Warm Season Crops coming up!
The spring is barely here and we are ready for it. This represents the second wave of warm season vegetables we have available right now. Since there could still be a frost, we DO encourage you to make plans to cover plants if it gets cold. Temperatures in the 40s will make plants limp in the morning, but they will bounce back and this won’t harm them (they bounce back up in the afternoon). But if the temperature approaches frost, cover the plants with cloth (so the cloth does not touch the plants).
These crops will be available by Friday, February 25 2022. We will have a lot more varieties available as the season progresses. Even as you read this, we are planting seeds of many varieties, some we have never made available before. Some may be available in limited quantities (because they are rare). So far, however, the varieties below are varieties we have had in the past.
If you are new to growing vegetables in Arizona, read how to prepare a vegetable & herb garden bed. If you don’t know what to plant when, read about the seasons for vegetable and herb gardening in Arizona.
On the tomatoes, remember that determinate tomatoes are compact, shrubby, and best for containers. Indeterminate tomatoes are more “viney” and will need some sort of support if you don’t want plants to ramble along the ground.
Ping Tung Eggplant
Solanum melongena
A wonderful eggplant from Ping Tung, Taiwan. Fruit is purple and up to 18 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. This variety is so sweet and tender, superbly delicious! One of the best Chinese eggplants on the market.
Cayenne Pepper
Capsicum annuum
Beautiful Cayenne Purple Peppers are impressive not only for their appearance but also for their delicious taste. Plants produce good yields of green peppers that turn purple, then red in the last stage of maturity. Great used fresh, pickled, dried, or ornamentally.
California Wonder Bell Pepper
Capsicum annuum
One of the oldest and largest heirloom bell pepper available. First introduced by California growers around 1928. Tall, sturdy plants produce good yields of blocky, thick-walled fruits. A delicious green pepper that ripens to a vibrant red.
Golden California Wonder Bell
Capsicum annuum
Nearly identical to 'California Wonder' green bell peppers, except as the name implies, its fruit are a beautiful, bright gold color, that change to orange-red when mature. 'Golden California Wonder' makes a tasty and excellent visual addition to salads and stir fries.
Shishito pepper
Capsicum annuum
A favorite old Japanese variety which produces 3 inches long, slightly wrinkled fruit that is perfect for making tempura and other traditional recipes. Fruit is emerald green in color, ripening to red, and mildly flavored with just a bit of spice. It really is superb and is the standard with many chefs. Delicious simply pan-fried in olive oil until tender with a dash of salt.
Wenk’s Yellow Hots
Capsicum annuum
Three-inch long wax peppers with thick walls, ripen from yellow to bright orange then red. Grown by the late Eris Wenk, one of the last large truck farmers in Albuquerque’s South Valley. A great variety for canning and pickling.
Purple Tomatillo
Physalis ixocarpa
An electric violet color and sweet fruity flavor make this the most exciting tomatillo we have seen. Plants are prolific covered in large glowing orbs that are mostly purple with just a few partially green fruit in the mix (it should be noted that more sunshine will produce a more pure purple fruit.) Many are a bright violet color throughout their flesh. Much sweeter than the green types, it can be eaten right off the plant. Best to plant more than one plant for best fruit yields. Tomatillos don’t want soil as rich as their cousin, the tomato.
Tomatillo Verde
Physalis ixocarpa
The standard in green tomatillos. Deep green fruit; a richly-flavored type. Huge yields. Best to plant more than one plant for best fruit yields. Tomatillos don’t want soil as rich as their cousin, the tomato.
Bonnie Best Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
The famous old canning tomato that was selected out of Chalk’s Early Jewel by one George W. Middleton and introduced in 1908 by Walter P. Stokes seed house. It became one of the most respected canning varieties in America in the first half of the twentieth century. Medium-sized fruit is round, red, meaty and loaded with flavor. A good producer that makes a fine slicer too. Becoming hard to find due to modern, flavorless hybrids. Indeterminate.
