Vegetables

Black Beauty Eggplant

Eggplant parmesan, ratatouille, baba ghanoush, or simply grilled as a “burger,” you’ll love creating your favorite dishes with Black Beauty eggplant. The gorgeous, delicious, purple-black fruit not only stars in many fabulous recipes, it’s so easy to grow at home for the freshest flavor. Plants produce pretty, prolific harvests in warm weather—keep them well-watered and harvest often. Pick the fruit before the glossy, dark skin begins to fade. (The color and glossiness of the eggplant determine the best time to harvest, rather than the fruit’s size.) Grows beautifully in garden beds or containers. Add a cage to your eggplant to help support stems when heavy with fruit. Place in full sun, and feed regularly. Matures in 80 days.

Big Beef Tomato

For years gardeners wanted a large, beefsteak-type tomato that was delicious, early to bear, and highly disease resistant. Finally in 1994 those wishes came true with Big Beef. The large fruit has old-time tomato flavor and the vines are resistant to many of the problems that can discourage gardeners. The fruit is borne on vigorous, indeterminate vines from summer until frost. Compared to other beefsteak types, Big Beef is early and will set fruit reliably even in cool, wet weather. We harvest dozens of tomatoes from each plant in our Alabama test garden, where the harvest season lasts two full months and the growing conditions are very good. It grows well throughout the country, earning it an All America Selections designation in 1994; it has since grown to be a national favorite. Vines grow long, so give the plant the support of a tall cage or stake.Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F) races 1 and 2, nematodes (N), and alternaria stem canker (ASC), gray leaf spot (St), and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).For gardeners who enjoy plant history and interesting facts, Colen Wyatt, the breeder of this variety, was one of the most successful home garden vegetable plant breeders in the last half of the 20th century. He also bred Celebrity and Husky Gold tomatoes, which are both also AAS Winners.

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Cayenne Pepper

Light: Full sun. Fruit size: 5 to 6 inches. Matures: 70 to 75 days. Plant spacing: 12 to 18 inches apart. Plant size: 18 to 24 inches tall. Scoville heat units: 30,000 to 50,000 (hot). This very hot pepper is the prime ingredient in Cayenne pepper, which is made when the dried peppers are ground into powder. This is also the favored spice of Creole and Cajun cuisine used to give gumbo and crayfish dishes their punch. Thin-walled, skinny, wrinkled fruits are 5 to 6 Inches long and very hot. However, they will not be hot when small. Wait until they get at least 5 or 6 Inches long to pick hot ones. They can be substituted for most dishes calling for Serrano, Jalapeno, or Habanero peppers. Easy to grow and tolerant of hot, humid weather, Cayenne will produce peppers all summer. These skinny peppers are also called chili or finger peppers. Great for containers. Some Bonnie Plants varieties may not be available at your local stores, as we select and sell varieties best suited to the growing conditions in each region.

Early Girl Tomato

When gardeners talk about the "first" tomatoes, Early Girl is always there. This may be the most all-round popular hybrid to satisfy that itch for the first fresh tomato of the season. Use them for slicing on a place, into a salad, or on a sandwich. This a proven all-round early hybrid. Use it to jump start your harvest. Early Girl bears lots of fruit for early harvest, but because the vines are indeterminate, they continue producing through summer. In our Alabama test garden, where conditions are ideal and the growing season is long, we harvest an average of 300 tomatoes from each Early Girl plant! Many gardeners plant it again late in the summer so that it will produce a huge fresh crop of "fall tomatoes" quickly before frost.Resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 (F).

Ichiban Eggplant

Pretty, productive, and delicious—Ichiban-type Japanese eggplant meets all of your garden goals! The slim, 10-inch-long, deep purple fruit tastes sweet and mild, making it a perfect choice for grilling and roasting. Chefs love creating culinary treats with this beauty, so imagine how scrumptious your meals will taste when you harvest this lovely homegrown, thin-skinned eggplant just hours before dinner. A hybrid variety, it prefers warm weather but grows well in cooler climates, too, with harvests lasting into fall. Grows beautifully in garden beds or containers. Add a cage to your eggplant to help support stems when heavy with fruit. Place in full sun, and feed regularly. Matures in 50 to 60 days.

