looser bud clusters. Plants branch extensively after first harvest to yield loads of secondary bud stems. In the kitchen lightly sautéed leaves, stems and flower buds are a delight with lemon, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil. They are richer, wilder, and more pungent (similar to mustard or turnip) in flavor than broccoli and much earlier from sowing to harvest. Known as “Broccoli Asparago” in Italy. 40-45 days. WG Packet: 1g (~450 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $5.00 Symbol Key:
drought tolerant
excellent as cut flower cold hardy selection
Find our order form on page 44 Or visit us at www.uprisingorganics.com
CABBAGE (Brassica sp.)———–——————–SUMMER/FALL
Nash’s Summer Green (B. oleracea) A market-worthy selection from Nash Huber out in Sequim WA from an old variety named “Columbia”, Nash’s Summer Green is a quick to mature, split resistant, round green cabbage showing good uniformity of medium size, dense heads. Great summer cropper to get the kraut season rolling early. 70 days. NF Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Red Express -back in 2016!WINTER
January King *Heirloom* (B. oleracea) This is our second year of selection from a genetically variable population of this classic semi-savoyed winter cabbage with a cultivation history dating back to the late 19th century in England. Planted in late summer these beautiful vigorous plants produce medium sized, slightly flattened, green-tingedpurple heads ready to harvest in Jan-Feb. There is nothing like heading out to the garden after a hard freeze in January and harvesting some fresh vegetables. Practically indestructible (our patch, fully headed and uncovered, was completely unfazed by temps down to 5F last Dec.) they have a delightfully strong cabbage flavor. We have committed ourselves to this important variety and are working to select for greater uniformity, but expect some variability. 180 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $10.00, 1oz $32.00
Marner The cabbage breeding program at Nash’s Farm in Sequim represents everything we wish to see in farm-based breeding: Market growers, heavily invested in particular market crops, working to improve the genetics of those open-pollinated varieties to better their own production. Given the unreliability of the hybrid seed supply, here’s a great Northern European med-large green, hardy, round winter cabbage with some black spot resistance and excellent density. It was impressive to walk the fields with Nash and see just how well adapted to our maritime conditions Marner is. A great open pollinated variety Short supply this year. 120 days, NF Packet: 100 seeds $3.25 NAPA/CHINESE
Houshu (B.. rapa) In our quest to seek out and bring to market solid OP cabbage (regular and Napa) varieties we’ve been growing A LOT of different varieties to see what kind of genetic material is out there. A standout in a recent observation plot, Houshu is a stocky barrel shaped Napa with excellent uniformity and big dense heads. Its
Napa/Carrots/Chard/Chicory pretty, lime green leaves with broad white veins were the base of many a batch of kimchee for our family this year. Like most Napas, best as summer/fall crop as a significant proportion of a spring planting will bolt prior to sizing up properly. 80 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Matsushima #2 This variety was the star of a Napa trial at our home farm a couple years back and we are happy to finally be able to offer the seed. Stocky heads can grow enormous when summer/fall sown and in our seed grow–out this year proved to head up reasonably well even from spring plantings. Another resilient Napa for all your Kimchi cravings! 80 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
CARROT (Daucus carota)—–——————— Dragon There’s been a proliferation of new purple carrot varieties over the past few years. We’ve tried many of them but we keep coming back to Dragon. A gem from John Navazio, Dragon is a showstopper. The 6-7” tapered roots have a stunning deep reddish-purple skin and orange or sometimes concentrically orange and yellow colored flesh. But how do they taste? Our customers love them for their sweet, spicy, and full flavor for fresh noshing. These carrots respond especially well to attentive thinning to 2” to produce the most beautiful, uniform, and long roots. Somewhat weaker tops for bunching. Fun for kids. 70 days. UO, CV Packet: 1g (~750 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $19.00
Red Core Chantennay -back in 2016!-
Scarlet Nantes A classic carrot. Unlike many of the modern hybrids which just come off as sweet, our open pollinated scarlet nantes has plenty of the sweetness but also a rich real carrot flavor. Widely adapted, it is very versatile for everything from fresh baby carrots to fall storage and juicing. Highly selected strain and a farm favorite of ours for years. 65 days. TR Packet: 1g (~650 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $12.00
Tonda di Parigi *Heirloom* This cute, r ound, golf ball sized carrot is great fun to grow. Popular in Parisian markets, the round types are a great choice for clay or poorly draining soils as the roots don't grow very deep. Deep orange roots of this 18th century French heirloom are great for fresh eating and its shape just begs for a dramatic presentation, whole or halved and roasted with an orange or maple glaze. Another fun one for kids. 60-65 days. MF Packet: 1g (~650 seeds) $3.25
13 Yellowstone Simply a beautiful carrot. In the past we’ve almost gotten annoyed at how wildly vigorous and almost robotically uniform they were in the rainbow carrot beds at the home farm. Imperator type roots are very long and straight. Not quite as sweet as an orange carrot (which they make up for in pure mass!) and yet lovely in a slightly milder but never bland way. An essential part of any rainbow carrot mix, these carrots glow yellow! 8-10” long. 70 days. UO Packet: 1g (~750 seeds) $3.25
Rainbow Carrot Mix A brilliant mix of Scarlet Nantes, Dragon, and Yellowstone. Ideal for fresh market, home gardens, and to enthrall you and the little ones into eating your veggies! Packet: 1g (~750 seeds) $3.25.
CHARD (Beta vulgaris)————–————Golden Chard *Heirloom* A beautiful char d str ain fr om the old Abundant Life Seed Foundation and maintained by Frank Morton at Gathering Together Farm in Oregon. Striking yellow petioles and veining contrast against emerald green leaves. Tender baby leaves for salads or full size for braising. 30 days baby 55 days mature. GT Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $7.00
Rainbow Chard Unquestionably the brightest burst of rainbow brilliance in the garden. Rainbow chard is actually a hybridized population of various colors allowed to freely cross and recombine in a full spectrum of hues. Expect hot pinks, yellows, reds, white, and, our favorite, varying shades of orange. We always fought over who got to harvest the rainbow chard on market day as it is such a joy. 55 days. WG Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $8.00, 1/4lb $20.00, 1lb $75.00
Rhubarb Swiss Chard The classic red chard variety with striking ruby red petioles and veins contrasting against dark green savoyed leaves. As a baby leaf, it is also a vibrant red stemmed addition to salad mix. 55 days. GT Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1oz $6.00
CHICORY/ENDIVE (Cichorium intybus)———————-Grummolo “Rossa Verona Tardiva” -back soon!-
Radicchio “Early Treviso” *Heirloom* A gr eat var iety fr om the chicor y treasure trove of the Veneto in Italy. Treviso is a tall type, the shape of a tightly wrapped mini romaine heart, and a deep wine red with contrasting white veining. A touch of refreshing bitterness rounds out the full flavor and sweetness. Lovely in a salad and unbeatable braised
14 with garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Best results in fall. Long term (1+ mo) storage in the fridge. 65 days. GT. Packet: .5g (~350 seeds) $3.25
Radicchio “Treviso Tardivo” *Heirloom* The sun will continue to r ise in the east. Spring will continue to follow winter. Uprising Seeds will continue to add new and obscure chicories to our catalog. We are in love with this family of refreshingly bitter greens from Northern Italy. Treviso Tardivo (late Treviso) is a winter specialty. A video about its traditional production made the seed/breeder rounds on facebook this winter and is linked to on its product page on our website. It is traditionally grown almost akin to Belgian endive (without the darkness requirement) with the second growth taking place in geothermally warmed freshwater streams. You don't need a stream to produce it though, and it will light up your winter garden with it’s vibrant streak of burgundyred leaves. Very cold hardy, this is a lovely addition to your winter garden. Our favorite tasting winter chicory of at least a dozen sampled during a NOVIC January, 2013 trial weekend. 110-130 days. UO Packet: .5g (~350 seeds) $3.25, 1/8oz $10.00
Radicchio “Variegata di Castelfranco” *Heirloom* The Veneto r egion of nor theast Italy is rich with diversity in the chicory family. Despite its limited following here, this family is one of THE prized agricultural crops and identities of the region with entire festivals dedicated to the humble greens. Many of the varieties (Variegata di Castelfranco, Radicchio di Treviso) are simply named after the towns where their production is centered. Castelfranco is sown mid summer for harvest beginning in December and lasting well into winter. Initially big, somewhat homely late summer heads fill in with a more tender inner growth in the late fall. The resulting partially blanched apple green flecked with wine red inner heads are perhaps the most beautiful green we’ve seen. Delicious, tender, and very hardy these are a must for any serious winter garden. Please grow this. 110 days. GT Packet: .5g (~350 seeds) $3.25, 1/8oz $10.00
CORN (Zea maise)—————–—–————DRY/FLOUR **New for 2015**
Floriani Red Flint Known as "spinna rossa della Valsugana" in its native alpine home, the Sugana Valley in the Northern Italian province of Trentino, Floriani is an old land-race variety selected by the local farmers for many generations for one purpose: polenta. Like grits to the american south, polenta is at the center of the hearty rustic gastronomy of these southern foothills of the Alps, coarsely ground and slow cooked to creamy perfection. It's flavor is exceptional, and while polenta is its traditional preparation, it is equally at home ground for corncakes and breads. We at
Chicory/Corn: Dry Uprising have a soft spot for the Italian staple though and there are few dishes craved more than polenta ai funghi de bosco, soft polenta topped with porcini mushrooms. If you like, grate in some sharp alpine cheese like pecorino, lightly braise something from the chicory family, open a bottle of Nebbiolo and spend a couple hours with friends. 90-100 days. CV Packet: 1oz (80 seeds) $3.25, 1/4lb $10.00
Mandan Red Clay (Parching) aka Lavender Mandan Parching. This strikingly beautiful and delicious flour/parching corn is said to come from the Mandan Tribe of North Dakota. Short (4’), stout and bushy plants with multiple tillers (secondary stalks) provide early yields of lavender colored ears. Parching corn is a soft kernelled type that puffs slightly when heated in a dry skillet, and makes a great snack eaten out of hand. It also grinds down to a beautiful pink cornmeal, used often in our house for pancakes, muffins, and cornbread. One of the more beautiful corns we’ve come across and wonderfully adapted to PNW growing conditions. 80-90 days. DW Packet: 1oz (~80 seeds) $3.25, 1/4lb $10.00, 1/2lb &16.00, 1lb $29.00,
Painted Mountain Flour Corn The life work of Montana breeder Dave Christiansen, Painted Mountain is one of the great farm -bred successes of our time. In a time when seed companies were breeding corn for warm, humid mid-west and east coast climates, Christiansen set out to develop a more rugged, early maturing mountain corn to grow in Montana conditions. Starting from an initial cross of close to 70 native dry corns (some now extinct), the variety has been selected upon for nearly 40 years and pushed to the limit of what corn can withstand. His efforts gained the attention of North Korean agricultural ministers who brought him, along with 3 tons of seed, to Korea to work with agronomists and growers to potentially aid their country’s food crisis. It has been grown successfully from Siberia to South Africa. Plants are compact at 5’ and produce long slender ears (68”) with just an unbelievable spectrum of colors. If you can’t mature it you should rethink growing dry corn where you live. Great for cornmeal and we love it for making posole. Resilient, diverse, and adaptable, this is Mad Max corn...the one that will survive the coming climate crisis. 85 days. WG. Packet: 1oz (~100 seeds) $3.25, 1/4 lb $10.00, 1/2lb $16.00, 1lb $29.00 **New for 2015**
Roy’s Calais Flint *Ark of Taste Heirloom* One of the most beautiful and best northern adapted dry corns we have (and listen Frenchy, we pronounce it “Callous” in these parts!). A classic 8-row northern flint originating with the Abenaki tribes of northern New England and Quebec, the variety consists of 8-10” single color ears in a color mix of mostly yellow/gold & red, with some less
Corn: Popping & Sweet NIXTAMAL & POSOLE The process of steeping dry corn in an alkaline solution to make “nixtamal” is the foundation of the corn based staple foods of the Americas. The process chemically changes the composition of the corn making it more digestible and higher in available calcium and B vitamins In a non-reactive pot combine a pound and a half of dry corn with 2 heaping Tbsp of slack lime (calcium hydroxide sold as “cal” in Mexican grocers) and cover with water. Heat water to a slow simmer (not a rapid boil) and cook for about 30 min. Remove from heat and let steep in the alkaline solution overnight. The next day pour off the cloudy liquid and rinse the kernels thoroughly agitating as you do so to free up now loosened pericarp (skin). It is not essential to get all the pericarp off of the corn. Pat dry on a kitchen towel. At this point you have nixtamal. Finely ground wet nixtamal is known as “masa”, basis for corn tortillas and tamales. We most often, at this point, cook the nixtamal in salted water for 30-40 minutes until soft to make Posole. A“Posole y Frijol” soup of posole, borlotto beans, tomato broth, chiles, lime, and cilantro is a winter warming standard in the Uprising kitchen. Nixtamal recipe adapted from Anthony Boutard’s Beautiful Corn. Highly recommended reading - for sale with the Books on p. 41. common orange. Passed on to pioneer farmers, such as Roy and Ruth Fair of Callais, VT who put their own stamp of genetic selection on the corn, it eventually found its way to seedsman Tom Stearns who brought it to the commercial marketplace. Anthony and Carol Boutard, of Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston, OR, have been stewarding our stock as an important market crop for their farm for over a decade, selecting for long slender ears, regular 8-row kernel organization, and a higher portion of the recessive red ears, as they show superior cool soil emergence and earlier ripening. Roy’s makes a flavorful cornmeal, and is great for hominy, or a toothsome posole. Historically famous, this variety, or a very closely related one, was the one corn that survived the 1816 “Year Without a Summer” in northern Vermont, a year that brought a foot of snow on June 7th and killing frosts every month of the year. So quit complaining about the weather eh? 90 days. AC Packet: 1oz (~100 seeds) $3.25, 1/4 lb $10.00, 1/2lb $16.00, 1lb $29.00
15 POPPING **New for 2015**
Amish Butter...more than popping! *Heirloom* Long ago I can distinctly r emember craving Amish Butter with all the zest of the description….Creamy! Buttery! Needs no salt or oil! I am happy to report that it only gets better. Amish delivers on the popcorn front with large, fluffy white popcorn and opens up a world of versatility in one variety. Ground coarsely or made into masa (hominy) and flour it can then be used for polenta, tamales, grits, breads, cookies...it is that good. Our friends at Ayers Creek Farm in Oregon have been happily sharing it with market customers and restaurants for just these purposes and to great acclaim. 8’ plants selected for 6” conical heads with both rice and pearl type kernels. It’s nice when such delight can be had and shared starting from a small handful of seed. Pre–1885 white kernelled seed maintained by the PA Dutch and brought into the market in 1988 by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. 102 days. AC Packet: 1/2oz (100 seeds) $3.25, 1/4lb $12.00
Dakota Black We are not ashamed to say, in the height of the busy growing season, after a long days work, with no motivation left to cook, we have served up our fair share of popcorn family dinners. (You thought we had anything left at the end of the day to actually cook any of those veggies we so lovingly nurtured for market?). Fact is, we eat a LOT of popcorn around here, and I am so glad we have found a cultivar that we can reliably mature in NW Washington. A product of the Podoll family’s inspiring farm-based breeding program at Prairie Road Organics in Fullerton, ND, Dakota Black produces show stopping 6-7” glossy garnet-black ears on sturdy plants. Kernels pop up pure white. The Podolls have been working at Prairie Road to select for a rounder kernel shape which they consider to produce a superior popcorn, and our stock comes from their latest selection. This is one of the varieties we hold most dear for home use. And, we promise, this seed Grows and Matures in N.WA! 95100 days. WG Packet: 1/2oz (~90 seeds) $3.25, 1/4lb $12.00, 1lb $35.00 SWEET
Tuxana I’ve always read “great old fashioned corn flavor!” in seed catalogs to mean, “not sweet, starchy, and …well…pretty bad” (kind of like “great for cooking!” in carrot descriptions). If you are seeking super-sweet Se and Se2 style corn, there are lots of hybrids to chose from (and some exciting OPs in the pipeline). But this is a well bred and soulful sweet corn. I realized perhaps for the first time last year, that modern sweeties are really not very good for anything but fresh corn on the cob. For salsa, chowder, etc we look for a more complex, rounded, classic taste and texture. Tasters found Tuxana, fresh on the cob, to have a compelling creaminess and…well…great old fashioned corn flavor. Tall
16 plants with large, full, white kernelled ears. Bred and being selected yearly by Jonathan Spero of Lupine Knoll Farm. 80 days. LK Packet: 1oz (100 seeds) $3.25, 1/4lb $12.00
CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus)————————–Lemon *Heirloom* People go cr azy for these fun little cukes at market, and for good reason. They have an irresistible crunch and great cucumber flavor. Nothing “lemony” about them other than their yellow color. Actually the small round fruits are at their best eating quality before they begin to turn bright yellow, a little bigger than the size of a golf ball. Vigorous but relatively compact branching vines. Kids love these! 65-70 days. ER Packet: 1g (40-45 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz $12.00 **New for 2015**
Sandita (Mexican Sour Gherkin) *Heirloom* (Melothria scabra) Most commonly known as Sandita or Sandia de Raton, little watermelon or little mouse melon, this unusual little fruit is native to Mexico and Central America where it has been a dietary staple since pre-Columbian times. Crunchy with a bright lemony, almost pickled cucumber taste, they grow on tall (6-8’) and visually delicate vines. Profusions of smooth skinned 1-2” little green and white speckled watermelon shaped fruit take hold quickly and are easily gathered from the ground where they fall when most ripe. They are delicious eaten raw, added to salsa’s, salads, as well as pickled or simply eaten as a juicy snack. Drought resistant and long keeping both on and off the vine. A fun way to add diversity and delicious fruit to your garden! 65-70 days. UO Packet: 35 seeds $3.25
Sweet Marketmore Another selection out of the venerable Marketmore lineage, “Sweet” was recommended to us by commercial grower and seedsman Bill Reynolds of Eel River Produce in northern California. He found these to be more vigorous, tolerant to adverse conditions, and productive than “76” without compromising the straight, high quality cukes that have made “Marketmore 76” a household name among gardeners. Good disease resistance. 60-65days. ER, WF Packet 1g (40-45 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $6.00, 1oz $10.00 **New for 2015**
