The Top Crop Bush Bean lives up to its name. This All-American Selections (AAS) winner produces high yields high up on a tall plant for easy harvesting. The 6"-7" pods are smooth, round, straight, and stringless, and they mature early in about 50 days. Also add heat tolerant to the list.

• Easy to grow
• Easy to harvest
• Heat tolerant
• Matures early—50 days

SEED PLANTING TIPS

• Botanical name: Phaseolus vulgaris
  
• Depth to plant seeds: 1" deep
  
• Spacing between plants: 4" apart
  
• Spacing between rows: 18"-24" apart
• Days to germinate (sprout): 5-10 days
• Germination soil temps: 70F-85F
• Soil needs: 6.0-7.0 pH
• Sun needs: Full sun
• Frost hardy: No
• Planting season: Spring, summer, fall
• # of plants per sq. ft.: Appx. 4 plants per sq. ft.
• Days to maturity: 50-55 days

Click here to view our full Bean grow guide

Good companion plants: Cucumber, Pea, Rosemary, Thyme, Tomato

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The Contender Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is one of the best tasting green beans, and it can tolerate the heat. An early and prolific producer, pods can grow 6"-8" long, and are slightly curved with a distinct flavor. This stringless variety is great for canning, freezing, or eating fresh from the garden.

• Easy to grow
• Stringless variety
• Matures quickly—50 days
• Heat tolerant

Genovese Basil, also called Sweet Basil, has large, tender, fragrant leaves and sweet, spicy anise flavor. The best basil for pesto. The flower spikes dotted with tiny white edible flowers make a delicate garnish or salad addition. This heat-loving herb is a reliable producer and all-around great Italian basil.

Genovese Basil is a classic! It's prized for being sweet with undertones of a spicy flavor. You can't beat its aroma. These plants grow anywhere from 18"-24" inches and is the variety of choice for making pesto and adding to pizzas.

Use it in pesto, pasta and pizza sauce, Caprese salad, antipasto, curries, cocktails, smoothies, dressing, herb butter, oil, vinegar, and herbal tea.

Harvest the leaves and stems from the top part of the plant, and pinch off edible flower buds as they appear, which prevents the leaves from turning bitter, and signals the plant to branch out and grow more leaves, making a bushier plant.

The more you harvest, the more it grows!

• Sweet and spicy
• Grows 2'-3' tall
• Besto for pesto
• Good for containers
• Tons of medicinal benefits!

As a medicinal herb, Basil has been used internally to treat anxiety, colds, colic, cough, depression, diarrhea, fever, flatulence, flu, indigestion, insomnia, intestinal parasites and worms, exhaustion, gastric pain, gonorrhea, lactation problems, migraine headache, nausea, stomach cramps, sore throat, and vomiting, and externally to treat acne, insect bites and stings, loss of smell, skin problems, snake bites.

⚠️ Do not use medicinally while pregnant.

⚠️ Medicinal properties are presented as information only, and are not a recommendation or prescription for use. Consult a medical professional before using any herb medicinally.

As a companion plant, it attracts hummingbirds, pollinators, and beneficial insects, and repels asparagus beetles, cabbage moths, cabbage white fly, cabbage worms, carrot rust fly, flies, maggots, mice, mosquitoes, spider mites, thrips, and tomato hornworms.

What is Genovese Basil?

The most commonly used basil variety for making pesto, you can harvest these leaves as soon as they are large enough to consume. Genovese basil is also known as "Sweet Basil" and a common ingredient to all Italian dishes. The leaves are spoon shaped, glossy and a dark green shade.   It grows best in organic-rich and well drained soil and is an easy to grow annual herb that thrives in areas that remain above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Health Benefits of Genovese Basil

Genovese basil is a known health tonic for expecting mothers and when mixed with tea it increases lactation in mothers.  It is also a nerve tonic and young children are sometimes encouraged to chew on the leaves of basil because it stimulates brain cells and can increase memory.  

Ways to Consume Genovese Basil

The most popular use is in italian dishes and sauces, especially in genovese sauce and pesto. Genovese Basil goes great in caprese salads and on raw tomatoes for a light, healthy "summery" treat.  Mix basil leaves with olive oil and freeze in ice-cube trays for flavored oils when cooking.  

See Basil Recipes & Growing Tips on our Pinterest Board

The Mary Washington Asparagus is a popular old heirloom variety that produces vigorous, uniform spears with a sweet, nutty flavor. Asparagus plants are perennials that can easily produce for 20+ years, so give this vegetable a permanent and sunny spot in your garden. To ensure many years of future production, wait until the second year to cut and consume the spears. 

• Early producer
• Cold hardy, but protect from frost
• Easy to care for, once established
• Beautiful fern-like foliage lingers after harvest

Asparagus can be considered a power food among veggies. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, delivering a more complete balance than any other. Asparagus is a good source of vitamin A, B6 and C, as well as iron, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine. It is high in fiber and low in carbohydrates, contains no fat, no cholesterol and has only 20 calories per 1/2 cup serving.

An established bed of 25 asparagus plants will produce about 10 pounds of asparagus per year.

Roquette Arugula (also called Rocket) is one of the easiest leafy greens you can grow, and can be harvested as early as 20 days after planting. The young seed pods, flowers, leaves, and mature seeds are all edible. A member of the mustard family, the leaves of the Arugula plant add a deliciously tangy/peppery flavor to any meal.

• Easy to grow
• Entire plant is edible
• Frost tolerant
• Quick to mature — 20 days for baby greens!
  

The Green Globe Artichoke produces a large, delicious green flower bud that opens into a purple thistle if left to flower. Choose a sunny spot in your garden with lots of room for this plant to grow. Artichokes are perennial plants that keep coming back bigger and more productive every year. For a dramatic difference in color, try growing the Violet Star Artichoke.

• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Usually produces in 2nd year
• Perennial

Anise (Pimpinella anisum), also called Aniseed, is a sweet, aromatic annual in the parsley family.

The leaves and flowers are lacy, delicate, and delicious, and plants can grow 2'-3' tall.

With a fresh licorice flavor, use as you would Tarragon and Fennel in both savory meat and vegetable dishes, salads and dressings, and sweet baked goods, such as biscotti.

Chew the seeds for a natural breath freshener and digestif. Its aromatic seeds are also used for cooking and herbal medicine.

You may be familiar with the anise flavor if you've had absinthe, as anise seeds are the basis for this famous alcoholic beverage. 

As a companion plant, it attracts pollinators and beneficial insects, and repels aphids, cabbage moths, cabbage white fly, cabbage worms, slugs, and snails, but is strangely irresistible to bears, deer, dogs, and mice.

As a medicinal herb, Anise has been used internally to treat bad breath, bloating, constipation, cough, flatulence, hot flashes, indigestion, lack of appetite, migraine headaches, and upset stomach, and externally to treat bronchitis, eye pain, and swelling. 

⚠️ Medicinal properties are presented as information only, and are not a recommendation or prescription for use. Consult a medical professional before using any herb medicinally.

📚 Anise Grow Guide