Other Vegetable Plants
Many of you have expressed an interest in purchasing some of your other vegetable starts from Hattie’s Garden. We have therefore expanded our selections to help round out your garden.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers originated in India or western Asia, and have been known to gardeners for at least 3,000 years. Their diverse forms and flavors are now appreciated and utilized in local cuisines around the world. These are sold in four-packs (can be divided).
Arkansas Little-leaf Pickling Cucumber
This open-pollinated cucumber is parthenocarpic. That means it is self-pollinating and will set fruit without outside pollination. This is a compact plant with smaller than normal leaves making cucumbers more visible. Little-leaf produces a huge number of cucumbers that pickle well and are also good for fresh eating. This small blockish cucumber was bred at the University of Arkansas and has lots of disease resistance. Very popular. (60 days)
Marketmore Slicing Cucumber
Summer Squash
The fruits of various members of the gourd family are squash and they fall into two classifications, summer squash and winter squash. Summer squash differs from fall and winter squash in that it is selected to be harvested before the rind hardens and the fruit matures. Every part of the squash plant can be eaten, including the leaves and tender shoots, which can be cooked in omelets or made into soup. These are sold in four-packs (can be divided).
Black Zucchini
Superior flavor in this open-pollinated zucchini heirloom squash from 1931. Can be steamed, sautéed, added to soups, omelets, and breads, made into relish and eaten raw in salads or with dip. Black zucchini isn’t really black, but a dark green, containing more of the antioxidant lutein than lighter-skinned varieties of zucchini. Best harvested around 6″ long. (50 days)
Saffron Yellow Summer Squash
We’re just mad about Saffron, a 4–6″ open pollinated, yellow semi-crookneck that is sweet and delicious. Excellent squash grows on a small compact bush, with open growth habit making it easy to pick. Very fast growing and quick to harvest with excellent yields. They call it mellow yellow.
Sunburst Patty Pan Squash
Among the most attractive of the Patty Pans with its bright yellow skin, the Sunburst is a staple for market growers since being recognized by All-America Selections in 1985 for vigorous growth, productivity and fruit quality. Can be picked from baby size up to 6-8 inches across without losing its tender, buttery flavor. (55-60 days)
Lettuce
Lettuce is a half-hardy vegetable that you can keep growing all season long by planting one small crop at a time. Days to maturity tend to be short. May be grown right through the winter where the weather is mild, or under row cover, cold frames, etc. Garden lettuce is far superior, in both taste and vitamin A & C content, to supermarket brands. Though there are at least seven types of lettuce, Hattie’s Garden is offering three of the most common ones: Butterhead, Loose-leaf, and Romaine.
Butterhead Lettuce
Butterhead Lettuces form loose, open heads of melt-in-your mouth leaves. They thrive in the warm days of fall, and the cool days from spring to early summer.
Blushed Butter Oaks Leaf
This pale green lettuce boasts great looks and wonderful flavor. Its crisp dense heart, loose outer leaves, and silky texture fuse the best of oak leaf and butter types. Best described as a compact oakleaf butterhead, with a delightful combination of pink and green colors and a buttery taste. Stays sweet and crisp into hot weather longer than most. Forms dense, open heads and is perfect for cut-and-come-again harvests. (49 days)
Buttercrunch
This classic, open-pollinated butterhead type was the standard for many years. Soft, buttery-textured leaves enclose a crisp, juicy, loose inner head of blanched, sweet-tasting leaves. Very heat-tolerant and slow to bolt, Buttercrunch stays mild long after others have turned bitter. Developed by George Raleigh, Cornell University, and an All America Selection for 1963. (50 days)
Pirat Butterhead
You will not be disappointed with Pirat. Soft, buttery hearts are surrounded by elegant burgundy tipped leaves. It’s a welcome addition to any salad with its sweet, mild flavor and a beautiful appearance. Resistance to downy mildew and bacterial rot make this butterhead a great choice for our climate. The thinnings make a great baby lettuce, but be sure to let Pirat grow to full size for the optimum lettuce experience. This open-pollinated, German variety descends from Merveille des Quatre Saisons (Marvel of the Four Seasons), but is much more bolt resistant. (55 days)
Loose-Leaf Lettuce
Loose-leaf (also called leaf) Lettuces are colorful, easy, and fast-growing lettuce varieties. The plants form open heads that allow you to harvest a few leaves at a time, or whole plants as needed.
Green Salad Bowl Lettuce
Salad Bowl is an ideal lettuce variety for the home vegetable garden. It forms large, lime-green rosettes of delicate, tender leaves. This variety has relatively good heat tolerance and does not get bitter in hot weather. Crisp and tender with a sweet flavor. Large, deeply lobed, green leaves. Open pollinated, bright-green frilly notched leaves form compact rosette. Stands heat and cool well. Was a 1952 All American Selection.
Red Sails
A favorite among gardeners who prize beauty as well as flavor, Red Sails received an All-America Winner when it was introduced in 1985 and has never looked back! A most attractive open-pollinated, loose-leaf lettuce with purplish red-splashed leaves, Red Sails is slow to become bitter or bolt, even in heat. A great source of rich color for the salad bowl, they are high-quality eating, with a soft texture and buttery flavor that appeals to all ages. (49 days)
Romaine Lettuce
Cos (Romaine) Lettuces form open, upright heads of deeply colored leaves. The leaves have stronger flavor than looseleaf varieties, and crunchy midribs. As long as they get enough water, romaine lettuces can withstand some summer heat.
Forellenschluss
Translated as “Speckled Trout,” this Austrian lettuce has gorgeous green leaves with maroon markings. Crispy leaves with thick midribs. An absolutely gorgeous romaine with the delicate taste and texture of a butterhead, distinguished for its deep green leaves flecked with wine-red splotches. Grows quickly in cold weather but will bolt in heat. Holds its excellent flavor even after it starts to bolt. Extra fancy for salads. (56 days)
Marshall Red Romaine
Deep dark red leaves with pink veins and a bit of light green in the center. Tall upright 8″ heads. Leaves are smooth and succulent, crisp and chewy, not bitter. This romaine is ornamental and delectable. 65 days from transplant. OP.
Olga Romaine
Elegant lime-green Olga embodies the best of a butterhead and romaine in one delicious lettuce. Big upright 8″ oval heads with big hearts, big flavor and slightly fringed leaves. Uniform plants measure 8 inches across.
Swiss Chard
Chard is a cool season leafy green vegetable. The plant is related to beets but doesn’t produce the globular edible root. It is a great source of vitamin K, A and C, and is a wonderful cauldron of potassium, magnesium, iron and fiber. The “Swiss” descriptor was added to the chard name to differentiate it from French chardon. It originated in the Mediterranean region and not in Switzerland — no matter what its name might imply.
Bright Lights Swiss Chard
The gold standard for multicolored Swiss chard, this All American Selection from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, the work of 15 years of careful selection. Open pollinated, the leaves and stems are a range of colors: gold, yellow, orange, pink, intermediate pastels and dazzling stripes. Consistent growth rate and strong bolt resistance across all colors makes this a superior mix.
Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard
Broad white stems and savoyed dark green leaves. This standard chard was introduced by Burpee in 1934 and is an open pollinated variety that is one of the most productive vegetables anyone could ever grow. It is tough taking the high heat and humidity of summer and is productive through most of the winter unless it gets down in the low teens or single digits then it simply rests till warmer temps and takes off growing again. It also grows very well in containers and is very attractive with its dark green leaves and white stalks. Heavy yields of delicious fresh greens.