Vorgebirgstrauben There are certain vegetables we have been wanting to offer for a quite a while. We love pickles, and for years we have been searching through catalogs and trialing pickling cuke varieties only to never quite be satisfied with what we found. The wrong texture, too shy or too spread out yields, bitter ends…we are fussy, and we’re OK with that, because we are also patient. That
Cucumber/Eggplant/Fennel made the discovery of this little German pickler all that much sweeter. A little different than your typical American pickler, these have a dimpled bumpy skin at pickling stage. The name is a mouthful, but the vines are heavy producers, the cukes snappy-crisp, and the flavor fresh and never bitter. The first pickler from more than a dozen trialed over the past couple years that we found worthy of production for sale. These discoveries make us happy. 55-60 days. UO Packet: 40-45 seeds, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz $12.00
EGGPLANT (Solanum melongena)————–—-— Diamond Amazing! Did you know that eggplants WEREN’T just flowering ornamentals here in the PNW but that they might actually produce fruit too...even outside of a greenhouse?! And not just a lonely token fruit to insult all your hard work. Lots of eggplant. Beautiful, slender, 4-8” long, buttery, and Not at all bitter eggplant. Some summers are cold. And wet. And then cold. Yet we are always still awash in these beauties. From our field, not our greenhouse. Even if you think you despise eggplant grow these and give them away to your friends and neighbors. They will be in awe of your mad skills. Seeds collected from the Ukraine in 1993 by Kent Whealy, co -founder of Seed Savers Exchange. The most prolific variety we’ve grown for cool climate production. Terrific for market. 70-80 days. WF Packet: 25-30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 350 seeds $10.00
Violetta di Firenze *Heirloom* Beautiful bicolor white and pur ple heirloom variety from Florence, Italy with a mild, creamy taste that is never bitter. Fruits are shaped like a very plump, ruffled teardrop and are similar in appearance to better known Rosa Bianca but with a deeper electric purple coloring. Summers past we have picked pound after pound (field grown!) exclaiming upon their remarkable beauty and sheer abundance. These really are stunning. Softball sized fruits. 75-90 days. GC Packet: 25-30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 350 seeds $10.00
FENNEL (Foenicilum vulgare)—–———— Perfection Over the years fennel has become one of our favorite fresh treats from the garden. A great Italian medium-large bulbing type, Perfection delivers wonderful anise flavor, crisp texture, and superior bolt resistance. These are great as a fresh treat, roasted with summer vegetables, on the grill, braised, shaved thinly for salads and pizzas…80 days. GT. Packet: .5g (~150 seeds) $3.25
For variety pictures, up to date availability, and more growing resources visit us at: www.uprisingorganics.com
Greens: Asian & European GREENS—————————— ASIAN
Early Mizuna *Heirloom* (Brassica rapa) A mild ear ly-late season Japanese mustard with graceful, deeply cut, fernlike leaves on vigorous upright plants. Very prolific and visually beautiful mounding plants. An essential part of any baby salad mix and a stand alone vegetable for braising and stir fries. All sweet with none of the mustard spiciness. Very productive. 21 days baby, 40 days full size. CV Packet: 1g (~450 seeds) $3.25, 1oz 7.00
Mustard “Green Wave” (Brassica juncea) By popular demand we bring you this top notch mustard. An excellent producer of succulent, frilled, spicy/sweet leaves on very slow to bolt and large upright plants. Green Wave is perfect for market bunches or braising mixes when mature and salad mixes at baby leaf stage. The flavor is on the spicy side when eaten fresh but will mellow when cooked. 21 days baby, 40 days bunching/braising. UO Packet: 1g (~500 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $12.00
Prize Choi Bok Choi (Brassica rapa) I can’t think of a more vigorous vegetable in the garden than Prize Choi. From a tiny mustard seed to 1.5lbs of food in a month and a half? Come on. Prize Choi delivers mild and succulent snow white stems contrasted against deep green leaves. Delicious lightly sautéed in stir frys. Our strain has been selected on for several generations for upright habit, thick stems, and uniformity. Classy. 45-50 days. UO. Packet: .5g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $5.00, 1oz $13.00, 1/4lb $29.00, 1lb $60
Ruby Streaks (Brassica juncea) This spicy little number found its way into our salad mix several years back. Delicate deeply lobed leaves and rich purple color (a la “Osaka Purple” but more uniformly colored) add a unique color/texture combo for baby greens. The flavor is fairly fiery in the mustard sense and would be perfect in a spicy mesclun, but we even added it judiciously to our regular mix with nary a complaint. Mature leaves are beautiful bunched. 21 days baby, 35 days bunching/braising. UO, DW Packet: 1g (~500 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $14.00, 1/4lb $30.00, 1lb $65.00
Shungiku Edible Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium) An inspired addition to salad, stir fry, sushi, or soup. The aromatic greens add a distinct but mild (ie. not spicy) flavor and attractive fern-like leaf shape. Cut leaves at 6-8” for culinary purposes. The plant eventually grows to 4+’ with tons of delicate white and yellow to pure yellow daisy like flowers. Very attractive to beneficial insects at flowering. 28 days baby. 50 days full size. GT -Check website for availability-
17 Tatsoi (Brassica rapa) Tatsoi deserves a place in everyone’s garden. A very mild mustard, it is one of our go-to salad mix ingredients and an excellent braising/sauté green. Low growing 10” rosettes of dark green, spoon-shaped leaves grow vigorously anytime throughout the season and get very sweet after frost. Early for cutting and quite hardy. Its surprising how long it took us to offer tatsoi as we’ve grown and enjoyed it for over 15 years! 21 days baby, 40 days full rosette. UO Packet: 1g $3.25, 1oz $7.00, 1/4lb $16.00 EUROPEAN
Arugula “Astro” (Eruca sativa) Astro is an arugula selected for less deeply lobed (strapleaf) leaf shape and mild flavor. This variety is exceptionally vigorous, quick to germinate and ready to cut as baby leaf in just 3 weeks! We grow a lot of arugula at our farm and love astro for its lush green color, tender texture, and nice mild (for arugula) flavor. We feel as though this is the best and most vigorous strain available for baby leaf production. Our strain comes from some of the original breeding stock, before it declined in quality from years of commercial production. 21 days baby, 35 days mature. UO Packet: 1g (~500 seeds) $3.25, 1oz $6.00, 1/4lb $12.00, 1lb $25.00, 5lb $100.00
Arugula “Rucola” (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) Also known as “Sylvetta” or “Selvatica”, Rucola is a slower growing, spicier relative of the more common cultivated arugula. Deeply lobed leaves grow in tight rosettes to about 6” in height and are well suited to cut-and-come-again cultivation. The flavor is deep and makes a lovely autumn salads. Cold hardy, it’s an excellent choice for fall/winter gardens. 50 days. UO Packet: .3g (800 seeds) $3.25
Magentaspreen (Chenopodium giganteum) We fell in love with this plant years ago and it has become a staple in our salad mix ever since. Very closely related to the common lambsquarters, it has a blush of shockingly iridescent magenta coloring around the growing tip and undersides of its leaves. The flavor is very rich and wild (somewhat like a mix of spinach and collards) and the plant contains three times the calcium of broccoli by weight. It thrives in summer heat and is indifferent to neglect. Though not nearly as invasive as its weedy (and edible) relative, it will self sow if not removed before seed set. Pick leaves and growing tips all season as a salad highlight. A staple food in the Americas 4000 years ago before corn dominated the diet. 40 days. GT Packet: .25g $3.25
Erba Stella (Plantago coronopus) The name translates from Italian to “star grass”, an apt description of this lovely plant. Native to Europe’s rocky coastline, it is a seaside plant that thrives in cool wet
18
Greens: Cress/ Kale & Collards/Lettuce: Heading
weather (sound familiar?) and even saline soils. It is a survivor to the extreme and really, no offense to your gardening enthusiasm, it needs nothing from you. It’s a delightful little green with long, slender, antler like leaves, a succulent quality and a satisfying crunch. The flavor is mild, tending towards nutty which, along with its unique appearance, makes it an unusual and distinctive addition to salads. We are salad green nerds here at Uprising and this was another exciting success in our quest for winter/spring hardy greens for the PNW garden. Best quality before flowering. AKA “Minutina” and “Buckshorn Plantain”. 50 days. UO Packet: ~500 seeds $3.25
CRESS
Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled (Lepidium sativum) One of Frank Morton’s most successful original varieties ever. A cross between ‘Persian’ and ‘curly’ cress, the result is a blistered wrinkled lobed leaf that is held up high for easy cutting on a relatively long stem. Its one of the spicier greens in our salad mixes with a distinctive peppery pungency (very similar to nasturtium leaves and flowers). A modern classic amongst salad-heads. 21 days. UO Packet: 1g $3.25, 1/2oz $6.00, 1oz $10.00, 1/4lb $25.00, 1lb $65.00
KALE / COLLARDS (Brassica sp.)—————————— Champion Collards (B. oleracea) Champion comes out of the old Vates genetic pool and excels as a hardy, longstanding Collard cultivar. We’ve grown this side by side with modern hybrid varieties and really saw no improvement from modern hybrid breeding on this classic. Large wavy dark green leaves to scratch that southern home cookin’ itch. 55 days. GT Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $10.00
Black Tuscan Kale (AKA Lacinato, Dinosaur) (B. oleracea) Our best selling seed every year we’ve been in business. Thought by many to be the tastiest of the true kales, and due to its dark green color, likely the most nutritious. This variety comes from the Tuscan hills of Italy, where it can be found in nearly every garden. The plants, with their long blistered dark green leaves are beautiful enough to be found in formal flower gardens here in the states. This is a very hardy excellent strain. Like all kales becomes sweeter after frosts. 55 days. GT Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00
Dwarf Blue Scotch Kale (B. oleracea) Classic green curly kale. Sturdy compact plants stand about 18” tall with a full spread of dark blue-green leaves. Very cold hardy, the plants sweeten after the first fall frosts. Our stand over-wintered down to 0°F with no snow cover in the winters of ‘08-’09. Make kale chips! 55 days. UO Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz $12.00
Red Russian Kale *Heirloom* (B. napus) Not often found in supermarkets due to their short shelf life, the oak leaved kales are the most tender of all kales. Hailing from Siberia, Red Russian is extremely hardy, surviving temperatures to 10 below F. A nice addition to salads as a baby leaf and a very productive adult plant for braising. Purple tinged leaves become darker and sweeter after frosts. Dates back to 1885. 55 days. UO Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $6.00, 1oz $10.00, 1/4lb $22.00
Russian Frills (B. napus) Enjoy a lovely reintroduction, originally bred in Oregon and then rediscovered on a farm in Belgium by our good friends at Adaptive Seeds who brought it back to the marketplace. Purple veined mature leaves develop secondary and tertiary degrees of frilling giving the plants an amazingly voluminous and starry appearance. Like other Siberian types, extremely winterhardy while retaining a tender eating quality that is unsurpassed. Baby leaves are virtually identical to regular Red Russian and an excellent addition to salad/braising mixes. 55 days. UO Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $6.00, 1oz $10.00, 1/4lb $22.00, 1lb $65.00
A Tale of 3 Kales (Brassica sp.) Don’t feel bad. Its ok to be indecisive. We’ve got you covered this time. A mix of all our kales. Packet: 1g (~240 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz 12.00
LETTUCE (Lactuca sativa)———–————— HEADING
Divina This French beauty is the one of the best green butterheads on the market. Its velvety apple green leaves and large sturdy heads are a thing of beauty. Wonderful buttery texture keeps the superlatives rolling on this variety! 50 days. GT. Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00
Speckled Butterhead *Ark of Taste Heirloom* A classic old Amish heirloom dating back to 1799. Medium sized butterheads are flecked with burgundy speckles. Always a joy to eat for their tender blanched hearts and striking appearance in the salad bowl. 50 days. GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $17.00 **New for 2015**
Reigne du Glace Q: How do you get a foodie to eat iceberg lettuce? A: Give it a fancy French name! But seriously, this… ahem… “crisphead” is a real thing of beauty with deeply serrated edges to the wrapper leaves giving the heads a regally ornate and frilled crown: truly the “Queen of Ice”. Compact plants show outstanding disease re-
Lettuce: Heading, Romaine, & Oakleaf sistance in the field. Their texture is wonderfully crunchy, the color glowing green, and the flavor refreshing. 50-55 days. GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25 **New for 2015**
Summertime …and the livin’ is easy. We might lose some people here, but we are waving the flag for an iceberg lettuce comeback. Hating on iceberg has become totally cliché. Vegetable styrofoam, textured water…we’ve heard them all. Get over it, cool club! Seriously, I’m not talking about weeks-old cello wrapped heads from the supermarket… have you ever even eaten it fresh out of the garden? A couple years ago we grew summertime sort of as a joke. We were eating it over a farm lunch in the fields, dipping wedges of a head in salad dressing, and eventually we all broke down into laughter as making conversation over the noise of the crunching was impossible. Look, crunchy lettuce is fun, and any vegetable that can make me laugh out loud has earned a welcome home in my garden. Crisp tight heads, very slow to bolt (so much so that it’s actually really hard to produce seed for), and a party in your mouth. Oregon State Univ. bred. 60-65 days. UO Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25 ROMAINE (COS) **New for 2015**
Cimarron *Heirloom* This lettuce is Outstanding. Everything you want in a Romaine and so much more. Beautiful deep bronze-burgundy heads are large at 10-12”, crispy but more tender then most Romaine and very slow to bolt. Grown since the 18th century and going strong in the 21st. 65 days. UO Packet: 1g (~600 seeds) $3.50, 1/4oz $7.00, 1oz $22
Flashy Trout’s Back *Heirloom* A selection fr om the vener able Austrian heirloom variety “Forellenschluss” for more uniform speckling. Flashy Trout is a beautiful green romaine with stunning splashes of wine red speckles. As tender as romaines get, the apple green speckled hearts rival the butterheads for summer salad sumptuousness (say that five times fast). The variety has been traced back as far as 1793 and has come into current favor thanks to the efforts of Arche Noah, the Austrian heirloom genetic preservation project. A truly beautiful, deliciously sweet and buttery lettuce. 28 days baby, 55 days head. GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $16.00
19 time of the growing season. A beautiful and unusual luminescent chartreuse green color makes this savoy leafed, very large framed romaine a standout. Consistently drew compliments from our accounts when we grew romaine for wholesale markets and gaining traction among commercial growers. 60 days. TR Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00
Little Gems Alright. This is so cute its ridiculous. Like kittens and puppies play-wrestling together… on the beach… with baby seals rubbing noses in the background. One of the few lettuces that seems to have become “branded” and is referenced by name on menus at fancy restaurants. A mini, single serve romaine, it stands about 6-8” inches tall with a tight structure, dense heart, and great crunch. Often uniquely presented simply cut in half and dressed as a side salad. Plant denser than full sized lettuces, it doesn’t need much space. 45-50 days. TR Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $9.00, 1oz $24.00
Parris Island Cos That’s Parris Island, South Carolina not Paris, France. Bred by the USDA and Clemson Ag Extension in 1952, Parris has stood the test of time as classic, big, market-quality romaine. We’ve sold this to restaurants for Caesar salads, and to supermarkets by the case. Excellent texture, crunch and vigorous upright habit. Dark green, uniform, productive work horse romaine. Some resistance to tip burn. 65 days. WF Packet: 1g (~600 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $17.00 OAKLEAF **New for 2015**
Bijella Here’s a new-to-us mini red oakleaf from Europe, similar in growth to the much-loved “Oscarde” (dense wavy oakleaf heads) but even smaller and slower to bolt. Lovely burgundy leaves with emerald green hearts and oakleafmeets-butterhead tenderness. 50 days. UO Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25
Flashy Butter Oak Our most exciting new lettuce variety in several years, Flashy Butter Oak is the first we’ve seen to combine striking red speckling on an applegreen oakleaf frame. Beautiful dense large heads and excellent texture and taste. Another great lettuce from the breeding efforts at Gathering Together Farm. 55 days. UO, GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $17.00
Jericho
Galisse
A great arrow in our romaine quiver, Jericho was bred to excel in the heat of summer with excellent resistance to tip burn. Don’t laugh. It gets hot here sometimes. No really! Remember that one time in 2009… Well anyway, hot season or cool, it’s one heck of a romaine at any
This very pretty green-leaf caught our eye at a neighbor’s farm years ago and we are happy to offer it to you. Somewhere between an oakleaf and a butterhead, it reminds us of a vibrant emerald green version of Oscarde. The compact but
20 dense oakleaf heads are real head turners. 50 days. WG Packet: 1g (800 seeds) $3.25
Goldrush We are always on the lookout for distinctive new additions to our salad mix. Goldrush has a super frilly and branched leaf structure resembling frisee almost more than a lettuce but without the bitterness. Chartreuse in color, it is great as a cutting lettuce and matures into a stunning if not compact head. Somewhat similar to salad standard “Tango” but lighter in color and more wavy than serrated appearance. 50 days. TR Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00
Italienischer *Heirloom* Now that’s a lot of salad in one head of lettuce! This classy green oakleaf gets HUGE! Extremely uniform, great eating quality, and slow to bolt, this variety has won a spot in our garden for years to come. Be sure to give it plenty of space. 55 days. UO Packet: 1g (~600 seeds) $3.25
Mascara *Heirloom* Beautiful r ed oakleaf lettuce. Reliably uniform and huge heads that resist bolting, have a pleasant mild flavor and fancy frilled oakleaf shape. One of our most impressive and dependable lettuces, it holds its color even in the heat of summer. 28 days baby, 65 days head. CF Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25
Oscarde One of our favorite red leaf’s for several years now. Oscarde is a beautiful red densely packed oakleaf. Reminded us of brain coral for it’s round, wavy, tight head. Somewhere in the middle of loose oakleaf and dense butterhead in texture and appearance. Lovely. 50 days. CF Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $9.00, 1oz $25.00 LOOSELEAF
Australian Yellowleaf *Heirloom* For a long time we wer e singlemindedly obsessed with finding redder and redder lettuces for our salads. Now we place just as high (if not higher) a value on a really striking green like Aussie Yellow. This beautiful chartreuse colored lettuce grows enormous loose heads with blistered crinkled leaves. An Australian heirloom. 50 days. UO, GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00 **New for 2015**
