Chinese Hami Sweet Melon

The Chinese love melons and have hundreds of varieties. The "Hami" melons are popular in China for their sweet crunchiness. These melons are grown mostly in central and western China. This variety is about a foot long (25cm) and has a lime green-yellow skin, with mottled darker green stripes. This is a delicious melon that is rarely found outside of China. Order it now!

Small Striped Melon

This small melon is unknown in the West. Small melons have been grown in places like India and Pakistan for centuries. They are good keepers and pleasant tasting, and they are used in salads or are eaten fresh. This landrace is from the remote southwestern part of Madagascar. Because the people there still do not use chemicals in their agriculture, we believe this melon is better able to withstand pests and disease than the modern Western varieties. Order it now!

Malagasy Corn

In Southern Madagascar there is a phenomena that occurs at the end of the big rainy season: the appearance of corn trees! Locals harvest their corn crops, which are still raised traditionally, the cobs are carefully harvested and the husk is not removed, instead, they use the husk to tie the corn on the cob to branches or other " high objects" to protect the crop from rodents. Often this tradition results in stunning scenery: trees laden with corn on the cob. See photos! The form being offered here is a local red form being grown in an especially hot and dry area, suggests that it has built in tolerance against drought!Order it now!

Voatavu Cowpea

Many years ago our intrepid plant explorer, Joseph Simcox, was given some impressive cowpeas from Madagascar. The shape was almost round and somewhat flat, a shape that was completely different from that of almost all other cowpeas. Years later when driving on a desolate road in southwest Madagascar he came upon the same distinctively shaped seeds. This unique form is only found in Madagascar, and where it came from, or how it first came to be, is still a mystery. The centre of biodiversity for cowpeas is in Zambia and Zimbabwe, so cowpeas probably came from there. But after centuries of cultivation on the island of Madagascar, the worlds fourth largest, it seems that this form developed in relative isolation from the rest of the world. As Joe says, this is a really cool bean to grow and share with friends.Order it now!

Voatavu Bean

This large white bean is grown locally in the small village of Voatavu, in Madagascar. Beans are popular in most parts of Madagascar in stews and soups. Beans such as this white bean were undoubtedly introduced by the French during colonization and became popular food staples ever since. But over the years the original French varieties gradually evolved, becoming distinct landraces adapted to the local conditions and local preferences. Order it now!

Malagasy Bambara Groundnut

These bambara beans are raised by rural farmers in southwestern Madagascar. Local women spend their hours chatting away with neighbours while shelling the beans. The reward: shelled bambara beans are cooked in a delicious stew made with the greens of breda (Spilanthes acmella), one of the favourite dishes of the Malagasy people. Bambara beans are quite hardy and drought-tolerant but they do require a long warm growing season like peanuts. Kids can have fun raising them in pots in the windowsill as a novelty.Order it now!

Uganda Pea Eggplant

A wild or cultivated eggplant with small fruits the size of peas. The "peas" are gathered at the immature green stage and eaten fresh as a vegetable. When fruits mature and turn bright red they are quite attractive but they are not eaten. Only the immature fruits are eaten. The flavour is bitter, but agreeably so. They are often sold in the markets. Similar varieties of pea eggplants grow in other parts of Africa. In Ghana, local varieties are used as an appetizer. In Cameroon a local dish called nkwi is made with the fruits. The fruits are also considered medicinal and are ground fresh or dried for high blood pressure. Plants can get huge, up to 3m/10ft tall but they wont likely get as big in temperate gardens. Needs to be started early indoors for late summer harvest. Order it now!

Makata Bambara Groundnut

The bambara groundnut has been cultivated since at least the 14th century when it was first recorded by Arabs in West Africa. Outside of Africa the bambara groundnut is virtually unknown even though it is an important staple crop in Africa. This variety of the bambara groundnut comes from Makata, a village in Uganda where the locals farm this crop in the traditional way by shoring up the plants to make harvest easier. Like the peanut, the pod and seeds ("groundnuts") form underground, and are harvested by pulling up the entire plant at the end of the growing season. The seeds are an attractive glossy brown, often patterned, and they contain a complete protein. The seeds have a rich taste, and are cooked like any other dry beans until tender, though this can take longer than other beans. Groundnuts are very nutritious, with about 20% protein and an almost complete amino acid profile, unlike most other legumes. No wonder the groundnut is called "a seed that satisfies" in Africa. The plants are quite hardy and drought-tolerant but they do require a long warm growing season like peanuts. Kids can have fun raising them in pots as a novelty.Order it now!

Nyakati

The deeply creased bright red fruits look a little like miniature beefsteak tomatoes. But the ripe red fruits are too bitter for most, which is why the plant is sometimes called "mock tomato". The immature green fruits are said to be less bitter but are probably still too bitter for most western tastes. The young leaves are edible and are cooked and eaten across Africa, from the Horn of Africa to West Africa. Each country has its own form and this particular one is from a small village in Uganda. Easy to grow as a summer annual. Like eggplants start seeds indoors and transplant to a sunny, well-drained location after the threat of frost is past. Order it now!

Ugandan Foxtail Millet

Millet may be the first grain cultivated by man, predating even rice. Man learned to cultivate it in East Asia about 10,000 years ago, paving the way for the shift from a nomadic hunting and gathering to a more settled lifestyle based on farming. It is still one of the important grains in Africa grown for a variety of uses, including brewing, cooked staple use, and as a cereal and porridge. This particular variety is ground for flour and used to thicken stews and cooked with vegetable greens as a hearty and rich porridge. Foxtail millet does well in well-drained soil in sunny locations but needs a long warm summer in order to produce a good crop. It produces reliably in the southern U.S. states but in the cooler, more temperate northern zones it must be started in pots indoors and transplanted outdoors after the danger of frost is past. Very drought resistant. Order it now!

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