Location: Pioneer Farm

Beets

Beta vulgaris

Beets are a popular root crop used for pickling, roasting, and salads. They come in an array of colors, including red, yellow, and red and white striped.

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Boston Marrows are large, bright orange squashes that can weigh anywhere between 10 and 50 lbs., although 25 lbs. is more common. They are an excellent eating squash and can be turned into soups or pies.

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Broccoli

Brassica oleracea (Italica)

Broccoli is a cool season vegetable which has been cultivated since the Roman Empire. It is grown for its tender florets which can be eaten raw or cooked.

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Broom Corn

Sorghum vulgare

This large plant is used to make brooms. However, it is not a true corn.

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Bush Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Bush beans are compact, low growing plants that produce large crops of beans. They can be used for fresh eating or as dry beans.

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Bush Lima Bean

Phaseolus lunatus

Bush lima beans are vigorous, productive plants. Their smaller size makes them easy to grow in the home garden and they still provide a bounteous harvest. They can be used dry or fresh.

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Cabbage

Brassica oleracea

Cabbage is a cool season annual that was a staple crop in the colonial period and continues to be so today.

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Cauliflower

Brassica oleracea (Botrytis)

Cauliflower is a cabbage relative with broad blue-green leaves and a large white head. It is slow to harvest and benefits from a long cool season.

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Cotton

Gossypium hirsutum

This crop is grown for the fibers it produces, although ornamental varieties do exist.

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Cowpea

Vigna unguiculata

The name "cowpea" was probably coined for their use as a fodder crop for cows, and while grown for their edible bean, the leaves and pods can also be consumed. Black-eyed peas can be harvested as a snap bean, or dried, and are the main ingredient in Hoppin' John, a traditional Southern dish ritually…

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Crimson Clover

Trifolium incarnatum

This clover is used primarily as a cover crop and fodder, but it is also a good nectar source for bees.

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Dipper Gourd

Lagenaria siceraria

Dipper gourds are sprawling plants that produce enormous quantities of fruit over the course of the season. The gourds they produce can be used to make drinking vessels, birdhouses, and other decorative items.

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Elecampane

Inula helenium

This plant's large leaves add a unique texture to the back of the border, while its yellow flowers provide late season interest. Elecampane is used in France and Switzerland to make absinthe.

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Flax

Linum usitatissimum

This crop has bright blue flowers. It is primarily used to make linen from its fibers and its seeds used as supplements and for linseed oil.

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Hemp

Cannabis sativa

Hemp is originally from central Asia, and has been cultivated throughout history as a source of fiber, seed, oil, and medicine.

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Jerusalem Artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

Jerusalem artichoke is a perennial sunflower relative that produces a profusion of bright yellow flowers atop ten foot stalks. It is valued for its edible tubers, which resemble the flavor of water chestnuts.

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Kale

Brassica oleracea (Acephala)

Kale is a popular leafy green that can be used cooked or in salads. It is also used as an ornamental plant in fall gardens. Historically, coarser types have been used as animal fodder.

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Leeks

Allium ampeloprasum

Leeks are an onion relative with strappy green leaves which an edible stalk which is usually blanched.

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Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce is a cool season leafy vegetable that is most frequently used in salads. Its leaves come in a variety of colors, from green to red to splotchy.

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Muskmelon

Cucumis melo

Muskmelons are a trailing, vining plant with small yellow flowers which often performs better when grown on a trellis. They produce fruit in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Their fruits are frequently fragrant.

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Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus

Okra is a tall plant with cheerful yellow flowers that are reminiscent of hibiscus blossoms. They produce green seedpods that are best harvested when they are 2 to 3 inches long.

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Onion

Allium cepa

Onions are commonly planted in the fall for a spring harvest. Red and yellow types are available to grow.

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Parsnips

Pastinaca sativa

Parsnips are a large root vegetable which somewhat resemble white carrots and can be used in similar ways. Just like the wild parsnip, cultivated plants attract a range of pollinators and are host plants for several moths and butterflies, including swallowtails. Handling the plants should be done with…

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Pawpaw

Asimina triloba

This small, colonizing tree produces the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States. It has dark maroon flowers in the early spring which are pollinated by flies.

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Peas

Pisum sativum

Peas are tender spring vegetable on short vines. They often have large showy flowers in colors like pink and white. The pods can range in color from purple to green. Peas are best direct sown outdoors in the early months of spring, and if you have a long, cool fall, a second crop can be grown.

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Pole Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Pole beans, such as kidney and butter or lima beans, produce long vines that do best when supported on some type of trellis. They are prolific growers and can easily cover a trellis in the course of a season while producing many beans which can be eaten fresh or dried.

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Pole Lima Bean

Phaseolus lunatus

Pole lima beans are vigorous plants that do best when grown on trellises. They are fast growing and produce beans which can be used fresh or dried.

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Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Potatoes are a tomato relative and are often mistaken for them, as their foliage is somewhat similar in appearance. They are an agricultural staple that ranks with wheat and rice as among the most important in the world. Their South American origin is often obscured by their fame as a mainstay crop…

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Radish

Raphanus sativus

Radishes are a root vegetable that add a pleasant bite (if you like that kind of thing) to salads. They come in a variety of colors including black, purple, red, and white. They are useful as a winter cover or forage crop. Radishes are incredibly easy to grow, with high germination rates and a fast…

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Salsify

Tragopogon porrifolius

Salsify is a unique biennial root vegetable with grass-like leaves. In the spring it produces masses of daisy-like purple flowers followed by large seedheads that resemble those of dandelions. The root is said to taste somewhat like oysters and looks like a white carrot.

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Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

These gorgeous native plants bloom in a variety of colors and sizes, including pale yellow, oranges, and golds. Some are grown merely for their beauty while others, such as the Mammoth sunflower, are grown for their seeds.

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Sweet Potato

Ipomoea batatas

Sweet potatoes are vigorous, running plants that will easily exceed their allotted space in the garden if not kept under control. They should be grown in mounds, much the way one would grow potatoes. They are extremely cold sensitive and should be planted after the soil has warmed in the spring and harvested…

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Beets

Beta vulgaris

Boston Marrow Squash

Cucurbita maxima 'Boston Marrow

Broccoli

Brassica oleracea (Italica)

Broom Corn

Sorghum vulgare

Bush Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Bush Lima Bean

Phaseolus lunatus

Cabbage

Brassica oleracea

Cauliflower

Brassica oleracea (Botrytis)

Cotton

Gossypium hirsutum

Cowpea

Vigna unguiculata

Crimson Clover

Trifolium incarnatum

Dipper Gourd

Lagenaria siceraria

Elecampane

Inula helenium

Flax

Linum usitatissimum

Hemp

Cannabis sativa

Jerusalem Artichoke

Helianthus tuberosus

Kale

Brassica oleracea (Acephala)

Leeks

Allium ampeloprasum

Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Muskmelon

Cucumis melo

Okra

Abelmoschus esculentus

Onion

Allium cepa

Parsnips

Pastinaca sativa

Pawpaw

Asimina triloba

Peas

Pisum sativum

Pole Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Pole Lima Bean

Phaseolus lunatus

Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Radish

Raphanus sativus

Salsify

Tragopogon porrifolius

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Sweet Potato

Ipomoea batatas

Swiss Chard

Beta vulgaris var. cicla

Tennessee Red Valencia Peanut

Arachis hypogaea

Tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum

Watermelon

Citrullus lanatus

Willing's Barbados Bird Pepper

Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum

Winter Rye

Secale cereale

Yellow Crookneck Squash

Cucurbita pepo