Poblano (Ancho) Pepper

Mexico's favorite chile pepper! When traditionally ripened to red and dried, this pepper is known as an 'Ancho'; it is also used green, as a 'Poblano', for making chiles rellenos. The thick-walled, mildly hot fruit have a rich, mellow flavor. The name Poblano comes from the valley of Puebla, south of Mexico City, where the peppers were first cultivated. This pepper produces continuously through the summer in climates with warm days and cool nights. This is a big plant, so give it the space it needs when planting: Set it at least 3 to 4 feet from other plants.Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Serrano Pepper

This variety is a vigorous bearer of hot, pungent, candle-shaped fruits that mature from green to bright red. Plants do well in most climates and are especially well adapted to hot, humid areas. This pepper is growing in popularity for pickling and salsa, and is the pepper of choice for making pico de gallo.Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Snacking Red Pepper

Talk about goodness from the garden! These deliciously sweet, snack-size red peppers taste so good right off the plant that they might never see the inside of your kitchen. Kids love them for snacks and lunches, and they also taste great in salads and stir-fries. Fruits tend to be slightly smaller than Lunchbox Orange. Great for containers; plant each one in an 18-inch pot. Stake mature plants or surround with a small tomato cage to provide support.

Banana Hot Pepper

If you like a hint of heat with your peppers, give hot banana pepper a try. The 6-inch-long, banana-shaped fruit provides a bit of a kick—without frightening less-adventurous eaters. Pickled, fried, or roasted, it adds terrific flavor to your favorite dishes. Plus, the fruit creates a pretty pop of color in the garden and on the plate, maturing from pale green to yellow to orange to red. You’ll appreciate its resilience in summer, too, as the plant produces well even in hot weather. Performs well in containers. Hybrid. Add a cage or stake to your pepper when planting to support stems heavy with fruit. Place in full sun, and feed regularly. Be sure to label plants if you’re also growing sweet banana peppers. Scoville heat units: 5,000 to 10,000. Matures in 75 days.

Banana Sweet Pepper

Named for its banana-like shape, this variety bears sweet, mild banana peppers that mature from yellow, to orange, and then to crimson red. Plants fruit prolifically, easily producing up to 25 to 30 pods per plant. Banana peppers are great for frying and pickling, and are an excellent choice for making pepper rings for sandwiches. Great for containers. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Better Boy Tomato

High yields of smooth skinned, large fruit earn Better Boy a spot as one of the most popular tomatoes grown in the US and as one of our all time best sellers. The fruit has excellent classic tomato flavor with just the right balance of acid and sugar. This is a great slicing tomato. It is widely adapted throughout the country. Grow it in a tall cage or tie to a stake for support. The indeterminate vines are resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F), and nematodes (N). Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Cherokee Purple - Heirloom Tomato

Heirloom. Cherokee Purple seeds, originating from Tennessee, 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. Cherokee Purple grows well in most regions of the U.S. Let the fruit ripen on the vine for the best flavor. This one is a consistent taste test winner at tomato fests around the country. For an heirloom, it is a good producer. In our Alabama test garden, where conditions are ideal and the season is long, we harvest and average of 20 or more fruits from each plant. Vigorous vines benefit from strong staking or caging.

Coolapeño Heatless Jalapeño Pepper

Hybrid. If you love nachos and poppers but aren’t quite so fond of the heat of traditional jalapeños, Coolapeño Heatless Jalapeño is for you! These peppers have all the delicious jalapeño flavor without the spiciness. Use them to make yummy salsa — as well as those poppers and nachos — for sensitive palates. Peppers ripen green to red, becoming sweeter as they ripen.

Husky Red Cherry Tomato

This super sweet cherry tomato is a best seller because of its flavor, productivity, and good looks. If you like to snack on cherry tomatoes, this is a great choice. One of the popular "Husky" series developed especially for home gardens, the plant is stout, dark green and really pretty; it's one of the prettiest tomato plants that we grow. The vines are dwarf indeterminate, making them short and husky like a determinate type, usually between 3 and 4 feet, yielding clusters of tasty little cherry tomatoes in a small space over a long period of time. Perfect for pots, too. The dwarf vines stay neat and compact, but give the plant a little support on a stake or cage to keep it upright in rain and wind. Many juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes are borne on vines resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt (F). Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Jalapeno Hot Pepper

