southern exposure

Abundant Bloomsdale is an OSSI variety bred for sweetness, tenderness, and bolt resistance specifically for organic farmers, with savoyed dark gree...

Ageratum Dondo Blue (Floss Flower, Bluemink; Ageratum houstonianum) is native to Mexico and produces prolific clusters of blue flowers with long st...

The standard variety for home gardens, this leek features stems that average 1½ x 8–10 inches, well-blanched from the base upward. It is a good var...

An improved strain introduced before 1920, this variety has long been the standard for home and market use. The flesh is mild, yellow, fine-grained...

Amish Paste is one of the largest sauce tomatoes available, with indeterminate, tall plants producing heavy yields of coreless, top-shaped fruits t...

A family heirloom given to Dustin Swanland by his Italian aunt and introduced in 2012 by SESE, this indeterminate variety produces delicious fruit ...

Anuenue is Hawaiian for "rainbow" (pronounced "ah-nu-ee-nu-ee"). This variety produces seed capable of germinating at higher soil temperatures (abo...

Arkansas Little Leaf is a popular and reliable white-spined pickler developed at the University of Arkansas, featuring compact vines with multiple ...

Ashley was developed at Clemson in 1956 and is recommended for hot, humid areas where disease resistance is important, with notably good downy mild...

This beloved heirloom corn is cherished for its exceptional flavor and dependable growth, standing the test of time with wide adaptability across d...

Aster Powder Puff Mixed Colors (Callistephus chinensis) bears fully double blooms in seven colors — white, pink, rose, peach, crimson red, sky blue...

Polka Dot bachelor's button produces compact plants just 16 inches tall that flower more profusely than taller varieties, making it an excellent ch...

Beaujolais is a beautiful and unique red-veined spinach developed by Uprising Seeds and released as an OSSI variety. Its smooth, tender leaves are ...

Benning's Green Tint is considered one of the most beautiful and hardy varieties of Patty Pan squash. The saucer-shaped fruits have scalloped edges...

This extra-large Cucurbita maxima pumpkin is often grown for county fairs and Halloween displays, and can weigh 100 lbs or more when well grown. Th...

Black Beauty, a 1957 All-America Selections winner, produces dark green fruits that deepen to near-black as they mature, with white flesh and a sma...

Black Spanish Round is a very hardy fall and winter radish with firm white flesh and thin, nearly black skin. The flesh is crisp and pungent, and t...

A great soup bean featuring small, black seeds with 4–5 per pod. The seeds have a very delicate skin and when cooked make a creamy soup. This varie...

Black-Seeded Simpson is an old standard dating to around 1850 and one of the earliest loose-leaf lettuce types, well suited to early spring plantin...

An abundantly productive variety, Blue Lake Bush features compact 15 to 18 inch plants with mostly stringless 6 to 8 inch pods and strong resistanc...

Bouquet Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a delightful variety similar to Long Island Mammoth but with shorter plants that produce larger flower and see...

Prized for its distinctively flavorful fruit and highly rated in taste trials, Brandywine has achieved a national reputation as the flavor standard...

Hungarian Blue Poppy produces beautiful bluish-purple flowers that give way to attractive pods filled with poppyseed for baking, and the pods can a...

An heirloom fava bean well suited to the Mid-Atlantic and further south, Broad Windsor grows on 2 to 3 foot tall plants that yield 6 to 8 inch pods...

This 1934 All-America Selections winner is a classic escarole with large, broad, dark-green outer leaves enclosing round, deep 12–16 inch heads tha...

This looseleaf variety produces very attractive large oakleaf-shaped leaves with reddish-brown tips. It offers high yields, cut-and-come-again harv...

Bronze Fennel is a decorative fennel with beautiful lacy bronze leaves, useful as an ornamental as well as a culinary sweet fennel. Medicinally, fe...

Bull's Blood is best known for its mild, dark leaves, typically harvested young for vibrant salad mixes even before the roots fully mature. The lea...

A reliable variety for garden, market, and greenhouse use, Buttercrunch produces dark green leaves and compact heads with good bolt resistance. It ...

The Burgess strain of Buttercup, dating to 1932, is noted for its thick, fine-grained flesh and excellent flavor, producing flattened turban-shaped...

An Italian heirloom selected by Italian gardeners and introduced to the seed trade between 1914 and 1918, Calabrese Green Sprouting broccoli produc...

Pacific Beauty Calendula produces bright yellow-orange flowers about 3 inches across that are used as a food colorant, natural dye, and substitute ...

This Dutch variety was judged the best Boston-type lettuce in the 1983 Rodale Research Center trials, with excellent heat and cold tolerance plus r...

This Carolina-bred broadleaf mustard was developed to provide the bacterial blight resistance that the older Florida Broadleaf type lacks. Plants g...

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a mint-family herb useful for teas — and for entertaining cats, though only about two out of three cats carry the domina...

A Vates-type collard developed by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Champion features increased bolt-resistance, darker blue-green foli...

This rainbow-colored Cherokee Long Ear Small popcorn, a blend of several strains passed down through generations, offers both beauty and flavor. It...

Cherokee Purple is a pre-1890 Tennessee heirloom reportedly of Cherokee origin, introduced by SESE in 1993, and included in Slow Food USA's Ark of ...

An All-America Selections winner from 1949, Cherry Belle produces round roots with bright red skin and firm white flesh. It is somewhat less suscep...

Brussels Winter Chervil loses its flavor when dried, but that flavor can be preserved in chervil butter. Best quality comes from plants grown in pa...

This well-known Italian chicory features deeply cut, dandelion-like leaves with light green mid-ribs, growing more upright than frillier varieties ...

This Italian heirloom, cultivated since before 1840, features beautiful scarlet-red skin with interior rings of reddish-pink and white, creating a ...

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) can be grown indoors or outdoors for year-round onion flavoring, and the chopped leaves and young flowers make a flav...

Large fruits up to 2½ inches — about the size of a golf ball — make this tomatillo easy to harvest and process, and the plants are highly productiv...

Common sage is best known as a flavoring for meats, dressings, and sauces, its aromatic silvery-green leaves adding depth and complexity to culinar...

Also known as Big Tom or Yankee Cow Pumpkin, this pre-1700 cultivar of Native American origin remains one of the most popular varieties for large H...

Developed in 1949 by SC/AES and possibly originating from the pre-1855 Early Valentine variety, this cultivar is celebrated as a premier early gree...

Cilantro (Coriander sativum) is a versatile herb widely used in cuisines from around the world, with every part of the plant — leaves, roots, flowe...