Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia)
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Days to maturity:  80 to 120 days to fruit.
Perennial, dioecious vine, grown as an annual in temperate climates.  80 to 120 days to maturity.  Native to the tropics worldwide.  Bitter Melon is probably the best antidiabetic herb known to herbalist, as it supports the pancreas and promotes secretion of insulin.  Direct consumption, use in cooking, fresh tincturing and tincturing of the dried fruits are all viable methods of intake.  The plants prefer full sun, a long growing season and a trellis.

$8.90/4 packets, open pollinated

(Nightshade, Bittersweet)
Family:  Nightshade (Solanaceae)
Hardy to -30 degrees F
Native to Europe and Asia, this interesting plant has spread almost as fast as the herpes virus, to which it is inimical.  The vines drape in a comely manner and are not particularly bothersome, although they can be a bit woody and tenaceous.  The flowers are complex bells, pendent and brightly colored. The red berries are showy but poisonous. Low dosage of tincture or tea of dried stems is used for treating sluggish liver, obesity and maladies of the skin related to poor assimilation of fats. Do not confuse this plant with another vining bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), that is used in dried flower arrangements and has orange berries, not red. Plant prefers part shade and moist, well-drained soil.  It doesn't really get started until early summer, and the fruits may persist into the winter, looking like dried cherries.  Sow the seed just beneath the surface in rich potting soil.  Germination is best with standard greenhouse technique.  Transplant to part shade or full sun and keep moist for optimal growth. By the way, this seed is not for sale to WA state as this useful plant is on the Washington state noxious weeds list. 100 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown

(Climbing Bittersweet)                  

Family: Celastraceae

Perennial, decidious, dioecious, woody, vining climber native to eastern and central US and .  Perfectly cold hardy.    Bears clusters of distinctive, bright red fruits encased in showy, orange bracts.  The dried and fruited stems are much esteemed by flower arrangers and are a food source for wildlife.  The root is a folk remedy for cancer and a liver stimulant.  Plant prefers part to full shade and deep, loamy soil.  It will trellis on fences or climb into the trees.  Sow seed in fall or early spring.  Seed requires 3 months cold conditioning and is a dependable germinator.  Grow out in pots for a year before transplanting to the landscape.  20 seeds/pkt., Open Pollinated

(Black Cumin)
Annual, native to the Middle East.  The ethereal, blue and white flowers rest in a cloud of ferny, green leaf. Small amounts of the seeds are eaten as a tasty, perfumed condiment in rice dishes and confections.  Medicinally, Black Seed is used for treating indigestion, appetite loss, parasites, water retention and fever. Plant prefers full sun and dry soils.  Direct seed in spring--this is a cold soil germinator.  Make sure to cover the seeds, as light retards germination.  Germ in 10 to 15 days.  Flowers to 18 inches  tall.
100 seeds/pkt, Certified Organically Grown

(Wild Ipecac)
Family:  Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae)
Annual.  100 days to flowers
Bloodflower is a long-season milkweed that does best in the south. The flowers are uniquely colored, and in showines they vie with just about any fancy hybrid. The entire family of Asclepiadaceae are active and diverse, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about potential anticancer activity in bloodflower. Nor would I be surprised to hear about cardiotoxic glycoside content. Growing butterfly weed isn’t that hard—they are tough contenders on the landscape, surviving very harsh conditions. It can take years to get them going, though—a relatively long-lived plant and thus slow to start. Tap-rooted, so containerizing is not the best. We like to direct seed them in cool soils.
50 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown

(Red Puccoon, Indian Paint, Tetterwort)
Herbaceous perennial native to the Eastern hardwood forest biome in the US.  Plant prefers open woodlands with a deep mulch of hardwood leaves.  Will occur both in deep, rich soils and also growing on limestone outcroppings.  This fresh or dried root is used either as an expectorant (dilute doses used to help dispel unhealthy mucous accumulations in upper respiratory tract) or as an antimitotic (retards runaway cell growth, as in warts and cancerous lesions.)  Bloodroot as a plant  is finicky as the rhizome can easily and quickly rot if conditions are wrong at transplant.  However, a well-established individual can be extremely long-lived.  I've known plants for 2 decades and they have only gotten more vigorous, while my human body begins to slow with age.  Sow the seed in a shaded pot or flat, or direct seed in the woodland bed.  Germination is in the first or second spring.  They are tiny at first and are best grown at close spacing for 2 years, then fall transplanted to 6 inch spacing.  Check my book "Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs" for a whole chapter on growing blooroot from seed.    100 seeds/pkt., Open Pollinated
Note:  These seeds are fresh, short-lived, cool-stored and available for immediate delivery starting in June and ending when the seed runs out.  Backordered items will not incur additional shipping charges. Credit cards will not be billed until the seeds are delivered.   Sow immediately upon receipt.

Family:  Borage (Boraginaceae)
Annual or overwintering annual.  80 days to maturity.
Native to the Mediterranean.  This vigorous self-seeder would seem weedy if it were less pretty.  As it is, its always a welcome sight in the garden, where it emerges when and where it likes.  Children love to eat the nodding, blue and purple flowers that gladden the heart. Plant prefers full sun to part shade and moist soils.  Sow in early spring, directly in the garden, and expect flowers by midsummer.  50 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown

Bowman’s Root  (Gillenia trifoliata)
(Syn. Porteranthus trifoliatus)

(Indian Physic)

Family:Rosaceae

Herbaceous perennial, perfectly cold-hardy, native to the deciduous forests of southeast through southern US.  Traditional low-dose botanical of Native people, used as an emetic as per Ipecacuanha and for treating indigestion, colds asthma and hepatitis.  Horticulturally exciting due to its low, mounding shape, multiple starry flowers white with reddish highlights, reddish fall foliage and relative rarity.  This is probably the only place you’ll find the seed listed.  Plant prefers part shade and forest soils, but will tolerate sunny borders and dryish soils. This is moist, cold-stored, prestratified seed that should be sown immediately upon receipt.  The seed does not do well when dry-stored, so we harvest it and put it immediately into cold stratification.  Using pre-stratified seed, germination is much enhanced, and usually occurs during the first spring.  If the seed does not come right up, do not prematurely discard the flat, but keep in moist shade until the seeds germinate.

20 seeds/$3.95 Organic

(Hungarian Black Seeded Broom Corn, Broomcorn)
Family:  Grass (Poacea)
Annual.  110 days to maturity. 
Native to Hungary, this is an heirloom variety of nonedible sorghum used for making brooms, for making mats and screens, for making growing fences or playplaces, for dried arrangements, and for feeding wildlife, expecially birds.  Growing up to 12 feet tall, the plant is impressive.  To make brooms, wait until the seed is fully mature, then cut down the stalk, strip the seed, and bind together several stalks, which makes a very functional broom.  These plants are easy and fun for kids and adults alike.  The possibilities are almost endless.  Plant prefers regular garden soil, full sun, and moderate watering.  Direct seed in the spring garden, thin to 6 inches apart, and stand back!
100 seeds/pkt, Certified Organically Grown

(White Bryony)
Native to Southern Britain. Root resembles Mandrake, acrid and cathartic, used in homeopathic remedies or in low dosage for treatment of rheumatism, gout, cough, influenza, pneumonia or sciatica. Not to be used during pregnancy.  Fairly new research in Eastern Europe has demonstrated novel uses for this plant, leaning more toward the adaptogenic. A web search will yield more information on this...
Plant prefers a sunny exposure and is not particular about soil or water. Do provide a trellis, though. Sow in spring. 
Organically grown 30 seeds/pkt.