(left:Golden Crispy Melon, Right:Cambodian Green Giant Eggplant)


We are excited about our new favorite seed varieties at Baker Creek. While we have more than 120 new offerings of heirloom seeds in our 2012 catalog, we are particularly impressed with the following 15 varieties. Our customers are no longer bound to order the mundane. We now celebrate the diversity of our seeds and the countries from which they come. Many of these seeds have been collected by Jere during his travels, and many others come from friends living in various countries.

Sagami Hanjiro cucumber is a traditional Japanese variety used primarily for slicing. The name comes from Sagami, an area in Japan, and “Hanjiro” means two-toned. This cucumber is dark green and lime green.

Little Green eggplant produces neon-green fruits that are sweet, mild, and firm. This is a new introduction grown from seed sent to us from the former Soviet Union.

Aswad eggplant is an incredibly delicious Iraqi variety from our friend Nael Aziz. The satiny, dark purple-black fruits get up to 3 pounds or more.

Cambodian Green Giant eggplant is a large, round, flat variety from the kingdom of Cambodia. We collected this variety in 2004 when we were touring this once war-torn southeast Asian country.

Golden Crispy melon is a commercial variety that was discontinued in the early 1980′s. Small oblong to pear-shaped fruits are incredibly sweet and uniquely aromatic.

Uzbek Sweetness melon is an early melon from Uzbekistan. The golden skin encases pure white, sugary-sweet flesh.

Lemon Drop hot pepper is a seasoning pepper from Peru. It ripens to a clear lemon yellow and has an uncomplicated and slightly citrus-y heat.

Omaha Pumpkin squash is an Oscar Will Seed Company introduction, dating to 1924, but collected much earlier from the Omaha Indians. It matures early with tall, cylindrical, upright pumpkins which make cute Jack O’ Lanterns and good pies.

Tsungshigo Chinese tomato is a small, reddish-chocolate colored grape-shaped tomato with a sweet earthy flavor. Seed came originally from a Chinese commercial vendor.

Purple Pear tomato is a great snacking variety. Pear-shaped fruits are about 2 ounces and colored a deep purple-pink. Seed was originally received from our Ukrainian correspondent.

Abu Rawan tomato is another variety contributed by expatiate Iraqi seed collector Nael Aziz. Having a sweeter taste than most Iraqi tomatoes, this has solid, all-purpose flesh and will take the heat.

Ivory Pear tomato is a new staff favorite. Cute little 1-ounce fruits are ivory-cream in color and shaped like little pears.

 Pilcer Vesy tomato Is a classic, huge, yellow beefsteak type that we received from Russia. The fruits are a lovely lemon yellow and have fantastic flavor.

Dwarf Queeny Mixed hollyhock is compact and ideal for bedding use and containers. Huge, fully-double blooms are all along the stems.

Tall Orange Sun sunflower sports clear yellow-orange, six-inch, fully-double flowers that look like super-sized chrysanthemums perched atop plants that reach 4-5 feet in height.

Be sure to look at our newly updated website www.rareseeds.com. You will find flip versions of our 2012 catalog and sample issue of the Heirloom Gardener magazine for your browsing and reading pleasure, as well as many more photos, slide shows, and videos. We are also excited to offer iPad versions of both our 2012 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog and the Heirloom Gardener.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and successful gardening in 2012!

Kathy and the entire Baker Creek staff.

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and a life-long gardener.