Cracoviensis *Heirloom* Goodness this lettuce is a dazzling beauty. It comes on fast and full with an open growth habit and slightly elongated savoyed leaves that are a soft green blushed with red darkening to purple near the tips. Lovely and quick for salad mix but also incredible as a large (12-16”) loose head. The bolting stems, referred to as both “celtuce” and “asparagus lettuce” in China can also be peeled and eaten
Lettuce: Oakleaf & Looseleaf fresh or lightly sautéed. Described in Vilmorin’s, “The Vegetable Garden” in 1885, it is a French heirloom that is as beautiful as it is versatile. 65 days. TR Packet: 1g(~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $7.00, 1oz $22.00
Emerald Fan We love this variety as a baby cutting lettuce. Unusually long and slender baby leaves bring a good mustard or chicory (Italian dandelion?) look to salad mixes without the more adventurous flavors. As a full sized head, we found it somewhere between a deer tongue and a romaine with clean, upright habit and satisfying crunch. A lovely variety bred by Jonathan Spero of Lupine Knoll Farm. 50 days. LK Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $8.00, 1oz $24.00
Grandpa Admire’s *Ark of Taste Heirloom* This might be our favorite lettuce we grow here at Uprising and one that deserves a better look from market growers. Admires’ produces VERY large blocky dense green heads blushed with just the right amount of red to the tips of the leaves. Extremely uniform it holds up well to packing. Some classify it as a butterhead which I don’t think is entirely right (probably more akin to Batavian/ summercrisp types), it will form a loose head if left to full maturity. Firm texture similar to a tender romaine. Presented to the Seed Saver Exchange in 1977 by 90 year old Cloe Lowrey, granddaughter to civil war veteran George Admire (b. 1822). 55 days. WG Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $8.00
Hyper Red Rumpled Waved With a name like that you know it’s got to be a Morton Lettuce! In this case, the name says it all. Rich dark burgundy red plants with very deeply textured leaves, just the type of folds and ridges that hold onto dressings in a salad. Bigger and better for marketing as heads than Merlot. 55 days. UO Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $7.00, 1oz $22.00, 1/4lb $65
Les Oreilles du Diable (Devil’s Ears) *Heirloom* Along with its catchy name, this lettuce caught the attention of our market customers who loved it for its unique rosette shape, long and pointy “deer tongue” type leaves and nutty flavor. Glossy deep green leaves with burgundy hues, it is a pleasure to see and eat. Big heavy heads. 50 days. WF Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $6.00, 1oz $17.00
Merlot Every year this lettuce attracts more attention and comments than just about anything else we grow on the farm, and we grow a lot of unusual varieties. Hands down the reddest of red lettuces on the market, a deep burgundy from the tip of the leaf to the base of the stem. Destined to be-
Lettuce: Looseleaf/Lettuce & Salad Mixes/Melons come a modern classic, this variety was brought over from Holland in the 80’s as “Galactic” to be renamed “Merlot” by Sheperd Ogden of Sheperd’s seeds. Medium sized somewhat loose heads are very slow to bolt. Stunning in salad mix and as full sized heads, Merlot will make you chuckle at what they call “redleaf” at the supermarket! 30 days baby, 60 days head. GT Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $9.00
Revolution Well, we can’t go around calling ourselves Uprising Seeds and not sell a lettuce called “Revolution” now can we? Revolution is a seriously flashy, darker red version of the classic Lollo Rosa type. Super frilly and compact, it is most often cut as baby leaf in salad mixes, though it grows to a surprisingly dense (if not smallish) head. Compare to the more ubiquitous “Dark Red Lollo Rosa”, but with a darker richer wine red color. Essential baby lettuce to add loft to the mix. 55 days. WG Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25
LETTUCE, SALAD, AND BRAISING MIXES——————-Uprising Braising Mix The perfect ingredients for stir fries, pizza toppings, quiches, hearty raw salads, and tossed into your mesclun or lettuce mixes. A colorful mix of Red Russian kale, Blue Scotch kale, Bok Choi, Tatsoi, Ruby Streaks, Rainbow Chard and Mizuna. Can be cut as baby leaf for a tender addition, let to grow to mid-life for more substance and crunch and to full grown for mature leaves. Cut and come again. 30-60 days. UO Packet: 2g $3.25, 1/4oz $7.00, 1oz $18.00
Uprising Lettuce Mix A colorful mix of all our lettuce varieties plus some not yet released gene pools to add some diversity to your lettuce patch and as an addition to your mesclun. UO Packet: 1g (~800 seeds) $3.25
Uprising Mild Mesclun Mix Similar to the salad mix our customers loved at the farmers market. Contains a diverse mix of red, green, and speckled lettuces, mild Asian mustards, arugula, red spinach, amaranth, and other specialty greens intended for cut-and-come -again baby leaf salad. For a festive flair try an addition of edible flowers we offer such as calendula, nasturtiums, and marigolds. 30 days baby. UO Packet: 2g $3.25, 1/4oz $8.00, 1oz $20.00
21
MELON (Cucumis melo)————–————— Eel River (AKA Crane) *Ark of Taste Heirloom* This var iety was brought to our attention by Tom and Maud Powell of Wolf Gulch Farm as their favorite melon. Eel River dates back to the 1900’s and from there it has a rather muddled history….was it brought back from Japan after WWII in a pocket or introduced by Old Man Crane? Fun to speculate but what we do know is that they are similar to Crenshaw type melons, 3-5 lbs, slightly teardrop shaped, and yellow/buff colored with green speckles. Incredibly aromatic orange flesh is very creamy and deliciously sweet. Best suited to warmer microclimates of the PNW. 80-90 days. WG. Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/2oz $11.00
Prescott Fond Blanc *Heirloom* Despite the Amer ican tendency to use the terms “muskmelon” and “cantaloupe” interchangeably, this is a true cantaloupe, something actually quite uncommon in this country. Native to France where it is prized, this melon was grown in the US as early as 1850. We find most people mistake it for a winter squash at market for its unusual lumpy skin and squat shape. The drought tolerant plants prefer a dry season to reach their best quality. True cantaloupes do not slip when ripe. We pick ours when the skin starts to turn from slate grey to blush tan and becomes fragrant. Food historian William Woys Weaver recommends picking them slightly earlier and ripening them on a window sill for the sweetest fruit. Ethereal, intoxicating fragrance and very thick flesh. 85 days. CV Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/2oz $11.00, 1oz $16.00 **New for 2015**
Sakata Sweet Crystine’s favorite little melon, she has been plotting to get this in our catalog ever since we grew it over 10 years ago. Sakata’s are about the size of a large grapefruit, with delicious almost honeydew-esque light green flesh and a very thin pale rind. Like many Asian melons they are often picked while there is still a light crispness to the flesh and the skin has just begun to turn a light yellowish green. Vines are compact to medium spreading, productive and very well suited to cooler northern growing. They store well in the fridge and are a rare sweet treat from our northern gardens. 85-90 days. CV Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $10.00
Uprising Spicy Mesclun Mix This mix packs a little bit of heat, with some of our spicier greens added to the classic mix. Mixed red, green, and speckled lettuces, arugula, Wrinkled Crinkled Cress, Ruby Streaks, and Green Wave amongst others. Not overwhelming by any means but certainly friskier than the mild in its “cool” mustard heat. Like the above mix, intended for cut and come again baby leaf salad. 30 days baby. UO Packet: 2g $3.25, 1/4oz $8.00, 1oz $20.00
Symbol Key:
drought tolerant excellent as cut flower cold hardy selection
“Turn that lawn into a beautiful garden of food whose seeds are stories sown, whose foods are living origins.” ~Martin Prechtel
22 ONIONS & SHALLOTS (Allium cepa)————————–—— Ailsa Craig –back in 2016!-
Borettana Cipollini *Heirloom* Oh my ar e we happy to offer these. If you have not grown these, now is a wonderful opportunity to try something new and marvelous. An Italian heirloom button onion that was traditionally pickled but is good any way you slice them. Flat and up to 4” in diameter these make beautiful braids and are a nice onion for putting on the grill. Given the depth of sweet flavor, we are pleasantly surprised to find them extraordinary keepers and the last of our onions to bolt in storage. 90-110 days. CB Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.50, 1/2oz $10.00
Ed’s Red Shallot We were really happy to find this OP shallot a few years back. We were even happier after harvesting the large tasty bulbs and happier still eating them the following June, a full 10 months later. That’s a lot of happiness! Red skinned, dutch-style shallots are on the larger side and very productive. While we find the dutches to be somewhere between storage onions and the famed French grey shallots in flavor, they really put both to shame in storability. Kept in cool dry conditions we’ve still been eating the previous year’s crop when it was time to start harvesting the new one. 100-110 days. SB Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $6.50, 1/2oz $12.00
New York Early Originally selected from “Early Yellow Globe” by commercial onion growers in NY, New York Early is a dependable yellow storage variety. Medium sized, uniform, tight bulbs provide excellent storage into spring. Commercial growers note: with ubiquitous hybrid Copra scheduled to be phased out in the next couple years, now is the time to start trying out replacements. NY Early is a great starting place scoring excellently in duplicated northeast & northwest trials. Superior in flavor to Copra if a hair shorter storage. 100 days. WG Packet: 100 Seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.50, 1/2oz $10.00
Red Long of Tropea *Heirloom* Also known as “torpedo” on account of their elongated shape, Red Long is a great old variety from Calabria in Mediterranean Southern Italy, a region famous for its sweet onions. We’ve been growing these for years and bunched fresh at market, they earned a loyal following amongst our customers. Very unique and beautiful, they are a deep wine red color and very sweet. Perfect for panzanella, our favorite summer salad. Not keepers but last longer than most sweets. Dramatic specialty for markets. 90 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.50, 1/2oz $10.00
Onions & Shallots/Parsnips Rosa di Milano *Heirloom* This has been our absolute favor ite storage red for years. From Northern Italy comes this unusually shaped flat-topped onion with very attractive bronze-red skin. A first rate OP storage onion that is medium sized, very productive, and uniform. In a 2014 storage onion trial done by the Organic Seed Alliance, under heavy disease pressure Rosa showed excellent horizontal resistance to downy mildew. Stores easily until spring. 110 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.50, 1/2oz $10.00
Siskiyou Sweet *Heirloom* This is souther n Or egon gr ower Don Tipping’s selection of the classic Walla Walla Sweet onion, the most famous of the northern adapted sweets. Very large slightly flattened bulbs are juicy, mild and very sweet. We have heard tales of people eating these like apples. Original seed was brought from the island of Corsica off the west coast of Italy to WA by French soldier Peter Pieri around the turn of the 20th century. Not a keeper. Long day. 110120 days. DT Packet: 100 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Stuttgarter Riesen If you’ve ever grown onions from Dutch sets before, chances are you’ve already grown Stuttgarter. For many years it has been the industry standard for set production. The somewhat flattened, medium sized bulbs have a very attractive glossy bronze skin and excellent storing firm flesh. In a 2014 storage onion taste trial put on by the Culinary Breeding Network, it generated some of the most praise from Portland area chefs and growers of the 15 or so varieties tasted. 100 days. CF Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.50, 1/2oz $10.00
PARSNIPS (Pastinaca sativa)————————– **New for 2015**
Lancer (Pastinaca sativa) Parsnips have an integral place in our winter kitchen: roasted as a side to slow cooked lentils or risotto, pureed into a creamy nutty soup, even paper-thin atop pizzas. Their warming sweet earthy flavor is the perfect match to the hibernation time of year. Lancer is an excellent variety, selected for shapely long straight roots and canker resistance. The creamy white tapering roots grow to about 12”. Plant in late spring and leave them in the ground through the first couple frosts as, like many fall vegetables, they require a cold period to fully develop their flavor and sweetness. 120 days. WF Packet: 1g (~ 250 seeds) $3.25, 1/4oz $7.00 “Diversity has to be our partner in adaptation and resilience.” ~Vandana Shiva
Peas/Peppers: Hot PEAS (Pisum sativum)——–——————— SNAP PEAS
Cascadia Bred by Jim Bagget of OSU for northwest gardens, Cascadia is a tremendous snap pea. The 2.5-3’ vines produce an early abundance of sweet, plump pods comparable in quality to the venerable Sugar Snap. We found these to be productive, easy to care for, and the best tasting of our trials. The vines benefit from support. Shorter than other full-vining snap pea varieties but they are Mighty! Some resistance to powdery mildew. 65 days. FF Packet: 1oz (~120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00, 1lb $12.00, 5lb $50.00
Sugar Ann Sugar Ann is our first snap pea out of the garden every year. Dwarf vines grow to only 2’ and do not require support. Medium sized pods offer excellent sweet eating. Our favorite of the early varieties and deserving of a place in anyone’s garden to celebrate the first peas of the season. 55 days. FF Packet: 1oz (~120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00, 1lb $12.00, 5lb $50.00
Sugar Snap Select Sugar snap needs no introduction. Since hitting the scene as an AAS winner 1979, it reigns supreme as the sweetest most flavorful pea around. No one even bothers to debate that. We’ve added a “select” to our version as we have done considerable work over the past couple of years to clean up this venerable strain. Due to years of neglectful production and processing it had become heavily contaminated to the extent that we were seeing up to 30% off types in what was commercially available. Vigorous 5-6’ vines start cranking out the peas just as “Cascadia” starts falling off. 70-80 days. FF -check website for availability-
Snap Pea Succession Sampler Snap peas are one of the true joys of gardening. What could be easier? One planting time, but due to different maturity times, staggered harvests lasting over a month. Sampler contains one pack each of the above three snap varieties. Season starts with Sugar Ann, moving to Cascadia, ending with Sugar Snap. Trellising recommended for Cascadia and Sugar Snap. -check website for availabilitySHELLY PEAS
Maestro Very sweet and very productive shelling peas showing excellent resistance to both enation and powdery mildew. Long pods hold up to 10 peas and grow on 24” vines that do not need staking. Wonderful for snacking and freezing! 60 days. FF Packet: 1oz $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00, 1lb $12.00
23 SNOW PEAS
Golden Sweet Snow Pea *Heirloom* This ver y r ar e beauty comes to us from the collection of the Seeds Savers Exchange. Worth growing for its blooms alone, the bicolor pink and purple flowers rival most sweet peas we’ve seen. The sweet flat pods are a gorgeous chartreuse color and are best picked young, at 3”- 3.5”. Stunning in a stir-fry contrasted against dark green vegetables such as Black Tuscan Kale. Originally collected at a market in India. 6’vines. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 1oz (~100-120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $10.00, 1lb $18.00
Ho Lan Dow Here’s a success of the NOVIC (Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Coalition) trialing project whose goal is, in part, to increase availability of organic seed for varieties suited to organic production systems. In the 2013 Oregon pea trials they threw in a couple of snow peas to look at along with the snaps. Of the snows, Ho Lan Dow came out with the highest rating for flavor, coupled with excellent scores for disease resistance and yield. We’ve received requests for a smaller podded snow pea variety than Schweizer Riesen and here you have one. Dwarf 2.5’ plants yield early and prolifically. While not necessary for the short plants, a minimal trellis always improves ease and quality of harvest. The seed is not widely available, and as far as we know, has never been available organically grown. Thanks to NOVIC for recommending this great pea! Support public seed research! 60 days. UO Packet: 1oz (100-120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00
Schweizer Riesen Snow Pea *Heirloom* We tr ialed this year s ago on r ecommendation from our good friend Heather Tiszai and have continued to be pleased by its vigor, sweet taste, and productivity year after year. Beautiful bicolor purple/pink blooms are borne on sturdy 6’+ vines. The seemingly endless harvest of snow peas stay tender and sweet even as the pods mature and swell. An heirloom native to Switzerland, the name translates as “Swiss Giant”. One of our best discoveries in 2008. Trellis! 65-70 days. FF Packet: 1oz (~100-120 seeds) $3.25, 1/2lb $8.00
PEPPERS (Capsicum annuum)—————–—–-HOT **New for 2015**
Basque The “Espalette” chili pepper (Piment d'Espelette in French, Ezpeletako biperra in Basque) is a culinary icon of Basque Country with a production area limited to 10 villages nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. The pepper is the first, and currently the only spice in France to carry the European Union’s “PDO” (protected designation of origin) label which both protects its name and regulates its process of production.
24 FERMENTED SRIRACHA-STYLE HOT SAUCE We can never have enough hot sauce around and the extra dimension added by the fermentation makes it a wonderful addition to spice up Asian noodles, stir-fries, and curries. Ingredients: 1.5# fleshy ripe red hot peppers such as “Basque”, Czech Black (once ripened to dark red), or Hot Portugal 6 cloves Garlic 1/4 c coconut or light brown sugar 1 Tbsp seasalt 1/2 c Distilled white vinegar Pulse everything but the vinegar in a food processor until the peppers are very finely chopped. Scrape the puree into a quart mason jar and cover but don’t screw down the lid. Let the mixture sit on a kitchen counter at room temperature for several days as fermentation begins. Watch for the mixture to start to bubble and expand in volume. Stir daily and scrape down the side with a spatula. The mixture should smell strongly but pleasantly of garlic and fermentation. After about a week, once the mixture is no longer expanding, pour the puree back into the food processor, add vinegar, and blend until very smooth. Strain the mix through a food mill or strainer into a sauce pan and cook for about 5-10 min. uncovered until the desired thickness is achieved. Cool and pour into a clean glass jar. Keeps in a refrigerator for several months. Come late summer in the region, long ristras of the 4-5” long, conical scarlet pepper are a common site drying on the stuccoed facades of the homes. Our “Basque” is a PNW selection of this variety. Excellently suited to cooler climate production, it has become a reliable staple of our pepper patch. Topping out at about 4000 scoville units, it is mild to middling in spiciness giving it versatility in the kitchen to add flavor without overwhelming heat. In the Basque region it is often ground to a coarse powder and used as a finishing spice. 80 days. WG Packet: ~30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Czech Black The most productive field hot pepper we’ve grown in the PNW for 10 years running. Maturing from glossy black to a glowing garnet red color and perfect for ristras and fresh use in place of the slightly spicier Jalapenos. Bears fruit weeks before all our other hot peppers. Juicy, thick walled, and perfect for pickling.