Brandywine Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
The most popular heirloom vegetable! A favorite of many gardeners, large fruit with superb flavor. A great potato-leafed variety from 1885! Beautiful pink fruit up to 1½ lbs each! Indeterminate.
Cherokee Purple Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Originating from Tennessee, these are thought to have been passed down from Native Americans of the Cherokee tribe. This heirloom tomato variety consistently ranks very high in taste tests. Slice Cherokee Purple tomato for rich, dark color and unmatched sweet, rich taste on sandwiches or in salads. The tomato is a beautiful dusky pink with a deep, rich-red interior. Indeterminate.
Chocolate Cherry Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
These indeterminate plants are loaded with clusters of sweet and delicious little gems. The 1-in. cherry-like fruits are rich brick red with deep chocolate shading. These luscious treats are perfect for salads, slicing or canning with an exceptional fresh flavor that is rich and complex.
Costoluto Florentino Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
A super productive and early maturing Italian sauce and slicing tomato. The deeply ruffled fruit makes the flavorful, bright red sauce that embodies Italian cuisine. Indeterminate plants are super vigorous; an all around hardy heirloom. The unusual fruit sells itself at market. It looks so beautiful sliced on a sandwich.
Dark Galaxy Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Fantastic and wild coloring make this a great new variety! Bears 2-4 ounce fruits that are usually flattened, with red and orange stripes covered in random speckles, layered by deep blue. Very strange and unique! Indeterminate.
Eva Purple Ball Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Excellent resistance to diseases, including some resistance to late blight. One of the most blemish-free tomatoes out there, with a soft tender texture. Smooth, round, attractive pink-purple fruits weigh 5-7 oz. Fruits are easy to harvest, some dropping from the vine at peak ripeness, and easy to peel. A wonderful all-purpose tomato with excellent flavor. Indeterminate.
Green Zebra Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Beautiful chartreuse with deep lime-green stripes, very attractive. Flesh is bright green and very rich tasting, sweet with a sharp bite to it (just too good to describe!). A favorite tomato of many high-class chefs, specialty markets, and home gardeners. Yield is excellent. Indeterminate.
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Beautiful chartreuse with deep lime-green stripes, very attractive. Flesh is bright green and very rich tasting, sweet with a sharp bite to it (just too good to describe!). A favorite tomato of many high-class chefs, specialty markets, and home gardeners. Yield is excellent. Indeterminate.
Punta Banda Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Collected from the Punta Banda Peninsula in Baja California. Indeterminate plants produce hundreds of red meaty, thick skinned fruits despite heat, water stress and poor soil. Great paste tomato. Performed impressively in our 2012 trials in Tucson, producing throughout the summer despite full exposure and harsh conditions.
Stupice Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Compact plants with potato leaf foliage loaded with clusters of 2" fruits. Quite early, great flavor. Heavy yields all season. Produces well in northern climates. Indeterminate but compact.
Taxi Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
The best bright yellow tomato for short season gardeners. This determinate variety grows to about 2 feet tall and 2 feet across. Expect heavy yields of mild, non-acid tomatoes for 3-4 weeks. Great for the lunch box and salsas. Great for containers.
Tasmanian Chocolate Dwarf Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Regular leaf, rugose foliage, 3-4', dwarf plant with stout central stem, produces a big crop of oblate, 5-7 oz., tomatoes that ripen to a deep mahogany color. The flavor is well balanced, sweet and delicious. Determinate and thus great for containers.
White Currant Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Treat yourself to one of the most unique and sweetest tasting tomato varieties known. The tiny fruit are half the size of a cherry tomato and grow in nice heavy clusters. Creamy-white in color with just a tinge of yellow. Deliciously sweet, a favorite of many trial ground visitors. Indeterminate.
Yellow Pear Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
This extremely old variety makes a vigorous plant that bears enormous numbers of bright yellow, bite-sized fruit. The flavor is deliciously tangy. Perfect for summer party hors d'oeuvres. Indeterminate.