Named for the town of Jalapa, Mexico, this is the most popular chile pepper in the United States. Jalapeño produces 3-inch, thick-walled, moderately hot pods with deep green color that matures to a bright red. The skin may show a netting pattern as fruit ages, but it does not affect flavor. Often, the heat of the peppers will vary, even those from the same plant. If peppers grow fast, get plenty of water, and are harvested soon, they may be milder than peppers that stay on the plant a long time, or that develop slowly and under stressful conditions. Widely adapted, jalapeño plants yield a bountiful harvest in dry or humid, hot or cool climates. The compact plants grow well in containers. Use jalapeño on nachos or in salsa, or smoke the mature red ones over mesquite chips to make your own chipotle sauce. Jalapeño became the first pepper in space when a bag full of pods accompanied astronauts on the shuttle Columbia in November 1982! Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Red Bell Pepper

Sweet, juicy, nutritious red fruits add appetizing color to fresh salads and are superb for stuffing. Also great on the grill! The big, blocky peppers (they average around 4 to 6 Ounces) ripen from dark green to bright red. High-yielding plants are well adapted throughout the US. Grow your own and avoid premium prices at the grocery store. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Red Ghost Super Hot Pepper

You’ve probably heard of the ghost pepper, as it has made its name as one of the hottest peppers in the world. Fruits ripen from green to bright red, and have thin, wrinkled skins. This is a slow growing plant, but it can sometimes reach up to 4 feet tall. Handle these fiery chili peppers with caution: Wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting, and don’t let cut peppers—or anything made with them—touch your skin. (Goggles are a good idea, too.) Remember, a very little goes an extremely long way with this pepper. Some Bonnie Plants varieties may not be available at your local stores, as we select and sell varieties best suited to the growing conditions in each region.

Roma Tomato

Prized for its use in tomato paste and sauces, Roma produces a large harvest of thick-walled, meaty, bright red, egg-shaped tomatoes about 3 Inches Long and with few seeds. This tomato is not juicy. This is not a slicing tomato. Instead, the flesh is thick and drier so that it will cook down into a thick sauce. Cooking intensifies flavor, too. If you can tomatoes, make your own spaghetti sauce, or like to chop a tomato into an omelet, this is a great choice. It's not too juicy in the pan compared to slicing tomatoes. The fruit freezes well for later cooking, too. The compact, determinate vines are resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt (F) and widely adapted throughout the US. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Sweet Green Bell Pepper

Bonnie's best hybrid sweet bell pepper! A heavy yielder of large fruits. A good all-round pepper for slicing, stuffing, and freezing. This bell produces lots of fresh bell peppers gradually over the growing season. Plants in our Alabama garden produce from June through October, yielding 30 or more peppers from each plant. (Your results will vary based on care and the length of your growing season.) This is a good-sized plant, so be prepared to stake if needed. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Tabasco Hot Pepper

Heirloom. This hot pepper is used to make the famous Tabasco® Sauce. Peppers mature from yellow-green to orange to red and have a unique, smoky flavor that contributes to Tabasco's distinctive taste. While adapted to all areas of the US, plants produce continuously and will therefore produce the most peppers in the South and Southwest, where the growing season is longest. In frost-free areas, plants can live for several years. Easy to grow, the compact Tabasco is also a good choice for containers.

Yellow Bell Pepper

Yellow, thick-walled, sweet fruits add appetizing color and vitamins to fresh salads, and are superb for stuffing as well as fresh use. Plants can get quite large, so be prepared to support them, especially when carrying lots of fruit. Ripens green to yellow.

Beefsteak Red Tomato

Beefsteaks are always grown for their flavor and size for slicing and summer sandwiches. This variety produces large, meaty red fruit over a long season on indeterminate plants. Because it matures late compared to many other tomatoes, it will provide a fresh harvest in the latter part of the season. This is an old favorite beloved by gardeners in the Northeast and grown throughout the country. Vigorous vines grow best in tall cages. Resistant to fusarium wilt (F) and nematodes (N).

Blue Lake Bush Bean

Heirloom. This stringless snap bean matures early and offers superior flavor, color, texture and ease of picking. A bush variety, it does not need staking. The beans are long and straight. Excellent steamed or used in salads. Originally developed as a canning bean, but it soon grew to be a fresh favorite, too. Its predecessor, Blue Lake pole bean, is also an heirloom and has been around since the early 1900s. Blue Lake Bush was developed from Blue Lake pole bean in 1961. Very productive. Resists bean mosaic virus. Produces most of its harvest within a few weeks, leaving time for a second crop or a vacation!