Peppers: Hot & Sweet Great eating quality in both color stages. 65 days green, 80 days dark red. CF Packet: ~30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00
Hot Portugal *Heirloom* A danger ous pepper for the disorganized gardener, Hot Portugal is completely indistinguishable in all ways but one from its fabulously sweet fieldmate, Jimmy Nardello: heat. I can’t tell you how many times over the years we have stood together over a pepper plant muttering, “I don’t remember either...YOU try one”. In all honesty, as far as hot peppers go it’s middling, with very sweet flesh and a touch of heat in the pith and seeds. Stunning long red fruits are wonderful stuffed, beautiful in ristras, and after roasting, makes an incredibly flavorful base for our annual batch of hot sauce, spiced up with some jalapenos and Thai chilis. An excellent chili for cool climates, it is early and productive. First offered in 1935. 70-80 days. GC Packet ~30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00
Pimiento De Padron *Heirloom* Br ought back fr om South Amer ica by Spanish monks in the 16th century and grown in the village of Padron in Galicia ever since, these smoky little numbers about drowned us in the summer of 2012. Grown outdoors, to see if they could be, the tall bushy plants were lush, verdant, and loaded. We learned early on to Pick Them Young! 1-1.5” is just the right size and seems to insure that they keep on flowering and flowering and don’t get too hot. Eaten throughout Spain as a finger food that is first blistered in hot olive oil then sprinkled with sea salt then served, stem and all. A delicious game of “Spanish Roulette” awaits as every so often the experience of the subtly spicy, melt in your mouth pepper you’ve come to love and expect delivers a spicy kick that will most certainly sweep in a moment of panic. IF they get away from you, think about letting them ripen for a spicy red chili! 65 days. GC Packet: ~ 30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 SWEET
Jimmy Nardello *Ark of Taste Heirloom* Sweet fr ying peppers brought to the states in 1887 from the village of Ruoti in Southern Italy. Shiny red, thin walled, richly sweet, and perfect for roasting or frying (or just nosh them raw and see if you can stop!). Slather them on crusty bread or in sandwiches, use as a pizza topping, or serve with antipasti plates. Approx. 10” long, curved and tapered like a big Cayenne. Our most reliable and productive field grown sweet pepper for cooler climates. Grow under cover for earlier/ heavier yields. 75-90 days. SB Packet: ~30 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00
Peppers: Sweet /Pumpkins/Radishes/Rutabaga Little Bells Part of the recent pepper breeding project at Gathering Together Farm, Little Bells produces very early smaller bells with thick walls, densely set onto dwarf plants with short branches. Ripening from a “transparent” yellow through orange to a dark red at maturity. Reminiscent of hybrid “Jingle Bells” which enjoyed popularity in the late 90’s and early part of the 00’s before disappearing from the trade. Great pepper for northern climes with short seasons. 80 days. GT Packet: ~30 seeds $3.25
Stocky Red Roaster Another gem from Wild Garden, this pepper has caused a stir in the seed world the past couple years as it bested OP’s and hybrids alike in trials on both coasts for yields and quality. It got the nod and is playing in the big leagues now, and for good reason. A fire engine red, elongated Italian type with straight, thick walled, refined fruits in spades. An excellent production variety that benefits from cover in cooler areas. 90-100 days. GT. Packet: ~15 seeds $3.25
PUMPKINS (Curcurbita pepo)———————– New England Pie Pumpkin *Heirloom* Ther e ar e some people in the house who believe a pumpkin pie is not reserved for special occasions. The occasion is the pie and every day is open for celebration. If this describes you or who you’d like to be or be around, you will thank yourself for growing this pie pumpkin. With stringless flesh that is never watery and easily cooks down to a sweet, creamy, and thick pie filling, along with a habit of producing 4-5 pumpkins at 3-7 lbs each, there will be enough to share. Sharing is good. Eat. More. Pie. A New England classic also known as Small Sugar, these are also ideal for carving. 85-100 days. UO Packet: 25 seeds $3.25
Howden Pumpkin. Carving. Party. Really, what else do you need to know? Prolific, large classic jack-olantern pumpkins, averaging about 15lbs, for all your spook and spirit carving needs. Flesh is generally too watery and bland to be much use in the kitchen but don’t forget to salt and roast the seeds! 110 days. UO Packet: 20 seeds $3.25, 1oz $10.00
Styrian Hull-less *Heirloom* For centur ies, the people of Styr ia (borders Slovenia in SE Austria) have used these pumpkin seeds to create what could best be described as cool climate’s answer to olive oil. Its thick, rich, green oil is used to dress salads, dip hearty breads, flavor soups, and even drizzle over ice cream and desserts. While I don’t anticipate many of you pressing these for oil, the hull-less green seeds dried, also know as “pepitas”, are one of the great snack foods you can grow in your garden. Many fall salads in our
25
home are topped with pepitas dry roasted in a cast iron skillet with lime and chili. The pumpkins themselves, about 10-15 lbs, orange streaked with green even at full maturity, unfortunately have a watery flesh and are not very appealing for culinary use (though they are a great and nutritious animal feed). The plants? Give them space, they are bonkers, hugely productive and wildly vigorous. Seeds must be harvested relatively soon after harvesting the pumpkins or they will begin to sprout. People often have a hard time germinating them and they are finicky as they lack the white protective hull. Wait until soil has warmed or use a heat table and keep them only moist enough to germinate as they rot easily in wet soil. 90-105 days. UO, GT Packet: 20 seeds $3.25, 1oz $14.00
Winter Luxury *Heirloom* Winter Luxury is gaining popularity among squash aficionados. Beautiful in appearance, with a very unique, subtly netted skin (think cantaloupe), it’s true calling is simply the best flavor and texture for pies among pumpkins. We have read about people cutting sugar back in their recipes to account for the rich sweetness of Luxury’s flesh. Vigorous and productive in the field, expect 3-4 medium sized pumpkins per vine. Originally introduced in 1893 by Johnson and Stokes. 90-100 days. LK Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1oz $12.00
RADISH (Raphanus sativas)——————— French Breakfast *Heirloom* While I’ve never actually seen anyone eat them for breakfast, they are traditionally split lengthwise and drizzled with butter or olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and served as a simple but elegant appetizer or palate cleanser between dishes in a meal. Oblong roots are crisp and sweet, 2/3 scarlet red with a white tip. Best harvested as young roots about ¾” diameter to avoid pithiness. 26 days. UO Packet: 2g (~160 seeds) $3.25, 1oz $10.00
Sora We do have a tendency to drift toward the unusual and exotic, but there is something entirely satisfying about a classic look done well. Very uniform and high quality red round radishes with good heat tolerance and low incidence of sponginess as they increase in size. After years of growing mixed color bunches for market, Sora was surprisingly and simply beautiful. Crispy with medium heat depending on the season grown. 28 days. UO, TR Packet: 2g (~160 seeds) $3.25
RUTABAGA (Brassica napus)————————–Joan Did you know these have been eaten since at least the 17th century? I bet you did not. We hear the Swedes love them, hence their other
26 name, “Swede”. So there you have 2 good reasons to try out these tasty little morsels. Uniformly round with purple tops, mild sweetness, and good resistance to club root...up to 5 reasons. Essential in your “winter roasted roots”(6), Joan might just be the best Rutabaga out there (7)! Rutabaga, it’s what’s for dinner. 90-100 days. GT Packet: 1g $3.25, 1/4oz $5.00, 1oz $10.00
SPINACH (Spinacia oleracea)—–————–— Beaujolais Spinach A farm original and the first out-of-the-closet, open pollinated “red” spinach on the market. Beaujolais is a striking magenta-red veined spinach that is just beautiful in a salad mix or on its own. Its veins glow much in the way baby chards do but with a milder and sweeter flavor. Buttery tenderness at baby leaf stage when it should be cut. The red spinaches are not well suited to growing for bunching size as they have a tendency to bolt earlier than standard types. 30 days baby leaf. UO Packet: 200 seeds $3.25, 1oz $9.00, 1/4lb $28.00, 1lb $85.00
Winter Bloomsdale An outstanding strain from the Bloomsdale line. We decided to drop “Bloomsdale Longstanding” because “Winter” is simply a better all around spinach. We found people weren’t buying it because they thought you could only grow it in the winter; don’t be misled by the name it is excellent both spring and fall planted. This strain has undergone a couple of good generations of selection at Nash’s Farm and is a real beauty. Dark green, savoyed leaves sweeten after frosts. 45 Days. NF Packet: 200 seeds $3.25, 1oz $7.00, 1/4lb $22.00, 1lb $68.00 **New for 2015**
Winter Giant (Gigante d’Inverno) After a couple years of searching and testing, this season we finally connected with a great strain of this venerable Italian variety. Impressively huge, smooth dark green leaves show excellent cold hardiness and vigor. Suitable for salad mix size, but really excels for fall and winter bunching. Triangular shaped leaves are tender and delicious. 50 days. UO Packet: 200 seeds $3.25, 1oz $7.00
SQUASH (Curcurbita sp.)————————–— SUMMER SQUASH
Yellow Crookneck *Heirloom* (C. Pepo) A var iety that needs little introduction, Yellow Crookneck has been in the commercial seed trade in the US for nearly 200 years and likely predates that by quite a bit. When we grew for fresh market, we’d display all our summer squashes mixed together and, without fail, someone would come along
Spinach/Squash: Summer & Zucchini early on and, with a wink, dig through the pile and clean us out of the crooknecks. They are unsurpassed in creamy texture and buttery flavor and plenty of people know it! Big plants come on a little later than the zukes but sustain over a long period. At their best under 6” before they get warty and turn from lemon yellow to gold. A defining food of summer they should find a home in everyone’s garden. 60 days. SB Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/2 oz $7.00, 1oz $12.00, 1/2 lb $35 ZUCCHINI
Costata Romanesco *Heirloom* (C. pepo) We are odd enough here at Uprising to hold an annual blind zucchini taste off, and I don’t recall Costata ever being unseated from the top spot (which perhaps ultimately begs the question, why do we continue to do this every year?) While its light green color and prominently ribbed fruit might worry some, we converted the majority of our market regulars to the superiority and rich, nutty flavor of this unique looking Italian heirloom. Big and sprawling plants produce prolifically with an added bonus of very large male flowers for stuffing. We continued to grow the regular straight green zukes for the non adventurous, and those wanting the comfort of the familiar, but these are the ones we eat at home. Our strain is the most uniform and productive we’ve seen. 55 days. WG Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz $12.50, 1/2lb $40.00, 1lb $65
Dark Star (C. pepo) Market growers take note. Here is a zuke to rival all the corporate owned hybrids currently hijacking the zucchini market. Bred by Bill Reynolds of Eel River Produce in Northern CA & John Navazio, Dark Star was selected in part for vigorous root growth to excel in dry farming conditions. What struck us though is the quality of the fruit, by far the most refined OP zuke we’ve seen with very uniform long, dark green, angular fruit. While not as productive at its peak as some (though certainly no slouch), it sustained its productivity over a longer period than others we’ve grown. Open habit makes it easy to pick. Recommended for the home garden or by the acre. The best OP standard zuke on the market. (Update: during the freakish frosts in Baja in the winter of 2011 Dark Star was likely the only organic zucchini in grocery stores. Just a degree or two more cold hardiness kept it alive amidst a sea of frost killed neighboring fields) 50-55 days. ER Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1/2 oz $7.00, 1oz $12.50, 1/2 lb $40, 1lb $65 WINTER
Black Forest Kabocha (C. maxima) When we grew for market, come fall everyone would go gaga for the sweetness of the delicata, the thick rich flesh of the butternut, the classic beauty of a stuffed acorn. We would quietly smile and nod knowing we had a pile of kabocha at home to get us through the
Squash: Winter winter. The classic squash of Japanese cuisine, it is for those who value richness over sweetness. Squat round 3-4lb squashes roast up to a lovely flakey texture, and the flavor… rich nutty deliciousness with just the perfect amount of sweet. One of our favorite fall dishes is a simple kabocha soup with the roasted dark green skin chopped up, fried crisp, and sprinkled over the top. Small-medium vines produce 3-4 squashes per plant. Our favorite winter squash. It could be yours too. 95 days. LK Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1oz $10.00 **Back!**
Bitterroot Buttercup (C. maxima) Bred for short season production for the old Garden City Seeds of northern Montana, Bitterroot has earned its keep in our farm production. One of the more prolific varieties in the cool 2010 season, it matured early and stored well. Like Kabocha, it is richer and flakier than the finer textured, moister pepo squashes, which are qualities we love in a winter squash. Expect about 5-6 dark green 3-4# squashes with blocky squared off shoulders and a lighter grey “button” on the blossom end. First rate outstanding flavor for roasting, soups, and gnocchi. Back in the lineup after a couple years absence. 95 days. CV Packet: 25 seeds $3.25, 1oz $10.00 **Back!**
Burpees Butterbush (C. moschata) This is an important entrant in the short season butternut category. Many of us in the cooler north, who cannot mature the classic Waltham types are always on the lookout for a reliable shorter season producer. We think But-
WINTER SQUASH CAPONATA A Pacific NW take on the classic Sicilian dish, to be eaten on good crusty bread. Generously oil a heavy skillet. Sauté over medium heat: 3 cups winter squash cut in 3/4 cubes. After a minute or two add in a medium chopped red onion, 2-3 chopped celery stalks, a couple (or more) cloves of garlic, a healthy handful of chopped green olives, 2 tablespoons of capers, and salt to taste. Once the squash is cooked, but while it still holds its shape, add 2tbsp red wine vinegar, a tablespoon or two of sugar, and 2tbsp of tomato paste. Cook 5 more minutes to blend flavors, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with a good olive oil. Lovely heaped on a hunk of crusty bread. Keeps for several days. From Jim Dixon of Real Good Food, Portland. Realgoodfood.com
27 terbush will fit the bill. Very compact bushes are a boon to space constrained gardeners, but these deliver full sized yields even for the field grower. Medium 2-4lb fruit with moist, sweet, deep orange flesh of excellent quality, rich taste, and a tiny seed cavity (and seed yield we must say!). The best tasting, most productive and most brilliant orange butternut we've ever grown in northern climes (it is shades darker then the website photo). We are working with grower Ben Yohai of Wandering Fields Farm in Southern Oregon to breed out a small percentage (less than 5%) of plants bearing fruits with elongated, thinner necks (but which retain excellent eating quality). 95-100 days. WF Packet: 20 seeds $3.25, 1oz $14
Potimarron *Heirloom* (C. maxima) The perfect squash for a pot of simmering savory soup (say that 3 times!) on a chilly evening, Potimarron is laced with a touch of chestnut flavor and a delicate, creamy, but flakey texture. A famous French heirloom meaning “Pumpkin” (potiron) and “Chestnut” (marron) we grew these on the recommendation of a customer who declared it her favorite winter squash. We do have a soft spot for maximas with their flakey textures, rich flavours, and versatility from simply baked to gnocchi to risotto to gratin to sweet bread… Tear drop shaped with a stunning deep red orange color similar to Red Kuri but with greater depth of flavor. Medium sized vines with an average of 4-5 fruit/vine at 2-4lbs/fruit. Perfect small squash for one to two people. Superb flavor! Excellent for storage. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 25 seeds, 1oz $10.00
REBA Bush Acorn (C. pepo) REBA stands for Resistant Early Bush Acorn and comes from the extensive vegetable breeding program at Cornell University, one of the few breeding programs working on improved open pollinated varieties for organic production systems. But about the squash....REBA came to our attention as a real standout in the cool wet season of 2010. The compact bush plants had the earliest and heaviest set of nearly any of our winter squashes. 4-6 dark green squashes per plant with the classic acorn taste and creamy texture. The quintessential stuffer. REBA was bred for resistance to powdery mildew, which many years around here, can do a real number on plant health late in the season. Out-yielded market standard “Table Queen” 3-1 on one growers farm this year. 90 days. CV Packet: 25 seeds, 1oz $12.50
Sweet Meat *Heirloom* (C. m axima) When it comes to winter keepers, sweet meat is a northwest classic. Sweet, thick, dry flesh makes for excellent pies, soups, and just plain delicious eating. An excellent keeper known to stick around and improve in storage for upwards of 6-7 months. Bred by the Gill Brothers seed company of Portland, OR, ours comes from their original
28
Squash: Winter/Tomatillos & Ground Cherries/Tomatoes: Cherry
high yielding strain. Beautiful slate blue/grey skin. Produce 2+ fruits per plant at 8-14lbs. Allow plenty of space for these vigorous vines. 100-115 days. SB, UO Packet: 15 seeds, $3.25, 1oz $10.00
Zeppelin Delicata (C. pepo) This great strain of delicata has been worked on and maintained by the fine folks of Gathering Together Farm. By far our most popular winter squash at the market, it has fabulously sweet and moist flesh, and is great roasted or for pies. At about a pound each is the perfect size to share between two people. And though it is not a long keeper, you’ll eat them all up before you notice! Approx. 6-8 squash per plant. 90-100 days. GT Packet: 25-30 seeds $3.25, 1oz $11.00
TOMATILLOS & GROUND CHERRIES Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry *Ark of Taste Heirloom* (aka husk cher r y, cape gooseberry) (Physalis pruinosa) About the closest we can come to real tropical fruit flavor from our northwest garden. Related to the tomatillo, ground cherries are low growing plants that produce an abundance of fruit about the size of a large marble enclosed in papery husks. The flavor can best be described as a combination of banana and pineapple with a hint of muskiness from it nightshade lineage. When ripe, the yellow fruit drops with the husk attached and can easily be gathered from around the base of the plant. Great for snacking out of hand and also makes a nice dried fruit, jam, or chutney. The small fruits will keep in their husks from 2-3 weeks. 75 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25, 200 seeds $7.50 **New For 2015**
De Milpa Purple Tomatillo (Physalis philadelphica) The ubiquitous sight of the monocrop cornfield we have all grown accustomed to is truly a construct of modern industrial agriculture. The traditional cornfield, or milpa, consists of a loosely intentional and diverse mélange of plants growing in and amongst the maize. In this system the wild greens (“quelites”) and vegetables harvested from the cornfield are prized, and often nutritionally as valuable as the corn itself. Tomatillos are one such plant and this beautiful purple landrace variety comes from that tradition. Try planting this at the sunny edge of your corn patch, the unruly and sprawling plants appreciate the corn stalks to lean on for a little support and structure. A delicious addition to tomato based salsa or on its own as salsa verde (o “morada”?). 80 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $7.50
Q: What’s red and invisible? A: No tomatoes.
