I came across this seed company while I was shopping at Common Grounds in Palo Alto, Ca.  Seeds of Change is based out of New Mexico since 1989.  They specialize in non-GMOs, open pollinated organic seeds.  These are seeds that allow you to grow and save the seeds again with the guarantee that it’s the same as the parent seed.  Unlike commercial seed packets which are usually hybrids.  There are some pro and cons to this idea, but overall I think it’s a good idea if you plan on saving the seeds.

Photo from Seeds of Change.

There were so many selections of cucumber seeds, one that I liked was the Satsuki Madori Cucumber (about $3) pictured above.  The folks at Seeds of Change has described it as a very rare, Asian variety.  The fruit is long and slender with tender skin and few seeds.  They also say it’s extremely delicious and never bitter.  That sounds like a winner to me!

Next year I want to suggest this Japanese cucumber to my mom’s vegetables garden.  This year I suggested beets for her garden and it’s turned out to be one of her favorite.  Garden grown beet (or vegetables) is so much tastier then the grocery store variety.  I am sure many gardeners out there can agree.

Common Grounds is also a great place to find local honey and also helpful information on organic gardening.  The folks there are really nice and helpful.  They also provide a useful list of vegetable companions and their antagonists.  See the full list here.

I have included a few interesting information from Seeds of Change in this post, but you can read the rest here.  And if you are in the area (New Mexico), you can take a farm tour in late August and September.

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Hibiscus flowers usually remind me of tropical places such as Hawaii.  They are popular ingredients in herbal tea as it gives off the nice red color.  These interesting looking hibiscus flowers are not the typical hibiscus grown as ornamental plants.

They are named roselle or “Hibiscus sabdariffa” and are edible.  Roselle are an annual woody shrub that grows to 2–2.5 m tall.  This plant is mainly grown in Southeast Asia and Central America.

They may look strange to someone who has never seen them before.  The calyx are left over after the petals have fallen off.   What you see (pictured above) is these deep red bulb like blooms.

Germany uses it as natural food color and France likes it dipped in syrup.  They are also popular made into sauces, syrups, and jams.  They even have medicinal values and is also full of Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium and Niacin.

These dried Roselle I found at Trader Joe’s are also dipped in syrup.  I have tried dried dragon fruit from Trader Joe’s and love them! So I just had to give these a try too.  The texture is like dried fruit rolled up but more bland and chewy.  It’s slightly tart and sweet (from the syrup).  But I do think they taste better then dried cranberries.

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