Southern California Vegetable Garden Pack

Basil, Italian Large Leaf (Sweet)
Germination: 5 to 7 days A native to Europe and cultivated for centuries as a fresh and dried culinary herb. Common in America by the late 1700s. The plants grow to about eighteen inches, and provide several harvests. The leaves are used fresh to make pesto, and can be dried and used as a seasoning. A favorite in Italian dishes. Prefers well-drained soil, even moisture, and full sun.

Maxibel Haricot Vert Bean
Produces slender pods that are 6-8 inches long and have a very tender, delicate texture. Pick frequently for optimal tenderness and yields. Some plants have runners.

Burpee's Golden Beet
Immature leaves are green with yellow stems and can be used raw in salads. Mature tops have a mild flavor when cooked as greens or sautéed. The roots are sweet, a dark golden color with the flesh deep yellow.

Di Ciccio Broccoli
An old European variety Introduced in 1890. Compact, 2 to 3 feet high plants, that produce a central 3 to 4 inch head with many side shoots. Freezes well.

Catskill Brussels Sprouts
The 20 to 24 inch tall plants produce heavily. The sprouts are large (up to 1¾ inches), dark-green and firm. Used for fall harvests, it is good fresh or frozen. Developed in 1941.

All Seasons Cabbage
Also known as 'Vandergaw', this variety is heat resistant, fine-flavored and produces good, hard heads that are ten inches in diameter, average about 12 pounds and are round but flattened on top. Released in 1886.

Little Fingers Carrot
Deep-orange color, one-half inch by three inch long, blunt tips, with smooth skin and small cores. Because the color develops early, they can be harvested at a young, tender stage for use as baby gourmet carrots.

Early Snowball Cauliflower
Uniform maturing, smooth, pure white heads weighing three to five pounds and six inches across. It is a medium sized plant with good leaf coverage. Released in 1941. It is reliable. Freezes well also.

Perpetual Swiss Chard
Leaves are smooth, dark-green in color with fine midribs. It is very vigorous and provides an almost "perpetual" harvest. If you garden in an area with a hot climate, it is a great choice for a continuous supply of tasty summertime greens.

Golden Bantam, Improved 12-Row Sweet Corn
‘Improved Golden Bantam’ is an improved version of the old standard yellow sweet corn. Instead of eight rows, this variety has ten to fourteen rows and the ears are slightly longer. It was improved to stay tender longer.

Muncher Cucumber
Strong, vigorous vines that prolifically produce smooth, tender fruit that reach nine inches in length. Good slicer that does not get bitter and is burpless. Cucumber mosaic virus resistant.

Big Max Pumpkin
The bright yellow orange flesh is three to four inches thick. Suitable for pies. They will commonly grow to fifty to seventy pounds and with some attention, will surpass one hundred pounds. Big Max needs plenty of room to grow.

Honeynut Winter Squash
Created as an interspecies cross between butternuts (C. moschata) and buttercups (C. maxima), this interesting cultivar has good levels of resistance to powdery mildew and produces 4-5" miniature butternuts with dark, extra healthy flesh, with much higher levels of beta carotene and Vitamin A than other squashes. The fruit remains green all the way until ripening to orange in the last couple weeks.

Early Prolific Straightneck Summer Squash
Best harvested (our opinion) when the fruit is five to six inches long and still tender. Mature size is 12 to 14 inches.

Dark Green Zucchini Summer Squash
Harvest when the fruit is six to eight inches long or still tender. Harvest will be lengthened if you keep picking. As the season gets in full gear, you should have plenty to give away. But if you want the gesture to be appreciated, three small fruits with a couple of tomatoes will be better than a shopping bag full of monster-sized ones!

Ping Tung Long Eggplant
Ping Tung Long Eggplant is a popular variety of eggplant that is known for its long and slender shape and tender, mild flavor. Originally from Taiwan.

