We’re like kids in a candy store when it comes to seeds, aren’t we Gardenerds? As we do every year here at Gardenerd, it’s time to pick our favorite seeds for the coming season. This year we’re featuring the color purple (again- can’t help it!), and a couple of unusual challenges for more advanced gardeners. Let’s get to it:

Black Nebula Carrot

We’re suckers for anything purple or black. We’ve grown Pusa Asita in the past, and the yield has been small, so we’re giving Black Nebula a try this year. They are black on the outside and have an orange core. Beautiful in soups or roasted with olive oil. Available at John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds.

Cumin

We had no luck growing black cumin several years ago, but we’re feeling renewed vigor to try again. This time, though, with plain old cumin. Let’s start with the basics. Cumin can take more than a month to germinate. Most people lose patience by then. Reviews also state that the plants just up and die frequently. We’re going to try these under grow lights to see how it goes.  Available at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Purple Savoy Cabbage

We’ll grow this Purple Savoy Cabbage in fall for better results (no aphids in fall and winter here in SoCal) than spring. We love savoy cabbages and haven’t grown a purple or red cabbage yet. It normally grows to 1-3 pounds, but have been known to reach 5 pounds on market farms. This is a beautiful variety to experiment with.

Jicama

Jicama is crunchy and grows like potatoes underground. The vines grow long, so we’ll save space by trellising them. As soon as our shelling peas come out, these babies are going in! Do not eat leaves, seed pods or seeds, as they are poisonous. Available from John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds.

Malaga Radish

The Malaga radish is a new one for us this year. Purple skin with white flesh. What’s not to love? This nifty new Polish variety grows to maturity in 35 days so we’ll harvest these before the weather gets too hot. Available at Baker Creek.

Barry’s Crazy Cherry

In coastal climates, cherry tomatoes grow best. They prosper over beefsteak varieties any day in our fog-laden summer mornings. This new release from Brad Gates’ Wild Boar Farms is too tempting to resist. (Our seed collection features more than 44 tomato seed varieties – we’re not supposed to buy any more tomato seeds…Oh well!) Get it at Baker Creek.

There are other fantastic seeds available for 2018, but we’ll leave those for another time. Try something new this year. Experimentation is the key to future guaranteed success. Find what works for you and keep growing it.

What new varieties are you trying this year? Post your favorites below.