TOMATOES (Solanum lycopersicum)———–—CHERRY
Black Cherry These are so outrageously good that I remember, during a summer harvest, debating whether or not we would damage our credibility as a seed company if I suggested Black Cherry to be superior in flavor to Sungold - an inflammatory statement if there ever was one! I wasn’t the only one to think so either… It certainly proved itself as a real winner in our mixed cherry pints for market. Very prolific and wildly vigorous plants produce sprays of medium size cherries with a really interesting speckly purple color. The fruits are very juicy and sweet with a terrific and almost fruity flavor. Give them good support. Indeterminate. 75 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds, $3.25, 100 seeds 6.00
Galapagos Red -back in 2016!-
Galina *Heirloom* We cleaned up a contaminated strain to bring back this cultivar we first discovered while living in VT. Potato leaf variety with very early, bright yellow cherry tomatoes approx 1” diameter. Taste is somewhat reminiscent of a yellow pear tomato grown in the heat of the Midwest. Fragrant with a nice burst of subtle sweetness and a thinner skin. Resists cracking at all costs! Let ripen to golden yellow for the richest taste. Very productive resisting light frosts. Crystine loves them and here’s what you should know: Leave them. Enjoy your other tomatoes in the heat of summer. Pick some occasionally to add a little yellow to your tomato salad. Dry, wet, it doesn’t matter. They won’t split. EVER. When the weather gets cool and rainy and the rest of your tomatoes have gone south, these magically get freakishly good. And not just “good” in comparison to the others’ badness. Like, really good...sweet and flavorful and all that. Its inexplicable. They’ll last for a month or two once picked too. We picked a tote full in fall and never got around to squeezing them for seed. Left ‘em out in the backyard for 5 weeks in the rains of Sept-Oct and once we gathered the courage to peek, we found most were still edible. This is one weird tomato and well worth trying. Consider it your last taste of summer. Crystine gets the last laugh. Again. Indeterminate. P.S. Crystine thinks they’re tops Any Old Time! But by all means, wait if you’d like. 65-75 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00 **New for 2015**
Gardener’s Sweetheart A contender for our “New Variety of the Year”, we fell hard for this cherry tomato. Mark our words, you will start to see this variety spread like wildfire across catalogs in the next couple of years. Bred in Maine by longtime seedsman extraordinaire Will Bonsall, Sweetheart is adorable: fire engine red, mini apple shaped cherry
Tomatoes: Cherry
29
tomatoes with a firm texture and incredibly sweet flavor. And those trusses…! Some hang over 18” long, often splitting in two halfway down with perfectly alternating fruits, up to 20 or 25 per truss. High dry matter makes them very resistant to cracking and they hold excellently on the vine so you can wait for trusses to ripen nearly all the way to the tips and harvest for market “on the vine”. We thank our friends at Fruition Seeds for being among the first to sell it commercially. Indeterminate. 70-75 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds, $3.25
Green Grape These deliciously rich and sweet tomatoes produce abundantly. About 1-1.5” with chartreuseyellow (allow them to yellow slightly) skin when ripe, they hang in clusters on compact vines that reach about 3.5’ max. One of our most commented on tomatoes at market and we never seemed to grow enough (probably because we ate them all in the field, delicious!). Great for mixed cherry baskets. Despite the shorter vine they do require support as they tend
to be very heavy plants. Perfect for containers. Indeterminate. 75-85 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25
Koralik *Heirloom* Ver y ear ly matur ing 3/4-1” tomatoes hang in long clusters of up to 8 bright red fruits. Whole clusters generally ripen together making them a good variety to pick by the bunch for fancy-pants presentation at market. These taste much more like a juicy slicer then a sweet cherry and keep on producing throughout the season. Actually they wouldn’t stop...we were astounded. The perfect cherry tomato for containers and especially hanging baskets/buckets as these determinate vines are short but tend to sprawl. A great new discovery in 2009, originally hailing from Russia. Determinate. 65 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Red Fig *Ark of Taste Heirloom* So named because they were used as a substitute for dried figs in winters past (18th century), these vines are vig-
Tomato Quick Reference: Variety
Season
type
color
fruit size
growth
Black Cherry Galina Gardener's Sw. Green Grape Koralik Red Fig Snow White Velvet Red Yellow Pear
early mid early-mid early early early-mid early early early-mid
cherry cherry cherry cherry-grape cherry cherry-pear cherry cherry cherry-pear
red/brown yellow red green/yellow red red cream red yellow
lg. cherry med. cherry lg. cherry lg. cherry sm. cherry med. cherry med. cherry med. cherry med. cherry
indet. indet. indet. indet. det. indet. indet. indet. indet.
Black Prince Carbon Ceylon Czech's Excellent Gold Medal Italian Heirloom Jaune Flammee Latah Manyel Matina Nepal Northern Ruby Ruth's Perfect Sheboygen Stupice Super Lakota
early mid early early mid early-mid early very early mid early mid early mid mid very early mid
slicer slicer-beefsteak slicer/saladette slicer slicer-beefsteak slicer slicer/saladette slicer/saladette slicer slicer slicer paste slicer paste slicer/saladette slicer
red/brown red/brown red yellow yellow/red red orange red yellow red red red red red red red
4-6 oz 12-16+ oz 2-3 oz 4-6 oz 12-16+oz 10-16+oz 4 oz 2-4 oz 6-8 oz 4-6 oz 8-10 oz 4 oz 6-8 oz 4-6 oz 3-4 oz 6-8 oz
indet. indet. indet. indet. indet. indet. indet. det. indet. indet. indet. det. indet. indet. indet. indet.
30 orous and heavy yielding with pear shaped fruits. We have been on the lookout for a good red pear tomato and these are the best ones yet. In the cool, wet growing seasons of 07, 08, 10 and 11 (!) they exhibited the best (almost complete) late blight resistance of any tomato we’ve ever grown. Like all pear type tomatoes irregular watering habits will cause cracking. Slightly later maturing then Yellow Pear. Indeterminate, 80-85 days. WF Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Snow White A farm favorite both for their full flavored sweetness and highly productive vines. Approx. 1” tomato that is not a true white but rather a creamy pale yellow when fully ripe. Very good acid/sweet balance for a yellow/white tomato and an excellent addition to mixed cherry pints. The vines are rampant and need good support and the yields are outstanding. Yet another tomato we grow every year and are so happy to have discovered. 2014 update: If you have wondered why you would ever grow a “white” tomato take our advice and just grow them! One of our longtime friends and seed packer extraordinaire Rio, grew it and LOVED it for the first time this year. She was turned off by the idea of a white tomato but realized her folly as she was helping us harvest (eat) snow white this summer. Sweet and bursting with rich flavor! Indeterminate.70-75 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Yellow Pear Cherry *Heirloom* Similar to Red fig in shape and taste with extremely strong, productive vines and bright golden fleshy fruit, these tomatoes are a classic and colorful addition to your plate. One of those tomatoes we both remember from childhood and very easy to grow. Indeterminate, 70-75 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Velvet Red -back in 2016!-
Cherry Tomato Sampler A diversity of shapes and colors. 1 packet each Black Cherry, Yellow Pear, Koralik, Snow White, Green Grape, and Galina. 6 Packets: $16.25 EARLY RED SLICERS & SALADETTE
Ceylon *Heirloom* Oh-my-goodness-these-are-socute! Ceylon has all the look of a big ruffled beefsteak type tomato but in a miniature little package, only slightly larger than your average cherry tomato. From seed we originally got from Tom Stearns of High Mowing Seed over 10 years ago, this prolific and early tomato has become one of our favorites. We used it as a real eye catcher in our cherry tomato mixes. Great sweet/tart flavor. Rare. Not quite a cherry but not quite a slicer either. Indeterminate. 65 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25
Tomatoes: Cherry & Early Red **New for 2015**
Latah Pronounced “Lay-tah”, this is hands down the earliest tomato we have ever grown (and we think it should be called “Earli-ah”). Although developed by the University of Idaho (and named after the Idaho county) it seems to have gained more of a following across the pond in the UK than here in the PNW. This year, like most, we planted out our tomatoes the third week of May. From Latah, we harvested our first basket of tomatoes the last week of June: yes you read that correctly, 5 weeks from 4” pot to ripe fruit! And that is outside in the elements, no tricks other than a remay tunnel to keep the transplants warm at night for the first week or so. That is unheard of in this climate. Real tomato flavor too, bright and juicy. Low bushy determinate plants bear 2-3oz salad size fruits prolifically. Some tendency for green shoulders but, come on... Are you really going to nitpick a 5 week tomato? Perfectly suited for containers as well. Determinate. 50-60 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 **New for 2015**
Matina We don’t want to make crazy, bold proclamations after just a year of getting to know a new variety (which, as you can tell from the intro, means we are going to anyway) but Matina might be our new best all-around slicing tomato. It’s nice to be a small family company where we can write something like that and not break down into staff fistfights. It just checks all the boxes for us and exceptionally so: sets very early but with sustained harvests through fall, strong vigorous growth, beautifully organized and prolific trussing, perfect blemish-free and very uniform fruit, and a great flavor balance of sweet and acid. I reckon we harvested about 400+lbs of fruit from 30 field grown plants this summer. At 4-6 oz, the fruits are a little larger than Stupice, slightly flattened, and just the flawless ideal of a tomato in appearance. One of Amy Goldman’s “100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden” it hails from Germany, where our seed was originally sourced. This should be a nursery standard in the PNW. Indeterminate/Potato Leaf. 65-70 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00
Stupice *Heirloom* Ver y ear ly and ver y pr oductive Czech variety with a strong following amongst PNW gardeners. Bred in the mid 50’s at an ag station in the community of Stupice just east of Prague and introduced to the US by Abundant Life Seed Foundation in 1977. 2-3” deep red tomatoes with a nice balance of sweet/acid flavor. At this point Stupice (pronounced “stupeach”) is a reliable old friend. Regardless of weather it is one of the first red tomatoes out of the garden year after year. Potato leaf foliage on compact 4’ Indeterminate vines. We have never been let down by their full flavor, early
Tomatoes: Mid Season Red & Yellow/Orange and ongoing productivity, and quality. Harvested by the bushel from field grown plants which can be challenging in our climate. Mix with similarly sized Jaune Flammee and Czech’s Excellent Yellow for an eye-catching tricolor heirloom mix. Indeterminate. 55-70 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00 MID-SEASON RED SLICERS
Italian Heirloom *Heirloom* The vines will gr ow 6- 8’ tall. They will be covered in flowers and heavy with green fruit. Big, ½ - 1+lb fruit. You will taste the first one and there will be no going back. Suddenly you will notice more flowers, more vines, and more fruit. You will get desperate. Friends will begin avoiding you and your, “gifts”. You will can every night and avoid the plants during the day. When you can no longer stand it you will return to find…more fruit!. They will give you no rest. You will never settle for less. They are that good. Large pear-ish shaped, red tomatoes ideal for both slicing and sauce as they are very meaty and contain few seeds. Incredible flavor with just the right balance of acid and sweet. Early and productive for such a large variety. Indeterminate. 70-80 days. WG Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 **New for 2015**
Nepal *Heirloom* Nepal was a ver y pleasant sur prise for us this year producing the earliest and heaviest sets we’ve seen for a tomato of its class and quality. Nearly beefsteak sized 1/2lb fruits hung in abundance and delivered the seasons first glimpse of that ripe complexity of flavor we celebrate during the main-season tomato time. Hailing from the Northern Indian Himalayas, Nepal is a fantastic early-midseason slicer, with sturdy, strong vines, crack resistant fruit, and heavy set for its size. Also very good for ripening off the vine come fall. 75-80 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Ruth’s Perfect Originally bred by long-time biodynamic market farmer Ruth Zinniker of Wisconsin, Ruth’s Perfect is another strong, vigorous grower bearing simply gorgeous blemish-free half pound fruits. During one pretty mediocre summer for tomato-growing, we were very impressed with the yield and quality of this new-to-us variety. From field grown plants, we harvested tote after tote. Clear potential as a market variety for greenhouse or field production, it also ranked highly amongst tasters in our fall taste test. An appropriate name for this platonic ideal of a red slicer. 80 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Super Lakota *Heirloom* This has been our standar d r ed for summer slicer tomatoes for about as long as we’ve grown a garden. A reliable producer of 810oz mid sized fruit. Strong sturdy plants and
31
blemish–free fruit with great balanced heirloom flavor keep us going with this variety as our old standby. These grew amazingly in our small high tunnel in the cold and wet summer of 08. We always knew they were reliable but we had no idea just how abundant and beautiful they would be when given a little extra TLC. Excellent productive variety with market potential. Indeterminate. 80-85 days. WG Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 YELLOW/ORANGE **New for 2015**
Czech’s Excellent Yellow *Heirloom* Ever since wor king on a pr oduction tomato farm in VT, we’ve admired the market presentation of color mixes of similarly sized and shaped tomatoes. In this vein, Czech’s pairs perfectly with Jaune Flammee and Matina or Stupice for a yellow-orange-red round tricolor heirloom mix. Spherical 4-5oz fruits born on strong, tall vines often have a pink blush in the center when cut crosswise. The flavor is full, with lower acid as is typical of most yellow tomatoes. From the collection of famed heirloom tomato collector and seedsman Ben Quisenberry, likely of Czech origin as the name would suggest. Indeterminate. 75-80 days. UO
Gold Medal *Heirloom*. Recommended to us by many farmers we know, Gold Medal was an all around stunning tomato in our 2010 grow out. Tom and Maude Powell of Wolf Gulch Farm grew the seed for us in 2011 and this is what they had to say about it: “We loved growing this tomato! The plants were abundant producers of very large, meaty, 1lb+ fruits. What really stands out is the color – a sunset orange with red marbling, amazing to look at when sliced. The flavor is also outstanding, somewhat fruity. Great for sandwiches, but we also dried and made sauce with them. It reminded us of Striped German, one of our all time favorites, but was more productive.” First introduced in 1921 as Ruby Gold in John Lewis Child’s (credited with founding one of, if not the first seed catalog business in the United States) catalog it was later renamed Gold Medal by Ben Quisenberry in his 1976 catalog. Mr. Quisenberry operated, Big Tomato Gardens and was passionate about saving heirloom tomato seeds from extinction. Indeterminate. This large tomato does benefit from the extra heat of being grown under cover in cooler areas. 90 days. WG Packet 30-35 Seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00
Jaune Flammee *Heirloom* I was intr oduced to this var iety as a coveted secret ingredient to a fellow farmer’s “heirloom tomato mix” while living and farming in VT several years ago. Beautiful, perfectly round, small 4-5 oz fruit are bright orange on the outside and often have a reddish blush in the flesh. Fruits hang in cherry tomatolike trusses on medium sized very prolific plants
32
Tomato: Yellow/Orange, Brown/Black & Paste/Watermelon
with an open habit. Flavor is bright in acidity, and juicy. Our most reliable and productive non -cherry field tomato. Looking back over our sales, I have noticed, that this is among our least popular varieties the past few years which means we are not doing it justice in our descriptions. It was second only to Carbon in a taste test two years ago and is one of only perhaps 2 or 3 or three tomatoes we grow every year, no matter what. We LOVE this variety both as market growers and home gardeners. Indet. 7080 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 **New for 2015**
Manyel *Heirloom* A new color in our mid-season slicer palate, Manyel delivers very attractive 810oz lemon yellow fruits borne on sturdy but compact vines. Low acid, typical of the yellows, and with excellent, mildly sweet flavor, the fruits seem to have a bit of stuffing tomato in their lineage as they occasionally have a bit of a hollow cavity. A very attractive mid-season tomato. Suggested by some sources to be a Native American heirloom, the name is said to mean “Many Moons”. Indet. 75-80 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25 BROWN/BLACK
Black Prince *Heirloom* Up Nor th the name of the game for field grown tomatoes is early, early, early. We’re very selective about what we put out there for tomatoes, and we’ve enjoyed Black Prince in hot summers and rain soaked, cold ones. First brought to our attention years ago in Maine, where the flavor knocked our socks off, and continues to do so. The indeterminate vines are vigorous and loaded with 3-5oz deep garnet/ dark brown blushed oblong tomatoes. A fruity richness that lingers on the tongue and satisfies that deep summer craving for warm peaceful days, lemonade, and juicy tomato sandwiches. Originally from Irkutsk, Siberia. These were so abundant in our cold, wet summer of 2011 that we stopped picking them. Actually, we stopped even looking at them! Indeterminate. 70-75 days. UO, CF Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
Carbon Our back to back 2013 & 2014 taste test winner, Carbon is one of the most successful beefsteak size tomatoes we’ve grown, uncovered, out in the field yet. We easily harvested a couple hundred pounds of fruit from about 50 row feet of plants. Flattened 1+ pound fruits have brownish shoulders and deep dark red flesh. The flavor is a revelation, deep, rich, complex. The best description I can give is silence and the sight of eyes, half closed and rolling back in bliss, at a tomato tasting last fall. Content nods and “yep, that one” announced a near unanimous winner. It has a bit of heirloom tomato funk, concentric cracking and blossom end “cat-facing” (though much better than some), but if your bottom line
is flavor, this is the one. Indeterminate. 85 days. CV Packet: 30-35 seeds, 100 seeds $6.00, 250 seeds $10.00 PASTE **New for 2015**
Northern Ruby Paste This variety was handed to us by Rowen White of Sierra Seed Cooperative at a seed swap last winter. Originally a Heintz variety, it has been maintained by a Montana seed steward with 20 years of selection for early maturity and a compact shape. In the field at times, it seemed as though there was more tomato than plant to them. The very short (2-2.5’) bushy plants are nearly solid bricks of fruit starting to ripen very early and continuing for us until frost or blight does them in. In drier climates I would grow them without support, but with our maritime moisture and blight pressure, we’d recommend doing your best to keeping them as upright as possible. The fleshy fruit purees to a very creamy sauce with classic paste flavor. Very rare. Determinate. 70 days. UO Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25
