We’ve all seen purple carrots and stripy tomatoes make waves in our local foodie stores in recent years, but heirloom seeds (those that predate the modern supermarket age) open a world of beautiful fruit and vegetables to the home gardener.
Here are our top 8 heirloom seeds
1. Bean ‘Tongue of Fire’
Despite their firey name the super productive ‘Tongue of Fire’ bean is meek and mild in flavour, but sadly turns green when cooked, so serve raw for the full colour effect.
2. Beetroot ‘Candy Stripe’ Chioggia
Sweet as candy, the Chioggia or ‘Candy Stripe’ beetroot has a crisp texture and incredible red and white rings when cut open. A stunner thinly sliced in salad.
3. Broccoli ‘Purple Sprouting’
Okay, it’s starting to become a “thing”, but we love PSB for it’s beautiful colour, excellent productivity and long harvesting season. It’s now a garden staple in our neck of the woods.
4. Capsicum ‘Chocolate Beauty’
Not quite as sweet as a bar of chocolate, this beautiful deep purpley-brown capsicum starts out green, but ripens to a deep luscious chocolatey colour.
5. Corn ‘Blue Popcorn’
These little cobs of heirloom seeds pack quite a punch when popped in a skillet. Little blue kernels burst into white fluffy popcorn in minutes
6. Carrots ‘Solar Yellow’
Sweet and juicy, yellow is the new purple in the funky carrot stakes with these sunny vitamin packed carrots.
7. Watermelon ‘Moon and Stars’
Incredibly beautiful (and enormous) the skin and leaves of this watermelon are dappled with a constellation of bright yellow “moons” and “stars”.
8. Eggplant ‘Rosa Bianca’
Beautiful purple-blushing white fruit in a compact rounded shape, these beautiful eggplants have a mild flavour, perfect for sucking up a moussaka sauce or curry spices.