Bonnie Original Tomato

Bonnie Original hybrid was developed especially for us decades ago and continues to be a favorite. It has earned a reputation for exceptional flavor and high yields throughout the growing season. The medium-sized slicing tomatoes are great for sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, and salads. Indeterminate vines yield smooth, uniform fruit through the summer until frost. This is the one that Bonnie employees grow at home.Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F), and nematodes (N).

Boston Pickling Cucumber

Heirloom. A favorite of gardeners for high yields of short cukes with solid flesh. Cucumbers are thin-skinned, straight with full ends, and a nice green color. Vines bear continuously. Flesh is crisp and very receptive to pickling spices. Great for any pickling recipe, whether sweets or dills. May be harvested at sizes from 3 to 7 inches, depending on your pickling needs. Plants resist scab and are tolerant to cucumber mosaic.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a favorite cool season crop. The green sprouts, or 'mini-cabbages,' grow along the thick stem. Plants get about two feet tall. High in protein. An excellent source of vitamin C. Freeze well for storage.

Burpless Bush Hybrid Cucumber

This is a space-saving form of the favorite Burpless Hybrid. Short vines grow about 2 feet long — long enough to trellis if desired. Fruit is straight and cylindrical for easy slicing. Eat these delicious cukes fresh, pickled, or sliced into salads. Excellent for small gardens and containers.

Burpless Hybrid Cucumber

The mildest cucumber on the market, this early variety produces 10-inch long slicing cucumbers that are completely burpless, with no bitterness. Excellent sliced, but also fine for pickling when picked at a slightly smaller size. High yielding. This vining cucumber will appreciate growing up on a trellis.

Candy Onion

This jumbo-sized onion is incredibly sweet and mild. Well adapted throughout the country. Separate before planting.

Candyland Tomato

Grow garden candy—or at least, make kids think that you do! Candyland Cherry Tomato produces loads of tiny, tasty treats, perfect for popping in your mouth straight from the vine. A currant-type tomato, the fruit is smaller than a typical cherry tomato, but the super-sweet flavor makes a big impression, especially for people who think they don’t like tomatoes. Ideal for tarts, flatbreads, and salads, you’ll adore the big harvest of these little cuties. Indeterminate vines grow best in tall cages or staked.

Edamame

You'll be growing a nutritional powerhouse when you plant edamame in your garden. This soybean is a low-fat, high-protein, high-fiber food packed with folate, phosphorus, magnesium, and disease-fighting isoflavones- and, like all plants sold by Bonnie, is non-GMO. Harvest when pods are young and contain at least two beans per pod. The beans are the edible part, but you need to cook the pods before the beans are fit to eat. This soybean loves the sun and warm soil. Set plants out about the same time you plant green beans or zucchini, after all danger of frost is past. Plants aren't very susceptible to pests or diseases, but critters like rabbits, deer, and groundhogs love them. Protect edamame plants if such varmints frequent your garden. Edamame has a narrow harvest window of three to seven days, after which the plant is finished. Use succession planting at 7- to 14-day intervals for a longer harvest window. Set individual plants 12 to 18 inches apart; wider spacing leads to higher yields. On average, expect 2.5 pounds of pods per plant.

Georgia Sweet (Yellow Granex) Onion

"Sweet as an apple" is the expression used to describe its mild flavor. Great fresh or grilled, but great raw, too. A short-day type. The bulb is thick and flattened. It is sometimes known as Maui or Noonday. Stores for about a month.

Japanese Cucumber

A favorite in Japan for its long, slender, dark green fruit that is mild and has few seeds. If you don't eat it all at once, wrap the unused portion tightly in plastic wrap to prevent dehydration in the refrigerator. To save space, give the vigorous plants a fence to climb.

Late White Onion

Also called White Sweet Spanish Onion. This is a long-day type best suited to Northern regions but grown as a fall onion in the South, where it makes good scallions, or fresh green onions, during the short days of winter. Late White Onion bulbs are large, white, and globe-shaped. They are also easy to peel and have a mild taste that cooks love.