Sheboygan *Ark of Taste Heirloom* We’ve been looking for a paste tomato that was not too mealy on the tongue, productive and early with a vibrant complex taste we wanted to eat fresh...Got it! Grown since the early part of the 20th century in Sheboygan, Wisconsin by Lithuanian immigrants, they have that lovely rich flavor imparted by so many heirloom tomatoes. Juicy and fresh yet excellent for sauce and paste. Very early and productive 4-6oz fruits with healthy indeterminate vines. 75-80 days. CF Packet: 30-35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00
WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus)——————— Blacktail Mountain 2007, with its cool rainy non-summer and early fall will not go down in history as “The Year Of the Melon” in the PNW. While the idea of watermelon was not necessarily enticing on a 50 degree harvest day in the pouring rain, such conditions are the true test for what we can get away with, and even that year we were flush with sweet juicy red Blacktail melons. Our hot, dry 2009 season was chock full of these melons, over 200lbs from a 40’ row and 2014 was another winner! Icebox sized 4-8lb melons are very early and sweet with few seeds. Your best shot at a ripe red watermelon in our climate. Developed by Glenn Drowns, owner of the Sand Hill Preservation Center, in the late 70’s. Delicious and refreshing on many of those hot latesummer days. It is worth repeating that Master Gardener Beth Chisholm who runs the Community First garden project through WSU extension also took on the care of the “We Grow” garden, a vocational readiness program of NW Youth Services. Last winter she shared that while sorting through donated seeds the kids picked our
Watermelon/Herbs watermelon seeds to grow. And while she admittedly was a “bit of a naysayer” due to previous watermelon failures, she was a good sport and went along with it. Sounds like they may have forgotten about them in the height of gardening madness but Blacktail produced a bumper crop nonetheless! 70-75 days. CB Packet: 25 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Cream of Saskatchewan *Heirloom* Wonder fully sweet and unique 610lb melons have a creamy yellow flesh and produce very well in areas with cooler temps. A variety originally from the Ukraine and brought over to Saskatchewan in the early 20th century. Due to their color you may have to mention that they are indeed a watermelon but it will take only a bite to convince even the most skeptical! A word of caution, they hold an unusual amount of pressure within the fruit. Remember this if you decide to hold them up to your ear and tap...they might just split and with some gusto! 80-85 days. WG -Please check website for availability-
HERBS Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) This fragrant bushy 34’ plant is simply divine! Smelling sweetly of licorice and mint it greets the gardener/farmer, bee, butterfly, and hummingbird with long standing dense blooms of violet 3-8” flower spikes. The beneficial insects and pollinators it will introduce to your garden are reason enough to add it to your list. Both the leaves and flowers can be used fresh or dried in teas, and salads and are equally wonderful as a cut flower. Tea made from Anise Hyssop is a cooling drink on a hot summer day. Bees freak for this. Good luck getting any away from them! Perennial. 65 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Artemesia, “Sweet Annie” (Artemesia annua) We discovered the joys of Sweet Annie at MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair in Unity, ME where it seemed like everyone was either carrying around a swag or had a small wreath of it decorating their head. The air was perfumed with its lovely scent. A member of the artemesia family, it grows to 5’+ with delicate feathery foliage. It is very aromatic both in the garden and as a dried flower in arrangements and wreaths. And very importantly, the WHO has named it the most important anti-malarial treatment available. 85-95 days. AH Packet: ~150 seeds $3.25
Italian Large Leaf Basil (Ocimum basilicum) This is one large, lovely, and lush Genovese-type basil. Growing to a height of 24” and producing large, tender, and sweetly fragrant leaves, it remains our basil of choice for making pesto and wherever basil is
33 called for. Slow to bolt and quick to regrow after cuttings. Leaves up to 4” long. 70-80 days. GC Packet: 100 seeds $3.25, 1/8oz $5.00
Borage (Borago officinalis) Besides being extremely easy to grow, very hardy and edible, this flower, like Lime Green Nicotiana, literally glows. Reminiscent of a shooting star in shape and a mild cucumber in taste, borage will produce continuous flower clusters that we and the bees both adore. The flowers, which are said to induce courage, open blue and slowly turn purple and then pink before they drop. Borage will survive light frosts and will self sow. 2’ bushy plants. 60-70 days. TR Packet: 75 seeds $3.00
Cilantro “Pokey Joe” (Coriandrum sativum) Pokey Joe’s triumphant return to the seed trade! This variety was brought to our attention by Scott Chichester of Nash’s Farm in Sequim, WA. The quality of taste is too often neglected in the modern seed trade. Pokey has all the attractive field qualities of more well known “Santo” (AKA “Slowbolt”) but just plain tastes better. It beat it handily in a recent variety trial held by the Organic Seed Alliance. Why do such varieties disappear from the trade…? Who knows, but we are working to bring back the best of them. As far as we can find, we are now the exclusive source of this gem. Great insectary plant as well, if allowed to bloom. Aphid eating syrphid flies love this. Rare. WG Packet: (150 Seeds) $3.25, 1oz $9.00, 1/4lb $19.00
Chervil “Vertissimo” (Anthriscus cerefolium) Originally native to the Caucuses and spread widely by the Romans, chervil is a lovely aromatic herb with a delicate, fern-like appearance and bright yet subtle aniseed flavor. Very popular in France, it is part of the herb mixture known as “fines herbes”, a mainstay of French cuisine. Often used to season egg, seafood, and vegetable based dishes, it is also more and more finding a home in specialty salad mixes, where it lends a wonderful flavor and texture. “Vertissimo” is selected for rapid re -growth after cutting making it well suited to commercial production in addition to home scale use. 60 days. UO Packet : 1g (~500 seeds) $3.25, 1/2oz $7.00, 1oz $12.00
Chamomile, German (Matricaria recutita) These little daisy-like flowers native to Europe, Asia, and Africa have been used as a calming, digestive tea for centuries. Cheery blooms sit atop low growing (18”24”) lacy foliage and will happily reseed if allowed to mature. Wonderful fragrance both fresh and dried. 65-75 days. HH Packet: 200 seeds $3.25
Dill “Goldkrone” (Anethum graveolens) Goldkrone is a vigorous
34 yet slow to bolt variety excellent for both fresh leaf and (later) seed head production. Fresh dill is indispensable in our summer and fall kraut making, while seed umbels find their way into our various pickling projects. A lovely architectural plant in the garden, Goldkrone can grow quite tall so give it some space if allowing it to mature to umbel stage. Unique in flower arrangements too! 45days. CF -check website for availability-
Herbs You should try some, ‘cause otherwise I don’t know what we’re going to do with all these seeds. Our plot yielded about 20#/100’ bed. Easy to grow and thresh. UO Packet: 2g $3.25, 1oz $6.00, 1/4lb $12.00, 1lb $25.00
Common Mullein
(Echinacea purpurea) Native to the North American plains, Echinacea has become a household name and the ambassador of herbal medicine for its use in stimulating the immune system. Purpurea is the easiest of the Echinacea family to grow, requiring no prior cold treatment for germination. A visually stunning perennial reaching a height of 3’, each plant produces several flower stalks topped with the characteristic cone shaped centers and drooping purple petals. Third year roots are most often used for medicinal purposes. Unless started very early, blooms second year and thereafter. Perennial. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
(Verbascum thapsus) Mullein is one those plants that we see all the time on the sides of roads and in overgrown urban lots, but we don’t even notice it until it is in the context of a flower or herb garden. I can’t tell you how many people have exclaimed “What is THAT?” pointing at the mandala-like wooly leaves and 7+’ tall golden flower spike of a mullein plant in the garden by our front door. Extremely cheerful and resilient the biennial plants throw their flowers in their second year. Great medicinal plant for the occasional ear infection as the flowers infused in olive oil are both soothing and antibacterial. Mullein has diuretic, analgesic, expectorant, and antiseptic properties. Another herb that is terrific for soothing the throat, bronchi and lungs. Internal and external uses. Biennial. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25
Hyssop
Nigella “Black Cumin”
Echinacea “Purple Coneflower”
(Hyssopus officinalis) Lovely scented perennial Mediterranean herb in the mint family. 16-24” tall with long stems of deep blue-violet flowers. Easily shaped for borders. Dried aerial parts medicinally used in cough syrups and teas for bronchitis and sore throats as well as for colds and flu. Leaves may be added to salads and soups. Attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Marshmallow (Althea officinalis) If any of you are prone to long lasting coughs and sore throats in the winter months, you’ll want this perennial herb in your garden. Large white flowers with big soft leaves reaching a height of 6-8’ make this herb hard to miss or resist. Both the roots and leaves are gentle expectorants and soothing to the throat and urinary tract. Perennial. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Mustard, “Yellow Seed” (Sinapsis alba) So every year I get a little, ahem.., obsessive about certain food “projects”. I decided mustard from scratch would be a delicious side project during some so called, “down time”. Growing the mustard seed, making the cider vinegar, using other goodies and spices from the farm to further flavor. So, I have a tendency to go overboard and in doing so grew about a lifetimes supply of yellow mustard seed. Now yellow seed is usually just a portion of finer mustards, the balance being the more assertive and spicy black and brown seed. Recipes abound and its easier to make than you’d expect. Our chipotle mustard was a hit (with home smoked Hot Portugal peppers). I hope to make a truffled mustard. The possibilities are endless.
(Nigella sativa) Grown throughout the Middle East and also known as Blessed Seed, Herb from Heaven, Black Seed, Roman Coriander, Black Caraway, Black Onion Seed, Kalonji, Corek Otu, Ketzah, Chaveux de Venus, etc. and referenced in the Old Testament, ancient Islamic and Greek literature, found in Egyptian tombs... One of the most revered seeds in history and used today as condiment and medicine (parasites, fever, water retention…) with enough uses to fill a large book. I encourage you to take a look when you have ample time to devote to the subject! Growing to a height of 8-12”, slightly bushy and delicate with white-whitish blue flowers complimented by slightly purple stamens and a lovely seed pod. Small And Mighty. Ethereally beautiful. Very aromatic seeds with a warming, exotic flavor that harkens to the cuisines of North Africa and the middle east. One of the seeds that got us started on our seed saving track, we have been growing this since before it could be found in practically any seed catalogue. Still rare. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Parsley “Moss Curled” Curly (Petroselenum crispum) A market standard for curly parsley. Heavy dark green hyper-curled leaves continue to grow for a season’s worth of parsley harvesting from these vigorous plants. Densely curled, sweet leaves make for easy chopping in the kitchen. Overwinters with relative ease, becoming sweeter in cooler weather.
For variety pictures, up to date availability, and more growing resources visit us at: www.uprisingorganics.com
Herbs/Grains 75 days. Biennial. GT Packet: .5g (~175 seeds) $3.25 Please check website for bulk availability
Parsley “Italian Flatleaf” (Petroselenum crispum) At Gathering Together Farm this strain is known as, “Survivor” for its proven ability to make it through some of the harsher winters in the Willamette Valley. Selected upon since 1980 it is very hardy, deep green, and disease resistant with a sweet full flavor. The choice variety for culinary as opposed to garnishing purposes. 75 days. Biennial. GT Packet: .5g (~175 seeds) $3.25
Sculpit (Silene inflata) We were seriously charmed by this culinary oddity when we first tried it in 2011. Guaranteed NOT to be the next big thing anytime soon, Sculpit (AKA “stridolo”) is for the adventurous lover of the esoteric. An aromatic leaf-herb all but unknown outside its native Italy where it is revered, it is used to season egg dishes, risottos, and salads with a flavor likened to a combination of tarragon, arugula, and radicchio. Very ornamental it has small unusually stunning balloon like flowers fringed with white petals that pollinators go wild for. We loved watching the bees climb fully out of sight into the balloon part of the flower. Highly recommended, we loved this plant. UO Packet: ~300 seeds $3.25
GRAINS Barley “Tibetan Purple Hulless” (Hordeum vulgare) An incredibly ornamental variety from the Himalayas, both in the field and the kitchen. Following a surge of interest in small scale grain growing in our area, Tibetan purple is one of our first experiments. Grain heads are purple with long decorative awns. At almost 3’ tall a patch of these in the breeze is something to behold. The deep purple hulless grain is relatively easy to thresh by hand and foot. Resists lodging. Great in soups or for barley risotto. A stunner. 90-110 days. UO Packet: 1/2 oz $3.25
Flax, “Omega” (Linum usitatissimum) Multi-branching, slender 2-3’stems with small sky blue flowers. Quite cheery as they sway in the wind. Plant in blocks for a nice effect and for easy reseeding the next season. Golden colored, large flax seeds high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, fiber, and lignans. Great for using either ground into meal or whole. Pleasing nutty taste. Drought tolerant. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 200 seeds $3.25, 1oz $6.00, 1/4lb $18.00
Oats (Hulless), “Terra” (Avena nuda) This variety was brought to our attention by Maine grower Will Bonsall who has worked extensively with small scale grain production. Probably the best of the hulless oats in
35 terms of production, grain size, and resistance to lodging. Early and easy to thresh. Send through a roller for oatmeal, or coarsely through a grain grinder for steel cut oats. Ornamental airy filler for bouquets as well. 100 days. UO Packet: 1oz $3.25, 1/2lb $12.00, 1lb $18.00
Quinoa “Red Head” (Chenopodium quinoa) Staple grain of the Andean Altiplano where it was domesticated 3-4000 years ago (and was second only to the potato in dietary importance), quinoa was fairly unknown in the US until the 1980’s. Quinoa is an amazing and delicious food. High in protein (12-18%) as well as being a complete protein (rare in the plant world), it boasts a low glycemic index rating (good for diabetics), is gluten free (for celiac sufferers), high in iron, magnesium and fiber, and even rescues kittens from tall trees. It is pretty unfussy and a visually beautiful plant in bloom. A close relative to the common weed, lambquarters, we actually recommend transplanting quinoa so you can know with certainty where it is in the field as it is virtually indistinguishable from its weedy cousin in the early vegetative stage. “Red Head” is a selection by Frank Morten out of some of the first wave of imported quinoa to withstand potentially wet and cool fall harvest times, something it doesn’t often face in the Andes. It has a more open head structure and resistance to premature seed sprouting in wet weather near harvest time. Rinsing grains through several changes of water before cooking (until water no longer appears soapy) will help remove bitter saponin coating. 90-110 days. UO Packet: ~300 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $5.00, 1/2oz 8.00 **New for 2015**
Wheat “Black Eagle” (Tritcum aestivum) This beautiful ornamental wheat was brought to our attention by ID grower and friend Beth Rasgorshek. At one point fairly common in the commercial trade, it has somewhat fallen off the map of late. Technically a six row spring wheat, and a fairly productive one at that, it is most commonly grown as an ornamental on account of its black-tinted heads and graceful long awns. Holds its color especially well if not overwatered. Our thanks to ID seed saver, Thumbs Heath. 95 days. UO Packet: 1oz $3.25, 1/4lb $5.00, 1lb $10.00 **New for 2015**
Wheat “Ethiopian Blue Tinge” (Tritcum aestivum) Two decades ago Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in BC brought back two seed heads of a variety of emmer wheat from an agricultural visit to Ethiopia and began multiplying it out and sending it to other growers. It is now grown on significant acreage from CA north to BC. An excellent yielding early variety, it has an interesting bluish hue to the berries and seedheads. The grain has very high protein content at up to 16% but does not generally develop much useable gluten to make it a good stand
36 alone bread flour. It is wonderfully flavorful cooked as a whole grain and is even being used commercially by at least one company for pasta. Grows to about 4’ in height. 90-95 days. UO Packet: 1oz $3.25
FLOWERS Amaranth “Hot Biscuits” (Amaranthus cruentus) You will be surprised by this gorgeous and graceful amaranth. Its warm, golden orange branching plumes stand upright and approximately 4’ tall. Branching stems allow for multiple cuttings from one plant. Grown by some for its edible seed, Amaranth has been grown for over 8,000 years and was a staple food of the Aztecs. Very high in many nutrients. Buff colored seed. 80 days. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $10.00
Amaranth “Love Lies Bleeding” *Heirloom* (A. caudatus) A lovely and unique plant both in the garden and vase standing 4-5’ tall with cascading medium red abundant blooms. Flowers last until frost and are also beautiful dried. Also known as Inca Wheat and dating back to before the 16th century. A dramatic name for a very dramatic plant. Edible red seed. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $10.00, 1oz $28.00, 1/4lb $75.00
Flowers: Amaranth-Borage Artemesia “Sweet Annie” (Artemesia annua) We discovered the joys of Sweet Annie at MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair in Unity, ME where it seemed like everyone was either carrying around a swag or had a small wreath of it decorating their head. The air was perfumed with its lovely scent. A member of the artemesia family, it grows to 5’+ with delicate feathery foliage. It is very aromatic both in the garden and as a dried flower in arrangements and wreaths. And very importantly, the WHO has named it the most important anti-malarial treatment available. 85-95 days. AH Packet: ~150 seeds $3.25
Bachelor’s Button “Black Ball” (Centaurea cyanus) Black ball is a stunning selection of this classic cottage garden flower with deep dark garnet blooms held high amidst silvery green foliage. Bushy branching plants make wonderful long stemmed cut flowers and the edible petals are lovely for fancying up a salad or desert. One of the coolest looking seeds around, to boot. Similar (or possibly even the same) as the cultivar “Garnet Gem”. 60 days. UO Packet: 75 seeds $3.25
Bee’s Friend (Bienen-Freund)
O, how the birds will love you! Grow all three, let them dry on the plant and watch the feasting begin! Packet: 150 seeds $3.25
(Phacelia tanacetifolia ) Ok. Yeah, yeah I know. Your Anise Hyssop attracts a lot of bees, and your Borage too. But honestly, you ain’t seen nothing until you plant a swath of this in your garden. Put in a clump of it and if there is a bee within 2 miles of your garden it will come, and if there are lots of bees living nearby….you will HEAR the patch 50’ before you get there. It’s ridiculous really. When we first started growing it, we actually started to worry at the farm that the other crops wouldn’t get pollinated because the bees were spending all their time in the Phacelia. It’s a lovely plant to boot, with lacey fern like leaves and a fiddle head of buds that unfurl with a succession of delicate lavender blooms. Attracts aphid-hungry syrphid flys in droves and fuctions well as aphid control when co-planted in alternating beds with blocks of brassicas. High quality pollen and nectar. Flowers over a long period of time. Delightful. Wonderful. Love it. 75-85 days. UO Packet: 250 seeds $3.25
