Texas Vegetable Garden Pack

Texas (and its neighboring states) can be a challenging but rewarding environment to grow in. The silver lining of Texas gardening is that the mild winters give the opportunity to grow many greens and cool season crops. During the late spring through the early fall, the temperatures can suddenly get and stay very hot, which means you need to select varieties that withstand the heat.

We have chosen our favorite and best-selling varieties for Texas and made them available in this convenient collection. Place a single order for this item and you will get one packet of each of the items shown below. If you prefer, you can order them individually one by one, by clicking on each item in the list.

Basil, Italian Large Leaf (Sweet)
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.

Blue Lake 274 Bush Green Bean
Pick the pods while young as they are more tender and succulent and less likely to be stringy. This variety is a canner's favorite as it tends to mature its heavy crop all at once.

Detroit Dark Red Beet
Very tasty fresh out of the garden, it also maintains its taste and texture well after being canned or pickled. Globe shaped, excellent color, sweet, smooth and tender.

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.

Henderson's Tendersweet Carrot
'Henderson's Tendersweet' carrot plants have a distinct, dark green foliage. When the roots reach full maturity, they are a deep orange color, average from eight to ten inches in length, and taper slightly from the shoulder to a blunt end.

Snowball Self-Blanching Cauliflower
A snowball-type with leaves that curl in the cool fall weather and cover the head to keep the white color. They do not require tying until the heads are six to eight inches across.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard
Plants will be white, pink, striped, orange, scarlet, purple green, and white. The plants are delicious to eat, but are best harvested young for salads. Eat it like a spinach or beet greens for best results.

Golden Bantam Sweet Corn
The plants grow to about six feet and produce seven inch ears loaded with eight rows of sweet, plump, golden kernels. Bred by a farmer named William Chambers of Greenfield, Mass. Introduced by W. Atlee Burpee in 1902. Prior to this introduction, people thought that yellow corn was fit only for animal feed.

Homemade Pickles Cucumber
'Homemade Pickles' is a heavy producer of solid, crisp fruit. You can start harvesting at two inches long or at full maturity of five inches.

Tendergreen Burpless Cucumber
A burpless type cucumber, it is light green with white spines, seven to twelve inches long and slightly blocky shaped. The flesh is sweet, not bitter, and tender.

Jarrahdale Winter Squash
Originally from Australia, it is similar to 'Sweet Meat'. The fruits are wider than they are tall, deeply ribbed, and range in weight from ten to twelve pounds but can reach twenty.

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.

Black Beauty Zucchini Summer Squash
Black-green to almost black at maturity. Introduced in 1957.

Diamond Eggplant
70 days — Diamond Eggplant is a beautiful and versatile variety of eggplant that produces large (6-9 inche), deep purple fruits that are glossy and smooth. This eggplant variety is prized for its sweet and delicate flavor, making it a favorite among gardeners and chefs alike.

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.

Lacinato, Black or Dinosaur Kale (Nero Di Toscana)
Provides a continuous supply of tasty leaves if you pick from the bottom up. It is cold hardy and the flavors become sweeter and more complex after a hard frost.

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.

Red Burgundy Okra
'Red Burgundy' okra was developed by Leon Robbins[1] at Clemson University in South Carolina and introduced in 1983. It was an "All-America Selection®" winner in 1988.

Clemson Spineless 80 Okra
An "All-America Selection®" winner in 1939. Plants are 3 to 5 feet with deep-green, straight, spineless, ribbed, 6 to 9 inch pods.

Warrior Bunching Onion
Warrior Bunching Onion is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance variety that can be grown year-round in most regions. It is a hardy plant that can withstand cold temperatures and is also resistant to diseases.

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 Snap Pea
Young pods are tasty and tender but develop strings at maturity. Vines can reach 6 feet and need trellised. Freezes well but will not stand up to canning temperatures. Released and an " All-American Selection®" winner in 1979.

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.

Tabasco Hot Pepper
90 days. Tabasco Hot Pepper is a popular and spicy variety of chili pepper that is commonly used in hot sauces and spicy dishes. These peppers grow to be small and slender, typically measuring around 1-2 inches in length.

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.

Pinkeye Purple Hull BVR Southern Pea
The plants are determinate, compact (reach about 20 in.), and non-vining. Pods are dark-purple and about 7-8 in. long containing 9-11, kidney-shaped seeds with maroon colored eyes. Both pods and peas tend to be slightly larger than other standard purplehull varieties.

Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach
Leaves are dark green and crumpled. Stands well in hot weather. Named after their farm in Bristol, PA, D. Landreth & Co. released 'Bloomsdale' in the 19th century. 'Long Standing Bloomsdale' was developed and introduced in 1925 by Zwaan and Van der Molen, Voorburg, Netherlands.

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.

Extreme Bush Tomato
50 days, determinate — The plants are 12 to 28 eight inches tall, very productive with leaves that curl up and inward. Fruit are flavorful, 3 ounces, globe-shaped and red in color. Good for container gardens.

Porter's Pride (Improved Porter) Tomato
78 days, indeterminate — AKA 'Improved Porter' or 'Porter's Improved'. Developed to allow fruit set even in dry, hot climates. Small, deep globe-shaped, deep pink fruit are 2 to 4 ounces each. Good, complex taste; excellent for eating fresh, canning, or juicing. Sunburn and crack resistant.