Lemon Cucumber

Heirloom. Round and yellow, this tennis ball-sized cucumber is a perfect serving for one or two people. It is believed to have been introduced to the US in the late 1800s. Lemon cucumber does not have a lemon taste, only color, but has a thin, tender skin with a flavor a little milder than a regular cucumber's. One great advantage to this cuke is that you can eat it all at one sitting with no half-cuke left to store in the fridge. Prolific plants are easy to grow and seem to need less heat to ripen than some cucumbers, making this a good choice for cooler climates. It is also less apt to develop bitterness. This is the cucumber often seen in ethnic Indian markets (budamkaya). To save space, give the vigorous plants a fence to climb. Try hollowing out the cukes for a cold soup summer appetizer. Part of our Harvest Select line, available only at The Home Depot!

Peaches & Cream Corn

Hybrid. As sweet and delicious as the name implies, each ear of Peaches ; Cream Corn boasts a combination of tender white and yellow kernels. Plants mature early; consider multiple plantings one to two weeks apart to keep the harvest coming. Space plants 12 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart with a minimum of 4 rows for good pollination.

Patio Baby Mini Eggplant

Get ready to harvest a bumper crop of tiny eggplants! The glossy, purple-black eggplants are never bitter, even if you leave them on plants for a few days once they ripen. Fruits mature in just 45 days, and once you start picking, you won’t stop until fall frost. This is a 2014 All-America Selections Award Winner, developed for the shorter growing seasons of the Midwest and Northeast, though it grows well in a wide variety of climates. To grow in containers, plant one per 18-inch pot.

1-pack starter plant

2.32 qt pot volume

AAS winner

Straight Eight Cucumber

Heirloom. Named for its perfectly straight, 8-inch long fruit, this slicing cucumber has long been prized for its high quality, flavor, and even, deep green color. Well adapted throughout the US. Vigorous, productive vines that benefit from trellising.

1-pack starter plant

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Spinach

This variety of dark green spinach has been a standout in many regions, including the North. It is slow to bolt and suitable for spring, summer, and fall planting. The full, upright plants produce high yields of large, triangular leaves that are rich in the phytonutrient lutein. Both frost and heat tolerant.

Sunrise Sauce Tomato

Grow gorgeous, bright orange, Roma-type tomatoes perfect for sauce—right on your patio or balcony! Sunrise Sauce produces high yields of sweet, pretty fruits on short vines, perfect for container growing. Most fruit ripens within a concentrated period, which makes the variety ideal for preserving. The flavorful, high quality tomatoes are meaty, easy to peel, and cook down quickly, making tomato processing painless. Great for fresh eating, but the flavor becomes even more intense when cooked. The low maintenance, determinate vine is resistant to fusarium wilt (F) and verticillium wilt (V).

Sweet Jumbo Onion

Also called Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion. Large, globe-shaped yellow-skinned onion with a crisp, firm white flesh that keeps well. A long day onion, it develops late in the season in the North. In the South it makes scallions, or fresh green onions, when planted as a fall onion. Needs 13 hours or more of day length for best bulb development. Make sure the thick, heavy neck dries well, and it will store for several months in a cool, dry place. Tolerant to pink root.

Super Sweet 100 Tomato

When Sweet 100 tomato was first introduced it created a buzz among gardeners because it is so tasty and produces for such a long time. Now, its improved cousin, Super Sweet 100 hybrid, bears the same long, branched clusters of deliciously sweet tomatoes high in sugar and vitamin C. But Super Sweet 100 is known to be more disease resistant, giving plants a better chance where certain problems may be soil-borne. You'll be eating them right off the vine before they ever make it to the salad bowl! They are perfect for snacking, salads, and even juice. Super Sweet 100 lives up to its name, especially when harvested at the peak of ripeness. The indeterminate vines continue bearing until frost. Give them a tall support because they grow and grow over the top of the cage and back down again. Resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt (F).

Sweet Red Onion

Globe-shaped onion with sweet, mild flavor. Just right to accent your burger or your favorite salad. Short-day type. Stores for one month.

Artichoke

Heirloom. This improved artichoke is such a pretty plant that it is also sold as an ornamental. Bold, deeply lobed silvery-green leaves grow in a giant rosette that can get 4 feet tall. The fleshy flower buds 2 to 5 inches in diameter borne on a tall stem from the center of the plant are the edible portion. Most artichokes grown commercially in the US come from Monterey County, California, where the weather suits them best. Our transplants should produce artichokes in the first year. If not cut, the buds open to purple thistle-like flowers. Plants are perennial in climates where winter is mild (zones 8 and 9). Cut in late summer before fruits open. Trim spent stalks back to base for new shoots.