Anise Hyssop
Borage
Amaranth Opopeo *Heirloom* (A . hybridus) An amazing backdrop to your flower or vegetable garden, Opopeo continues growing taller and taller (5-6’) with an abundance of deep burgundy flower spikes. An incredible and generous cut flower with one or more larger main heads and many side shoots. The dark green/burgundy leaves are edible when young. Edible cream colored seeds 60-65 days. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25, 1/4oz $10.00, 1oz $28.00, 1/4lb $75.00
Amaranth Mix
(Agastache foeniculum) This fragrant bushy 34’ plant is divine! Smelling sweetly of licorice and mint it greets the gardener/farmer, bee, butterfly, and hummingbird with long standing dense blooms of violet 3-8” flower spikes. The beneficial insects and pollinators it will introduce to your garden are reason enough to add it to your list. Both the leaves and flowers can be used fresh or dried in teas and salads and are equally wonderful as a cut flower. Tea made from Anise Hyssop is a cooling drink on a hot summer day. Bees freak for this. Good luck getting any away from them! Perennial. 65 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
(Borago officinalis) Besides being extremely easy to grow, very hardy and edible, this flower, like Lime Green Nicotiana, literally glows. Reminiscent of a shooting star in shape and a mild cucumber in taste, borage will produce continuous flower clusters that we and the bees both adore. The flowers, which are said to induce courage, open blue and slowly turn purple and then pink before they drop. Borage will survive light frosts and will self sow. 2’ bushy plants. 60-70 days. TR Packet: 75 seeds $3.00
Flowers: Calendula-Flax Calendula Mix (Calendula officinalis) It’s difficult to be grumpy in a patch of calendula. These plants are like old friends you can always come back to for good cheer and an unabashedly sunny outlook on life. Our mix spans oranges, yellows, whites, and flashback types (with red backs to the petals) all crossing freely to create this diverse gene pool. Easy to grow and happily reseeds to claim its corner in the garden year after year. Often used as a medicinal herb in hand salves for its healing qualities for abrasions and cracked skin. 55 days. UO, WF, GT Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Calendula “Zeolights” (C. officinalis) We love our cheery mix of yellow, orange and pale petal calendula varieties (above) but if we had to pick our favorite single strain this would be it. Selected out of the “flashback” line of calendulas that have streaks of red on the undersides of the petals, Zeolights has huge fully doubled pale colored blooms. The pointed petals have a unique layered quality giving them a finely cut mandala like appearance. Very elegant and slightly later blooming than most of the mix. 60 days. GT Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Cerinthe “Pride of Gibraltar” (Cerinthe major) I spy on my neighbor. So as not to overwhelm her with all my questions and inundate her with my child's pleading eyes and loud whisperings of, “Just one flower mama, I will just ask for one”, I spy. Under cover of bicycle, raincoat, and sunglasses I bike by, veering only at the last moment, as if on a whim, to catch a glimpse of what she has created. It is always a pleasure and I always leave too soon. These come from one such encounter. Purple tipped green leaves, cascading bracts of dark and then light purple flowers, waxy and almost succulent stems...humans, bees and hummingbirds were all smitten. 24-30” tall reseeding annual. Perfect planted among succulents, in a border, a flowerbox, a bouquet… blooms from midsummer on to medium frosts. One of our favorite flower discoveries, this native of the Greek Islands is somewhat rare and absolutely unique. 50-60 days. UO Packet: 25 seeds $3.25
Cleome “Violet Queen” *Heirloom* (C. hasslerana) Yet another flower that will beckon both bees and hummingbirds to your garden but watch out for the thorny stems! Also known as Spider flower, a name most likely given due to the long stamens (46”!) that protrude from each whorl of purple flowers resembling spider legs. Grows 4-6’ high producing one huge main flower spike with many flower covered side branches. Very pungent and musky smell. 70-80 days. UO Packet: 75 seeds $3.25
Coreopsis “Roulette” (Coreopsis tinctoria) A newer discovery for us, this carefree plant lends itself to natural wild-
37 flower gardenscapes and mass plantings. 3’ airy plants with sprays of mahogany red semidoubled blooms, partly rolled petals and contrasting yellow color. This 2009 Fleuroselect Gold medal winner is beautiful as a cut flower filler in bouquets. Drought tolerant, unattractive to deer, and freely reseeding. Yes. Yes. Yes. (Not totally stable-throws an occasional yellow flowering plant). 65-75 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Cosmos “Diablo” *Heirloom* (Cosmos sulphureus) A different species than the taller, more common cosmos, Diablo showcases bright scarlet/orange, semi-double blooms atop short bushy 3’ plants. Easy to grow and will brighten any corner of your garden. Wonderful as a cut flower. Striking and vivid color. Native to Mexico and introduced to English horticulture in the 18th century. 75 days. UO Packet: 75 seeds $3.25
South African Pearl Daisy -back in 2016!-
Echinacea “Purple Coneflower” (Echinacea purpurea) Native to the North American plains Echinacea has become a household name and the ambassador of herbal medicine for its use in stimulating the immune system. Purpurea is the easiest of the Echinacea family to grow, requiring no prior cold treatment for germination. A visually stunning perennial reaching a height of 3’, each plant produces several flower stalks topped with the characteristic cone shaped centers and drooping purple petals. Third year roots are most often used for medicinal purposes. Unless started very early, blooms second year and thereafter. Perennial. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Edible Flower Mix Nothing gussies up a dish presentation quite like a sprinkling of colorful edible flower petals. Our mix is roughly equal parts borage, calendula, “Black Ball” batchelor’s button, and “Trailing Mix” nasturtium. All are fairly large seeded, easy to grow, and well suited to direct seeding. Thin to desired spacing (being sure to give the nasturtium plenty of space). Packet: 75-100 seeds $3.25
Flax “Omega” (Linum usitatissimum) Multi-branching, slender 2-3’stems with small sky blue flowers. Quite cheery as they sway in the wind. Plant in blocks for a nice effect and for easy reseeding the next season. Golden colored, large flax seeds high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, fiber, and lignans. Great for using either ground into meal or whole. Pleasing nutty taste. Drought tolerant. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 200 seeds $3.25, 1oz $6.00, 1/4lb $18.00
Foxglove “Wild Cascades” (Digitalis purpurea) These beautiful flowers come to you from the wilds of Whatcom County! The white and pink foxgloves that dot the
38 hills and roadsides and rush to fill in otherwise vacant and recently cleared land could be yours. Long lasting showy perennials and one of the first flowers to look forward to in early summer. If you do not already have hummingbirds visiting your garden, these beauties will lure them in to stay. Blooms second year. Please remember that All parts of this plant are a potent herb and poisonous if incorrectly ingested! Biennial. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25 **New for 2015**
Foxglove, “Giant Yellow Herold” (Digitalis ferruginea) This lovely perennial foxglove, native to the Balkans has long found a cherished home in classic British Cottage gardens and for good reason. There is an understated and regal elegance to their stately spires of blooms. 5-6’ spikes emerge from a lily-like whorl of smooth lanceate leaves (quite different than the native PNW foxgloves) and open to bronze blooms with finely detailed rust/ burgundy veining. Very much admired by the bees as well, this was the loveliest new flower to grace our home garden this year. Pure class. Biennial, blooms second year. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Flowers: Foxglove-Nasturtium Marigold “Pinwheel” *Heirloom* (T agetes patula) Dating back to the 17th century, this marigold continues to find a place in our garden each year. Each plant produces a profusion of cheerful blooms with red and yellow bicolor petals amidst fernlike leaves reaching a height of 3-4’! Stunning. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Morning Glory “Grandpa Ott’s” *Heirloom* (I. purpurea) Now famous as the variety that set the Whealy’s on their path to eventually found the Seed Savers Exchange, Grandpa Ott’s is a real beauty. Of Bavarian origins, its purple trumpets have glowing magenta centers and a dark five pointed star pattern. Climbs over 10’ in a season with trellising and is covered with blooms until frost. May self sow but not in a “hell-bent on world domination” way, like some of its weedy relatives. 70 days .UO Packet: 40 seeds $3.25
Common Mullein
(C. regalis) Another one of our favorites that we have been growing since we discovered it over 10 years ago. You will be immediately taken by the cloudlike drama of this plant. While it has a somewhat bushy habit, the foliage is so delicate and fernlike, the flowers so profuse and richly purple/blue, that it remains graceful and open. Flowers form in sprays instead of one central stem. Wonderful as a cut flower and will continually rebloom on the same stem as the spent pods. Pairs beautifully with Nicotiana. 2-4' tall/wide. This seed germinates best when given a 2wk cold treatment. Simply put packet in a plastic bag or glass jar and refrigerate. 75 days. TR Packet: 100 seeds #3.25
(Verbascum thapsus) Mullein is one those plants that we see all the time on the sides of roads and in overgrown urban lots, but we don’t even notice it until it is in the context of a flower or herb garden. I can’t tell you how many people have exclaimed “What is THAT?” pointing at the mandala-like wooly leaves and 7+’ tall golden flower spike of a mullein plant in the garden by our front door. Extremely cheerful and resilient the biennial plants throw their flowers in their second year. Birds love the seeds as well which guarantees they will spread very little. Great medicinal plant for the occasional ear infection as the flowers infused in olive oil are both soothing and antibacterial. Mullein has diuretic, analgesic, expectorant, and antiseptic properties. Another herb that is terrific for soothing the throat, bronchi and lungs. Internal and external uses. Biennial. UO Packet: 150 seeds $3.25
Mallow “Pink Lavatera”
Nasturtium “Trailing mix”
Larkspur “Blue Cloud”
(L. trimestris) Growing to a height of 3’ and spreading to about 2’ in all directions, Lavatera is covered in funnel shaped, rose pink, hibiscuslike blossoms and long buds in the midst of unfurling. These wonderful cut flowers have a habit of lasting long after the others have sadly withered. A very easy to grow member of the mallow family. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Marigold “French Brocade”
*Heirloom* (Tagetes patula) A very showy low growing (12-18”) marigold covered with beautiful red doubled blooms accented with oranges and gold's. Very elegant looking in a Baroque sort of way. Blooms fade to a lovely burnt orange. Very beneficial in the garden, marigolds have strong nemitodicidal properties. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
(Trapaeolum majus) Cheerful, easy to grow, edible, and long lasting nasturtiums have remained at the top of our list for as long as we’ve grown a garden. More of a place in the garden than a plant, these beauties can trail to over 8’ across and adorn their lush leafiness with a profusion of flowers in hues of red, orange, yellow, and salmon. Edible leaves and flowers add a sweet spiciness akin to watercress which when added to a sandwich or salad add a delightful bite and brightness. Immature seeds can be pickled and made into wonderfully tasty “poor man’s capers”. Plants and flowers will continually grow from early summer to late fall, can withstand a light to medium frost, and re-seed easily. Originally from South America nasturtiums were brought to Spain in the 1500’s. 60-65 days. UO Packet: 25-30 seeds $3.25, Check online for bulk options
Flowers: Nicotiana-Salvia Nicotiana “Lime Green” *Heirloom* (Nicotiana alata) Velvety green tobacco leaves give rise to flower spikes of nodding chartreuse trumpet flowers that seem to glow. Absolutely intoxicating fragrance is released in the evening air at dusk and continues into the morning hours. Each plant continually branches reaching a height of 3-4’ and produces masses of flowers. We suggest you plant a hedge…you will not be disappointed! A versatile cut flowers for arrangements. 75 days. UO Packet; ~150 seeds $3.25
Nigella “Black Cumin” (Nigella sativa) Grown throughout the Middle East and also known as Blessed Seed, Herb from Heaven, Black Seed, Roman Coriander, Black Caraway, Black Onion Seed, Kalonji, Corek Otu, Ketzah, Chaveux de Venus, etc. and referenced in the Old Testament, ancient Islamic and Greek literature, found in Egyptian tombs... One of the most revered seeds in history and used today as condiment and medicine (parasites, fever, water retention…) with enough uses to fill a large book. I encourage you to take a look when you have ample time to devote to the subject! Growing to a height of 8-12”, slightly bushy and delicate with white-whitish blue flowers complimented by slightly purple stamens and a lovely seed pod. Small And Mighty. Ethereally beautiful. Very aromatic seeds with a warming, exotic flavor that harkens to the cuisines of North Africa and the middle east. One of the seeds that got us started on our seed saving track, we have been growing this since before it could be found in practically any seed catalogue. Still rare. 60-70 days. UO Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Nigella “Exotica” (Nigella hispanica) Exotica is our favorite of the Nigella (Love In a Mist) family. The beautiful purple passionflower-like blooms make an outstanding and long lasting cut flower filler. Very delicate and abundant sprays with flowers that contrast from deep purple flower petals to dark purple centers to magenta stamens. Once the flowers are spent, the seed pods swell up into unusual and ornamental balloons. 18-24” tall. 75-85 days. SB Packet: 100 seeds $3.25
Poppy “Black Swan” (Papaver somniferum) Stunning. Deep purple verging on black poppies with finely cut, frilly petals. 4’ tall and a necessity in your garden. 8090 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25, 1g $7.00
Poppy “California Mix” -back in 2016!-
Poppy “Cornfield” (Papaver rhoeas) We are told that these grow wild as common field weeds in the south of France. Charming. We get lettuce thistle and the
39 French get pretty little red poppies. So. Not. Fair. A sprinkle of seeds here, a sprinkle there. Wait. Smile and feel joy. Long blooming, lower growing to 1-1.5’. 55-65 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25, 1g $5.00
Poppy “Danish Flag” *Heirloom* Papaver som niferum ) Why, Hellooo my brilliant red, white, and lacey friend! Not one to shy away from direct attention or compliments and sure to distract and titillate…perfect for the bedside table. Ahem. I mean the bees. Need I say more? Oh yes, a copius amount of seeds if you desire the addition to your sweets, your savories, your…Distinct white cross pattern over lipstick red, deeply cut petals. 3’ tall. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25
Poppy “Flemish Antique” *Heirloom* (Papaver som niferum ) A show stopper. Even flower farming veterans were astonished by these beauties when touring our home farm in past years. Impossibly huge peony -like pastel blooms from white to rose to deep purple. Not pastel like easter kitsch, but pastel like classy Victorian. The gene pool spans singles and doubles, many with frilly deeply serrated petals. Very top heavy, 3-4’ plants benefit from staking or dense cluster-planting for support. Old and rare variety. 80 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25, 1g $5.00 **New for 2015**
Poppy “Frilled White” (Papaver somniferum) If you love poppies and have been wanting the simplicity of pure white, this is it. Stunning ghostly white orbs of finely toothed petals hover over grey/green foliage. You may decide you need a hedge. You may decide a few will do. Either way, you will have made a good decision. Approximately 3’ tall Shared with us by the good folks at Stellar Seeds in BC. 80-90 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25
Poppy “Ziar Breadseed” *Heirloom* (Papaver som niferum ) A culinary poppy from the village of Ziar, Slovakia known for large seed heads filled with unusually sweet grayish blue seeds. Seed heads have been bred to have closed vents on the sides preventing seeds from spilling onto the ground instead of making it into your bread. Approx. 4’ multiple stemmed, long lived plants producing pretty single petaled pale lavender/pink flowers with darker centers. 90 days. UO Packet: 300 seeds $3.25, 1g $5.00
Salvia “Marble Arch” (Salvia viridis) The beautiful purple and pink flags on these plants are not the flowers, but very showy bracts. These sages are a delightful burst of color in the garden. The mix of purple and pink make great cut stems for unusual and striking bouquet filler. Small white flowers are not the plant’s centerpiece but cheerfully peek up from below the bracts. Long lasting stems.
40 More purple than pink. 70 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Salvia “Texas Hummingbird Sage” (Salvia coccinea) This open, airy sage produces 2-3’ tall spikes of scarlet red flowers that open over a period of several weeks. Attractive to their namesake hummingbirds, these are also excellent insectary and nectary plants. Drought tolerant. 75 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Sculpit (Silene inflata) We were seriously charmed by this culinary oddity when we first tried it in 2011. Guaranteed NOT to be the next big thing anytime soon, Sculpit (AKA “stridolo”) is for the adventurous lover of the esoteric. An aromatic leaf-herb all but unknown outside its native Italy where it is revered, it is used to season egg dishes, risottos, and salads with a flavor likened to a combination of tarragon, arugula, and radicchio. Very ornamental and a wonderful early filler flower, it has small unusually stunning balloon like flowers fringed with white petals that pollinators go wild for. We loved watching the bees climb fully out of sight into the balloon part of the flower. Highly recommended, we love this plant. UO Packet: ~300 seeds $3.25
Strawflower “Monstrosum Fireball” -back in 2016!-
Sunflower, Mexican “Torch” (Tithonia diversifolia) Look at you planting flowers for the Butterflies. And Bees. And Hummingbirds. You even remembered that the wee birds of fall need something to eat. You go. Your reward for such altruism? Flaming orange flowers on fuzzy branching stems that swing and sway to 5'-7’. That's what you get. Not that you expected anything in return. Oh no, beauty and kindness are their own reward. Blooms until frost. 90-100 days. TR Packet: 50 seeds $3.25
Sunflower “Garden Anarchy Mix” (Helianthus anuus) What do you get when you let a whole slew of different sunflowers go unchaperoned in the garden all summer? Every year at Uprising Organics we grow 15-20 varieties of sunflowers…gorgeous burgundies, cheery yellows, whites, bi-colors, single headed, poly headed, Russian edible-seeded, teddy bear type… We let all that diverse genetic material cross pollinate freely to bring you this mix. Expect to be surprised by an unpredictable array of various combinations. We predict the results will be stunning. UO Packet: 35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $6.00, 1000 $25.00
Sunflower “Giant Sungold” (H.anuus) Wooohooo! After 2 failed attempts in different locales, amazing Idaho Seed grower Beth, at Canyon Bounty Farm has succeeded!
