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More Seeds
Classic Indian bittergourd variety. Fruits are 4-6” long, skin is deeply ridged and flavor is very bitter. Plants are vigorous and produce dozens and dozens of fruit through the growing season. Plant is vining and can grow up to 6-7 feet long with multiple off shoots. Vines can either be trellised or left to sprawl on the ground. Leaves, flowers and fruit are edible and highly medicinal. Flowers have a strong scent of Jasmine!
We like to cut up the fruit and soak them in salt water for an hour before cooking to reduce some of the bitterness. The fruits are considered a potent medicine in Ayurveda, believed to help lower blood sugar levels and treat liver diseases, to name a few.
Our seeds are directly from India and we have been stewarding them on our land for the last 2 years.
10 seeds per packet.
An heirloom pepper variety originally from Hubli, India. These peppers are long (5-6”), thick walled and spicy. They’re the classic Indian chillies, an essential for any and all South Asian cooking.
The plant itself is extremely prolific, sending out dozens of chillies that go from green to orange to red, affecting the spice level with it. The is our most favorite pepper variety on the farm. Perfect for those who like to have a few spicy green peppers to munch on with their meals. We have also made a delicious achaar (Indian pickle) using these green peppers and green mango. When the peppers turn red we like to put them in the oven on the lowest heat to quickly dry them down and either blend them into a chilli powder or into chilli flakes. Highly recommend using the chilli flakes for a chilli crisp! They have the perfect heat and smokiness.
These seeds were gifted to us by one of our customers at the Irvington Farmers Market in Fremont. He brought them back from his hometown of Hubli, in the Southern State of Karnataka, India. We have been stewarding this variety for the past four years.
25 seeds per packet.
Our ridge gourd plants are the real show stoppers on our farm. We trellis them on 5’ T-posts and by mid-Summer they have already covered the entire trellis and the vines are adorned with small yellow flowers and tiny fruit. The young fruits are edible when 6-8” long. Continual harvesting of the young fruit sends the energy back to more fruit production. If the fruits are left on the vine, they will eventually dry up and become the luffa spong we all know and love.
The fruits resemble zucchini in flavor. The texture is light and airy, and absorbs spices and sauces well. These plants are highly attractive to the native bumble bee!
Plants can send out multiple shoots up to 10 feet long, so make sure to prodive a trellis, fence or space on the ground to grow. Plants like full sun and ample water. In warm regions, the luffahs will begin to dry on the vine 3 months after planting. In our region, we have warm days and cold nights, even in the Summer, so our luffahs were beginning to dry on the vine right as our frost hit (end of October). So we harvested all the luffas and stored them on a metal rack in our greenhouse and they dried up perfectly!
Luffa acutangula
Minimum 10 seeds per packet.
Tulsi Basil is one of the most culturally important herbs for medicinal and spiritual uses in South Asia. This red leaf variety ‘Krishna’ has high levels of rosmarinic acid and eugenol, which lends to its clove-like scent. Regular consumption of tulsi not only helps protect and detoxify the body's cells and organs, it can also help reduce toxic stress by relaxing and calming the mind and offering many other psychological benefits.
Plants grow to a height of 20” at maturity with small, reddish purple leaves. Leaves can be used fresh or dried for tea. This variety is the most medicinal and spiritual of any other variety.
Numerous studies also show that tulsi has anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, anti-fertility, anti-ulcer and many other activities. The compounds present in this herb help the body and mind cope with a wide range of chemical, physical, infectious and emotional stresses and restore physiological and psychological function.
Seeds can be tricky to start since they are extremely tiny and require light to germinate. We use seed starting soil in a wide pot (or a takeout container with holes at the bottom), and sprinkle the seeds over the top. Lighly sprinkle a little seed starting soil over the seeds, taking care to not bury to seeds. Be careful while watering, as seeds can easily get buried from the force of the water. Cover the pot with saran wrap and place in a sunny window or greenhouse. Keep soil moist until first signs of germination. Once plants are 1/2” tall, you can seperate them into individual containers to continue growing.
At least 200 seeds per Packet.
Ocimum sanctum (sometimes referred to as Ocimum tenuiflorum)