Asparagus

Asparagus demands its own bed in the garden because it lives for years. Once the plants are established, the bed will produce every year for 15 years or more. Plant asparagus seedlings in early spring. Our containers typically have several seedlings that you will need to gently tease apart to plant at the proper spacing. Apply a thick layer of mulch at planting time and always pay close attention to weed control, as asparagus hates any competitor. Avoid using straw mulch because of the seed that it often carries (wheat, rye, or other grain that it comes from). Although an asparagus bed rewards you for years, you'll need patience to wait on the first harvest, which doesn't come until the second spring. The first spring that you plant, leave the plants alone to grow into tall ferns (4-5 feet high). This builds strong roots that send out the asparagus shoots the next spring. Even though the asparagus harvest comes in spring, remember to mulch, water, and weed the bed throughout the growing season to ensure an even better crop next year. Asparagus is high in vitamins C and K.

Bonnie Hybrid Cabbage

Bonnie's best cabbage. Grows large, round, blue-green heads. Well suited to the South as a spring and fall cabbage. It also performs well in the North as a summer cabbage. Resistant to Fusarium yellows and tolerant of black rot.

Buttercrunch Lettuce

Developed by Cornell University, this heat-tolerant, Bibb-type lettuce has quickly become a favorite since earning All America status in 1963. Its rich green leaves, sometimes tinged with red, form a beautiful rosette in the garden that holds well under stress and has good bolt resistance. A good source of vitamin A and phytonutrients. Grows best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade and even appreciates it in spring in hot climates.

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Celery

This crunchy staple tastes best when harvested fresh from the garden. Early maturing stalks are crisp and flavorful. Plants grow well in most regions of the country, but no matter where you grow them, be sure to water regularly for best results. When harvesting, cut the outside stalks first. If stalks begin to sprawl as they grow, tie them together loosely with garden twine. Both stalks and leaves are edible; eat them raw, or use them in stir-fries, soups, and casseroles.

Clemson Spineless Green Okra

Heirloom. High yields of spineless, tender ribbed pods with excellent flavor. Traditional favorite for soups and stews. Can be canned, fried, roasted or boiled. Harvest pods when 3 Inches Long. Pods get much bigger, but small pods are more tender. Plants just keep growing until cool weather in the fall, so they will get 6 feet or taller in areas with a long, warm growing season.

1-pack starter plant

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Curly Kale

This pretty blue-green hybrid kale is easy to grow and will keep you supplied for months. Vigorous producer, with leaves growing lushly on compact plants. Cut outer leaves so that center can continue growing. Light frost makes the leaves taste sweeter. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage

Heirloom. This American cabbage is a favorite for early harvest, forming a conical, pointed, dark green head with a smooth, sweet flavor. The head is slow to split and slow to bolt. Holds in the garden for 2 to 3 weeks after maturity. Rich in vitamins and minerals. Some gardeners consider this the best tasting of all cabbages.

Flowering Kale

Transform your cool-season garden with the stunning colors of flowering kale. This plant brings bold shades of white and purple to the garden's quiet seasons of fall and early winter. In milder zones, plants can look good all winter long. This is an ornamental plant; although the leaves can be eaten, they're really only good for garnish or as a base for such dishes as egg salad or hors d'oeuvres. Once night temperatures stay at or below 50 degrees, count on flowering kale to brighten your vegetable garden, flower bed, or container after about two to four weeks. Space plants 12 to 15 inches apart. Use tighter spacing in colder regions, because plants won'™t grow as quickly. Use one plant per 8-inch pot; add more plants as needed to fill out larger pots.

Flowering Cabbage

Transform your cool-season garden by adding the stunning colors of flowering cabbage. Imagine bold shades of white and purple during the garden's quiet seasons of fall and early winter — beautiful! In milder zones, plants can look good all winter long. This is an ornamental plant; although the leaves can be eaten, they're really only good for garnish or as a base for such dishes as chicken salad or hors d'oeuvres. Once night temperatures stay at or below 50 degrees, count on flowering cabbage to brighten your vegetable garden, flower bed, or container after about two to four weeks. Space plants 12 to 15 inches apart. Use tighter spacing in colder regions, because plants won't grow as quickly. Use one plant per 8-inch pot; add more plants as needed to fill out larger pots.

Golden Cross 45-day Cabbage

This is our favorite "mini-cabbage." It matures extra early with tight, softball-sized, round heads. The small plants allow closer spacing in the garden or for growing in containers.