Flowers: Salvia-Sweet Pea Giant Sungold is everything you’ve been dreaming of if, you dream of sunflowers. 5-7’ tall and multibranching with fully double, dense 7-10” heads. Absolutely wonderful and almost identical to dwarf, single headed Teddy Bear only taller and with copious flower heads. A terrific cut sunflower that is incredibly long lasting. In N.WA we’ve found these to bloom a few weeks later then other sunflowers but never too late to enjoy them to their fullest. 90-110 days. CB Packet: 35 seeds, 100 seeds $8.00
Sunflower “Tarahumara” *Heirloom* (H. anuus) We’ve been quite taken by this sunflower since we discovered it over a decade ago. The tall 7-8’ plants produce a single stunning flower head, with an unusual fuzzy lime green center that eventually fleshes out with seeds as it matures. Huge heads droop downward at maturity offering some protection from birds, but its best to cover them with netting if saving for seed. Delicious white seeds. 90 days. UO Packet: 35 seeds $3.25, 100 seeds $9.00
Sweet Pea “Azureus” (Lathyrus sativus) This is actually not a true sweet pea but a close relative, sometimes known as chickling vetch or a “grass pea”. The short, drought tolerant 2-2.5’ vines produce delicate nodding pea flowers of the most exquisite sky blue color. This plant is often grown as a cover crop for its’ ability to effectively fix nitrogen in a very short amount of time. Trellising, while not necessary, keeps it a bit tidier in tight spaces. Drought tolerant in the extreme. It is an ancient cultivated plant and is an important food in Ethiopia and Bangladesh, as well as having culinary traditions in Spain and Italy where it is known as cicerchia. Slow Food Italy has even gotten involved in preserving it as a traditional food of Umbria. Considered toxic if consumped in significant amounts over extended periods. Also grown for animal grazing in China and India, 60-75 days. UO Packet: 50 seeds $3.25, 1/4lb 10.00
Sweet Pea “April in Paris” (L. odorata) Ella said it best “I never knew the charm of spring, / Never met it face to face. / I never knew my heart could sing, / Never missed a warm embrace / Till April in Paris.” When it comes to sweet peas I prize subtlety and elegance over the boisterous and what I often find to be somewhat gaudy. April in Paris is pure class: tall 5-6’ plants with large gently frilled, creamy white blooms, the petals just blushing to a purple fringe at the edges. While much of sweet pea breeding has been focusing on flashy looks, this represents New Zealand breeder Dr Keith Hammett’s attempt to marry the old fashioned scent to the modern sweet pea looks. The fragrance is an epiphany and will reduce you to mumbling gibberish as your body trips the fuse to your brain to focus more clearly on the olfactory bliss happening in the nose. By far the most arresting scene on the farm in 2011 was the row
Flowers: Zinnia/Mushroom Kits/Garlic/Collections of April in Paris flanked by two beds of “Bee’s Friend”, all against a backdrop of 5’ tall swaying golden “Terra” oats. This is why we grow things. Rare. 80 days. UO Packet: 25 seeds $3.25
Zinnia “Salmon Rose” (Zinnia elegans) Not a year has passed when zinnias have not loudly graced our fields. “Salmon Rose” has always been our favorite but least abundant color in the mixes so we finally sought it out as a single variety. Definitely one of the more elegant and subdued of the raucously gaudy zinnia palate, it makes for an excellent cutting flower and all around cheerful beckoning of summer. 75-85 days. SB Packet: 75 seeds $3.25, 200 seeds $6.50, 500 seeds $15.00
Zinnia “Benary’s Giant Mix” (Zinnia elegans) This big doubled zinnia mix has all the subtlety of a drag queen in a sequined mini-dress and is just as *fabulous*. Your eyes will be riveted to their gorgeousness as their vortex leaves you breathless. At 3-4’ tall, 23’wide w. 3-6” blooms there really is no escaping. Keep them cut and they will continue to stun you until frost. We suspect the original mix is a blend of separately maintained individual color types. Ours (similar to our “Anarchy”) is a hybridized population of all of them allowed to cross freely, so there may be some surprises! 75 -85 days. TR Packet: 75 seeds Check website for availability-
MUSHROOM KITS Grow Your Own Edible Mushroom Kits from our friend Alex of Cascadia Mushrooms, a certified Organic mushroom farm from Bellingham, WA. A fun addition to any home food production ambition. Full instructions provided with each kit.
Winecap Spawn (aka Garden Giant, King Stropharia) Portobello sized burgundy capped mushrooms. Spawn mixed with woodchips in spring to produce flushes of mushrooms from early summer on. Very easy to grow. Meaty texture and rich flavor. $24.
Shitake Plugs Enough plugs to inoculate five 3’ logs up to 10”d. Mushrooms begin fruiting the second spring and summer and up to 10 years thereafter. Fresh cut hardwood logs required and some drilling necessary. After years of the rubberized supermarket variety, fresh cut shitakes are a revelation. 100-150 plugs. $16.00.
SEED GARLIC We expect to have several new varieties and larger quantities in 2015, thanks in part to a new partnership with Jim of Cloudview Farm. Please check our website in late August for info and availability.
41
COLLECTIONS **New for 2015**
A Garden Gift. Gratis. Every year we happily donate seeds and this season we decided to take it one step further after a few conversations with customers who were not able to afford all or any of the seeds they wanted. You want a garden and we want you to have one without cost being a barrier. It’s really as simple as that. Accept it as our gift to you or send along the info to someone you know could use it. We know you’ll share your good fortune whether it’s remembering the good we all have to offer one another or a bag of home grown food to someone you know could use it. It takes many hands and we’d like to fill yours with vegies. “A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in - what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” Victor Hugo, Les Miserables 10 packets: Choose what you believe will benefit you most (including flowers) and please be open to substitutions if our stock is running low.
Rowan’s Awesome Kids’ Garden Collection x 2! Sure to please selection the kids will be excited to plant, happy to tend, and thrilled to eat. Kids + Gardens = Magic! Enjoy one packet of each of Rowan’s favorites & a fun information sheet. Collection #1: Gar den Anar chy Sunflower Mix, Calendula Mix, Dragon Carrot, Sora Radish, Dragon Langerie Bush Bean, New England Pie Pumpkin, and Schweizer Riesen Snow Pea Collection #2: Giant Sungold Sunflower , Salmon Rose Zinnia, Rainbow Mix Carrots, French Breakfast Radish, White Lion Edamame, Scarlet Emperor Pole Snap Bean, and Sanditia mini Cukes. 7 Packets: $19.50
Cherry Tomato Sampler See “Cherry Tomatoes” section
Insectary and Soil Builder Mix Born out of the Wild Garden insectary mix we used to sell, we’ve re-envisioned this as a complete fallow year “tonic” for part of your gardening ground. A combination of leguminous plants to replenish nitrogen, and insectary plants to provide long flowering habitat and forage for bees, pollinators, and beneficial insects. Seed heads provide winter scratch for birds. This is the next level. Grad school. Systems thinking. Permaculture. Mix contains Chickling Vetch (“Azureus”), Mustards, Phacelia (“Bee’s Friend”), Calendula, Chrysanthemum, Sunflowers, Clover, Anise hyssop, Flax, Hummingbird sage and Cress. Can either be tilled in at the end of the year or left to perennialize. UO Packet: 1/4 oz $3.25, 1oz $25.00
Ark of Taste Heirloom Sampler Our sampler consists of 11 varieties that have been listed by RAFT (Restoring American Food
42 Traditions) as American Ark foods. Sampler consists of one packet each of Hutterite Bush Dry Bean, Jacobs Cattle Bush Dry Bean, Lina Cisco's Bird Egg Bush Dry Bean, Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry, Roy’s Calais Flint Corn, Grandpa Admire’s Lettuce, Speckled Butterhead Lettuce, Red Fig Tomato, Sheboygan Paste Tomato, Eel River Melon, and Jimmy Nardello Sweet Frying Pepper. 11 Packets: $30.00
SLOW FOOD ARK OF TASTE The “Ark of Taste” was conceived at a Slow Food gathering in Torino, Italy in 1996. It is a project to identify foods with special culinary and cultural significance that are facing extinction with the industrialization of our food supply. We are pleased to offer 14 varieties this year that have been listed by RAFT (Restoring American Food Traditions) as American “Ark Foods” as well as the addition of 2 from Italy. *Hutterite Bush Dry Bean *Jacob’s Cattle Bush Dry Bean *Lina Cisco’s Bird Egg Dry Bean *Purgatorio Bush Dry Bean (Italy) *Zolfini Bush Dry Bean (Italy) *Roy’s Calais Flint Corn *Inchelium Red Garlic *Grandpa Admires Lettuce *Speckled Butterhead Lettuce *Tennis Ball Lettuce (back in 2016!) *Eel River (Crane) Melon *Jimmy Nardello Pepper *Red Fig Tomato *Sheboygan Paste Tomato *Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry These are seeds with stories to tell and in planting them we are all helping to bring a piece of our culinary heritage back to the forefront in our gardens and on our tables. We are excited to be a part of this project and will continue to explore more varieties to offer. Enjoy!
BOOKS & MEDIA 2015 Stella Natura Calendar The annual Biodynamic planting guide and calendar put out by Kimberton Hills Camphill Village in PA. Full of interesting articles, beautiful art, and most importantly a month by month guide to growing. The calendar indicates days best suited to various types of work and cycles of growth on the farm according to Biodynamic observations and is meant to be used in concert with your own common sense and an eye toward the weather.. We use this every year. Great as a year to year reference to record sowing/planting times, weather, and notes. $14.95 **New for 2015**
Beautiful Corn by Anthony Boutard We’ve admired Anthony and Carol Boutard’s vegetable & grain operation at Ayers Creek
Collections/Books & Media Farm in Gaston, OR for years and are thrilled to have them in our producer network as of this year. In his recent book Anthony plays equal parts thoughtful farm observer, botanist/ naturalist, and food historian to tell the story of the Americas most influential food contribution to the world. As corn is an important market crops at Ayers Creek, there’s plenty of practical growing and culinary information to be found here as well. One of our favorite reads this year. Softcover, 209p. $19.95
Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carol Deppe “All gardeners and farmers should be plant breeders”, says author Carol Deppe. “Developing new vegetable varieties doesn't require a specialized education, a lot of land, or even a lot of time. It can be done on any scale. It's enjoyable. It's deeply rewarding. You can get useful new varieties much faster than you might suppose. And you can eat your mistakes. A great introduction to vegetable breeding and improvement. Scientific enough to be meaningful, down to earth enough to be understandable. Softcover, 367p. $29.95
The Resilient Gardener by Carol Deppe Both a conceptual and a hands-on gardening book, and is suitable for gardeners at all levels of experience. Resilience here is broadly conceived and encompasses a full range of problems, from personal hard times such as injuries, family crises, financial problems, health problems, and special dietary needs (gluten intolerance, food allergies, carbohydrate sensitivity, and a need for weight control) to serious regional and global disasters and climate change. It is a supremely optimistic as well as realistic book about how resilient gardeners and their gardens can flourish even in challenging times and help their communities to survive and thrive through everything that comes their way. Softcover, 232p. $29.95
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Asheworth Probably the best and most comprehensive guide to start learning about saving seed. Ashworth goes species by species for all major vegetable families with detailed notes for over 160 vegetables. A valuable addition to your garden reference shelf. Second edition. Softcover, 228p. $24.95
Vegetable by Vegetable: A Guide for Gardening Near the Salish Sea by Marko Colby & Hanako Myers A terrific reference guide to growing vegetables in the unique climate of the Puget Sound/ Straight of Georgia area. Marko and Hanako bring their experience, as market growers in the Port Townsend area, to this very accessible primer geared towards newer gardeners. Includes chapters on winter gardening, pest control, and a resource guide. Softcover, 82p. $12.99
Ordering Instructions
43
Ordering Instructions: There are several Ways to purchase our seeds… Web: Check out our new website this year at www.uprisingorganics.com. We’ve been overdue for an upgrade! Look for easier navigation, more pictures, growing information, and a new built in blog to stay up to date on what’s happening in our office and on the farm. As before, it is the best source for full color variety pictures, customer reviews, current inventory, and bulk availability. Ordering is easy and checkout options are available for both credit card and pay by check/mail. By creating an account, you can track order history, create wishlists, and save orders for later checkout.
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Mail: Even if you would like to pay by check, we would encourage you, if you have access to our website, to place your order on line and choose the “print order form” option at checkout. This helps to avoid calculation mistakes and allows us to better track orders. If you do not like to do your shopping online, please feel free to use the order form on the following page and return it to us with check or postal money order to: Uprising Seeds 2208 Iron St Bellingham, WA 98225
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Seed Racks: Our seeds can be found on retail racks in Washington and Oregon at 37 locations. Check our website, www.uprisingorganics.com for up to date stor e info. Seed r acks usually hit the stor es in J anuar y and February at most locations.
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Fullfillment & Shipping: We process orders in the order received. We will never substitute another product for an out-of-stock item without your consent. Unless special arrangements are made we generally ship via USPS regular or priority mail depending on the size and weight of your package. Our goal is to ship within 2-4 days of receiving your order, but at peak season (Jan - mid Mar) longer turnarounds may occur. We do not begin shipping until late January for all orders placed after the first of the year.
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Guarantee: Uprising Seeds is dedicated to providing an excellent source for certified organic, open-pollinated and heirloom seeds and all our seeds are guaranteed to exceed Federal germination standards. Any lots that do not germ to our satisfaction or are removed from our catalogue for that year. All corn seed is further submitted to third party GMO testing and must meet a 0% contamination standard to be sold. We believe you will be happy with your order. If for any reason you are dissatisfied, please contact us and we will happily send a replacement or refund. Uprising Seeds liability is limited solely to the purchase price or replacement of your order. Growing a crop from seed is a complex endeavor and involves many factors beyond our control. We are committed to providing excellent seeds. The rest is up to you!
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Please Note: At this time we do not accept orders over the phone or by fax. Also, our physical address is not a retail location, and order pick-up is not available from our office.
……………………………………………………………………………………………. Contact Us: Email: uprisingseeds@riseup.net By far, the best way to reach us. Phone: (360)778-3749 We do not keep r egular office hour s, but if you would like to talk to someone in person, the best times to call are between 9 and 3, M-F. We’ll do our best to get back to you asap if you leave a message. Facebook: Pictur es, updates and customer questions and comments ar e often posted her e. Farm Blog: A new built in blog will be located on our website. We’ll try hard to keep that up to date and create a space to share ideas and inspiration with your fellow seed sowers and savers.
44
Order Form Check availability and order seeds at uprisingorganics.com !
Uprising Seeds Order Form 2015 Name: _______________________________________ Mailing Address: _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Phone:(____)_____________ email:__________________________ quantity
description
Shipping & Handling Fees $0-15.00 add $3.00 $15-50.00 add $6.00 $50-100 add $8.00 Over $100 add $10.00
unit size
**Important!** Please be sure to add shipping before calculating tax
price
subtotal shipping subtotal
8.7% tax (WA only) total
Mail this form and Check or Money Order to: Uprising Seeds 2208 Iron St Bellingham, WA 98225
subtotal
45 The Resiliency of Traditional Breeding: Keeping seed in the public commons There has been a tremendous public outcry over the past several years over the fear of GMOs and their implications in our food supply. This is a good thing as, in many ways, it has been the real defining issue that has allowed seeds to enter the public conversation. I am very concerned about the rise of GMO varieties, their health and economic impacts, but I also see them as the latest piece of a much larger trend in how we relate to our seed heritage and it is this that keeps me up at night. In the middle of the last century a new breeding paradigm, the creating and marketing of hybrid varieties, began taking over. Prior to this, the history of agriculture and the wealth of food diversity, was the result of people creating relationships with the plants they ate, and over time selecting qualities that were desirable. Hybridization was an inevitable part of that process, but never and end point. It was a means, both intentional and accidental, to introduce new genes into food crops and allow for new combinations of traits that could be worked with over time to improve the quality of the foods we eat. It is this relationship that is important though. Each generation inherits these seeds, a living history of interdependence between plants and people, and interprets it though the lens of the times. As insect, or drought, or disease pressure arises, or nutritional needs or taste preferences change, a breadth of genetic diversity allows for a resiliency and adaptation. Hybrid seeds are made when two different varieties are crossed to create a new variety, genetically stable for only a single generation, that contains and expresses (hopefully) the desirable traits from each parent. In the making of modern hybrids, the two parent lines are severely inbred to make them as genetically uniform as possible for the traits they express. But nature likes diversity (mutts are always healthier than purebreds…) so when the two different inbred parents are crossed, the sudden resulting burst of genetic diversity, creates simultaneous conditions of vigor and uniformity, the holy grail a modern industrial system that desires both healthy plants and the ability to harvest acres of broccoli on the same day and pack peppers efficiently into boxes without wasted space. The catch here is that hybrid varieties are ephemeral. If you save and replant their seeds they will produce a broad swath of recombined genetics of the two original parents, few if any, identical to the actual hybrid itself. Because you can’t save your own seeds, and because breeding companies have no incentive to release the parent lines they are using, hybrids are really the original intellectual property protection system in the world of seeds. For each hybrid you see in a seed catalog, there is a single company with a production monopoly on that variety. Given the obvious profit incentive built into that model, these varieties and the breeding companies that produce them are increasingly being consolidated into the hands of a few. The role of many seed catalogs have followed suit shifting from regional entities closely tied to their food systems, to seed resale and marketing operations that are the misleading public face of these powerful corporations. Add variety patenting and genetic engineering into the mix and you have the wholesale profit-and-control-driven privatization of our inherited food commonwealth. There is a fatal flaw to this system of thinking though. The ability to react and adapt to changing conditions is the key to longevity in nature. Adaptability requires diversity though, and that is exactly what is built OUT of the modern hybrid system. Hybrids are frozen in time, a genetic end point. There is no elasticity left in the parent lines to adapt to change. Every time you produce the hybrid seeds you always have to go back to the parent lines. For this reason, hybrids exist frozen in time as genetic dead-ends. When the variety proves susceptible to a new strain of disease, a new insect, changing climatic conditions, it is back to the drawing board as breeders scramble to find new potential parent varieties that might show some resistance to the new challenge. Ironically though the rise of hybrids has been largely responsible for the greatest loss of diversity in our food system in modern history, an eroding genetic foundation upon which the system itself is built and dependent on. We are often asked if we only sell “heirlooms” seemingly suggesting that there was some golden era in the past when things were better. In many cases it’s true. Modern breeding has focused a great deal on qualities that make food efficient to produce, but has done little to address qualities that actually make food pleasurable to eat. Plenty of old varieties do taste better, but it is also a mistake to them as relics of the past and unchanging. It’s our duty as stewards of seeds not to constantly be going back, but to bring old seeds into the present, and steer them into the future. Old heirlooms were at some point exciting novel varieties, and actively breeding here and now will create tomorrow’s “heirlooms”, plants that are adapted to our places and our cultural experience. This is the work that we see beginning to return to farms and this is the beauty of a food system based upon a rich diversity of openpollinated seeds. Seeds firmly rooted in the public commons and able to adapt to our rapidly changing world. If there is a theme we hope you take away from this catalog it is that our food system is strongest when it’s relationships are. Our relationships with food traditions. Our relationships with farmers and farm laborers. Our relationship to the seed heritage we have inherited. Our relationship to the seed legacy we leave our kids. -Brian Campbell We decided this essay was important enough to reprint from our 2014 catalog, as its ideas are the basis for our commitment to this work
46
Plan ng Guide for the Mari me Northwest.
47
100% Cer fied Organic • Open Pollinated • PNW Grown “The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolu on.” ~Paul Cézanne
2208 Iron St Bellingham, WA 98225 (360)778.3749 www.uprisingorganics.com