Child's Garden Variety Pack

This pack of 5 types of vegetable and edible flower seeds was created to provide a tasty and educational experience for children and families. When I give farm tours, I always encourage kids to eat straight off the plant! The varieties included are the ones kids have gravitated towards and enjoyed eating the most. They are:

1) Orca Bush Beans: These delightful beans look like tiny orca whales! They are also known as Yin-yang Beans. Allow these beans to dry on the plant for the magical experience of cracking open the pods to reveal the shiny beans inside. Beans can be stored and used just like any other dried bean in your cooking. Minimum 30 beans.

2) Cucamelon: An adorable, crunchy fruit that looks like a miniature watermelon and tastes like a citrus-y cucumber. They are also known as pepquinos or "mouse melons" and are the perfect fresh garden snack. They grow on spidery vines that spread quickly in every direction. This fascinating plant promotes healthy eating and teaches kids that there are many foods in this world that aren't sold at the grocery store. 

3) Burgundy Amaranth: This striking bright purple plant will grow to towering heights of 5-8 feet. The tender leaves can be eaten like baby spinach or lettuce. When the plant reaches maturity, it produces edible amaranth grain. If unharvested, this grain will shake on to the ground and re-seed itself. I use this plant to demonstrate to children how plants drop their seeds to begin the next generation. Minimum 100 seeds.

4) Reisetomate Tomato: A deliciously strange tomato that grows in distinct segments (see photo), this oddball always catches the attention of children at the farmer's market. Indeterminate tomato. Minimum 30 seeds.

5) Dakota Black Popping Corn: This black corn can be popped for a delicious and unique home-grown treat. Stalks reach about 5-6 feet tall and have black and blue tones in the stalks and husks as well as the corn itself. This variety is indigenous and resistant to cross-pollination.

Grown organically with love and tenderness in the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. All open pollinated and germination tested.