Bok Choy (Pak Choi)
Plant indoors 5 weeks prior to your last expected frost date. Sow at a depth of about ¼ inch keeping moist until the seedlings appear. Use as much light as possible, watering as required. Before transplanting, the seedlings should be acclimated to the outdoors. Do this about two weeks before you expect to transplant by moving outside into the shade and then return indoors at night. Expose the plants to more direct sunlight every day. Check moisture regularly. Transplant 16 inches apart in rows spaced 24 inches.

Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch Kale (Vates)
The leaves are finely curled, bluish green, low growing at twelve to fifteen inches tall with a spread of twenty four to thirty inches. It stands well and is hardy.

Broad London (Large American Flag) Leek
Thick sturdy stalks with pearly-white bulbs. Popular main season variety.

Little Gem Cos Lettuce
Small, five inch heads that are heat tolerant, have excellent flavor and are sweet and crunchy.

All The Year Round Butterhead Lettuce
Medium-sized heads stay firm and solid even in hot weather. Can be sown in most locations from about March through August for a nearly "year-round" harvest periods. It does well in both hot and cooler locations.

Honey Rock Melon
The fruits are up to 6 inches in diameter with a tough, coarsely netted skin and sweet, flavorful salmon colored flesh. The plants are vigorous, produce 5 to 7 fruits per plant and are disease resistant. Introduced in about 1920.

Heshiko Japanese Bunching Onion
'Heshiko', also known as 'He Shi Ko', it is a non-bulbing, Japanese bunching onion popular in Asian cuisine. Its stalks are tender, reach twelve to fourteen inches tall, are flavorful, mild, not overly pungent, and a good variety for both home and market gardeners.

Italian Parsley
Plants have deeply cut, dark green leaves with a rich, strong flavor; generally stronger in flavor than the curled types. Excellent for flavoring. Parsley has been cultivated for centuries and is used as a garnish, palate cleanser, flavoring in soups, salads, as a seasoning in other recipes, and medicinally.

Sugar Ann Sugar Snap Pea
The plants range from 24 to 30 inches and do not require support, though they do benefit from it. The pods are crisp, flavorful, three inch snap peas. Great fresh, in stir fry or frozen.

Golden California Wonder Bell Pepper
The plants are upright, strong, and produce 4 or 5 fruits that are mostly four-lobed, blocky, and 4 by 4½ inches with thick flesh that is mild and sweet. The skin is a bright gold, changing to orange-red when mature.

Jalapeno Hot Pepper
The fruit are dark green, tapered, three inches by one inch, turning red when mature. Good for pickling or used fresh in salsas. They have thick walls so do not dry well. They can range from 2,500 to 10,000 Scoville units in heat.

Cherry Belle Radish
A quick growing, globe shaped radish with bright red skin and crisp, firm, white flesh. 'Cherry Belle' was an "All-American Selection®" winner in 1949.

America Spinach
Also known as 'American Long Standing' and 'American.' Plants reach about eight inches in height. Produces heavy yields of thick, dark-green savoyed leaves. It is slow-growing, slow to bolt, and resistant to heat and drought. This variety is a long-standing Bloomsdale type that is suitable for canning, freezing, and eating fresh.

Sunflower, Giant Greystripe
Planting Instructions: Sunflowers are very easy to grow and because of their size, quite spectacular for a child’s garden. Sow directly outdoors, ¾ inches deep. Thin the plants at first to 8 inches and then to two feet to avoid crowding. (We have had good luck transplanting) Water regularly and weed between the plants to eliminate competition. Harvest the seeds by cutting the flowering heads when the backs have turned yellow. Complete the drying by hanging them upside down in a warm, dry place. Scan the QR code below for more information.

Fred's Tie Dye Tomato
75 days, dwarf — Rugose, regular leaf dwarf plants. They are vigorous and productive with fruits that are medium sized (5-6oz average), round, purple with jagged gold and green stripes and the deep crimson flesh of black tomatoes. Has a rich, intense, balanced flavor.

Dwarf Eagle Smiley Tomato
60 days, dwarf — Extremely productive, rugose, regular leaf plants reach 5-feet tall. Bright to golden-yellow, 1oz, globe-shaped fruit that are borne in clusters of 8 to 10 tomatoes.