The 2023 Organic Vegetable Plant Collection (Ethics, Growers, Varieties)
*****IMPORTANT NOTE: The varieties listed below are what we start with, but we cannot guarantee that they will all be in stock when you come to the store. As some things do sell out. Thanks for understanding.
PHILOSOPHY
At Agrarian, our goal is to have our vegetable plant offerings set us apart from other garden centers. We do this by curating a unique collection that includes seed sourced from some of our favorite small seed companies, including several varieties from our own in-house sister seed company, the Experimental Farm Network, to bring you a diverse, one-of-a-kind selection. This year seed came from our friends at Adaptive Seeds (SW Oregon) and Wild Garden Seeds (Philomath, OR).
Additionally, to highlight some of the wonderful connections that have happened as a result of having this garden center, ASG co-owner Dusty Hinz has been able to befriend local East Nokomis resident Jim Tjepkema because he came into the store our first year. Jim has been a long-time member of Seed Savers Exchange (based in Deocrah, IA), and maintains the seed for around 30 of his favorite vegetable varieties. Jim and Dusty are now working on some grow outs of Jim's varieties, with the intention of putting the seed into the EFN catalogue. This year 'Milka's Yugo Ox Heart' Tomato and 'Kostadinov's Striated' Hot Pepper will be available as plants at ASG. The seed from both of these came from Jim. Special thanks to Jim for his life-long commitment to seed preservation.
GROWER ETHICS
We then provide these seeds to our organic farmer friends, who produce all of these plants for us on contract, in their certified organic greenhouses. These are small-scale, family farm operations, and we are happy to put money in their pocket. This year we have two growers.
CALA FARM
We are happy to have Rodrigo Cala (of Cala Farm in Turtle Lake, WI) back growing all of our tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, and ground cherries again! His son Alexis and daughter Dayanne also help grow the plants.
Rodrigo is an integral part of the organic farming community in the greater Twin Cities foodshed, as both a farmer and organizer. He has been a long-time employee at the Latino Economic Development Center based in Saint Paul, MN, where he does outreach and consulting to Latin American farmers in the greater Midwest region. He is also beginning to grow seeds for the Experimental Farm Network. It's great to have him and his daughter and son growing plants for ASG!
TWIN ORGANICS
Twin brothers Andrew and Jacob Helling, of Northfield, MN, are some of the most talented organic vegetable production farmers that Dusty has met. In addition to selling organic produce, they also dabble in selling high quality organic vegetable and herb plant starts. This year they are growing all of ASG's lettuce, brassicas, peas, onions, squash, cucumber, and more. It is also great working with Twin Organics because we are able to offer organically grown herbs.
VEGETABLE VARIETIES
single plant in 3.5 inch pot:
| Slicing Tomatoes |
| Green Zebra (indeterminate) |
| Legend Tomato (determinate) |
| KC-146 (semi-determinate) |
| Black Krim (indeterminate) |
| Brandywine (indeterminate) |
|
Striped German (indeterminate) Milka's Yugo Ox Heart (indeterminate) Pisanello de Bruschetta (indeterminate) Mountain Miracle XL Pink Tomato (indeterminate) |
| Smallish Tomatoes |
| Jagodka (determinate) |
|
Valencia (indeterminate) Exserted Orange (indeterminate, but smaller) |
| Cherry Tomatoes |
| Mexico Midget (indeterminate, red cherry) |
| Super Sweet 100 (indeterminate, red cherry) |
| Purple Bumble Bee (indeterminate) |
| Black Cherry (indeterminate) |
| Sungold (indeterminate) |
|
Yellow Pear (indeterminate) |
| Paste Tomatoes |
| Amish Paste (indeterminate) |
| Nistru (determinate) |
Hot Peppers
Black Hungarian
Rodrigo's Cholula Jalapeno
Serrano
Orozco
Adaptive Early Thai
Kostadinov's Striated
Beaver Dam
Carolina Reaper (super mega hot)
| Sweet Peppers |
| Doe Hill |
| Early Perfect Italian |
| King of the North |
| Greg's Hungarian |
| Banana |
| Golden California Wonder |
| Early Long Orange Bell |
| Other Peppers |
| Alpine Poblano |
| Resilient Shishito |
| Tomatillo |
| Tamayo F1 |
| Ground Cherry |
| Goldie |
Winter Squash
New England Pie Pumpkin
Delicata Squash
Acorn Squash
Waltham Butternut
Musque de Provence Pumpkin
Summer Squash
Homs Kousa Summer Squash
Cocozelle Zucchini
Golden Zucchini
Eggplant
Nadia F1
Japanese F1
Sweet Potato
Beauregard
Okra
Midwest Ultracross
4-packs:
Sugar Snap Pea
Sugar Ann
Sweet Corn
Peaches and Cream
Cantaloupe
Sugar Cube
Watermelon
Early Moonbeam
Cucumber
Marketmore
Patio Snacker
Northern Pickling
| Broccoli |
| Gypsy Brocoli |
| Purple Peacock |
|
Cauliflower White Cheddar Purple Graffiti Collards Champion Brussel Sprouts Gustus Cabbage Green Farao Bok Choi |
| Bok Choi Grex |
Rutabaga
Rutabangin'
Kohlrabi
White Vienna
Celery
Tango F1
Celeriac
Monarch
Bulbing Fennel
Preludio
Edamame
Tankuro
Leek
King Richard
Green Onion
Nabechan F1
Onion
Red Wing
Sweet Candy
| Shallot (2-3 plants per cell) |
| Creme Brulee F1 |
Beets
Golden
Red Detroit
Lettuce
Mirlo (green butterhead)
Alkindus (red butterhead)
Bergham's Green (green leaf lettuce)
New Red Fire (red leaf lettuce)
Coastal Star (romaine)
Frank Morton's Wild Garden Lettuce Mix (lot of diversity, mostly leaf lettuces that are cut-and-come-again)
| Misc. Greens |
| Bloomsdale Spinach |
| Indigo F1 Raddichio |
| Astro Arugula |
Bush Bean (green snap beans)
Provider
Pole Bean (green snap beans)
Fortex
Single plant in 2.5 inch pot:
Kale
Homesteader's Kaleidoscopic Perennial Kale Grex
Winterbor F1
Willem's Blauwe Groninger
Dazzling Blue
Chard
Bright Lights
Organic Herbs from Twin Organics:
| 3.25" pots: |
| Basil |
| Basil Genovese |
| Sweet Thai |
| Lemon Basil |
| Amethyst (purple genovese) |
| Chives |
| Cilantro Slo Bolt (also available as 4-pack) |
| Dill Goldkrone |
| French Tarragon |
| Marjoram |
| Mint Chocolate |
| Mint Orange |
| Mint Peppermint |
| Mint Spearmint |
| Oregano Greek |
| Parsley Giant |
| Rosemary |
| Sage Common Ceres |
|
Thyme Summer Summer Savory |
Wild Garden Fennel Mix (only available as 4-pack)