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New Seed Varieties for 2026
Introducing 13 New Seed Varieties for 2026!
The 2026 Seed Savers Exchange catalog includes 13 new seed varieties—including six stunning varieties from our seed bank collection—and they promise to be popular picks of gardeners everywhere!
In the 2026 catalog, you will find new crop cultivars, such as celtuce, the perfect carving pumpkin, a very special heirloom tomato, and more! We hope you are as excited to try them as we are to offer them!
These varieties—along with more than 600 other open-pollinated, non-GMO varieties—are available online at shop.seedsavers.org.
Keep reading to see what’s in store for your garden in 2026.
Request the 2026 Catalog
Request your FREE copy of the 2026 Seed Savers Exchange catalog here!
Who can sign up? Contiguous United States only. Canadian residents may purchase a catalog here.
Am I already on the catalog list? If you have made a purchase in the last 2 years or requested a catalog in the last year then you are already on the list for the 2026 catalog.
Is there a digital version? Yes! You can access the 2026 digital version here.
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Details:
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**To get free shipping on qualifying orders, select the “Free Shipping” option during checkout.**
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Free Shipping on All Online Orders Over $250
We offer free shipping for all online orders of $250 or more within the contiguous United States regardless of items ordered. Your order will ship via the best method selected by Seed Savers Exchange.
For more information, read our Shipping and Return Policy.
Questions? Call 563-382-5990.
New Seed Varieties
Heirloom Varieties From the Collection
All six of the following cherished, open-pollinated varieties were entrusted to SSE for preservation in our seed bank to ensure they are protected and available both today and for generations to come.
Each year we regenerates and evaluates dozens of varieties from the seed bank at our Northeast Iowa headquarters, paying particular attention to high performers. Want to get involved? Join the ADAPT Community Science Program to trial varieties in your own garden!
The following six varieties stood out in the field and on the table, and SSE is delighted to introduce them to market farmers, home gardeners, and seed savers everywhere.
Cracoviensis Celtuce
(Lactuca sativa) What exactly is celtuce? Also known as stem or asparagus lettuce, this lettuce cultivar produces edible, thick, crisp stems and dark-red and green leaves with a slightly bitter, yet surprisingly refreshing, flavor. A popular addition to Asian cuisine, the stem is harvested when it reaches a foot long and then typically sautéed.
Seed Savers Exchange acquired this early-maturing variety in the 1990s from Mary Schultz, an Exchange lister in Washington state.
60 days. Organic. 250 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Cracoviensis’ celtuce seeds here!
Dulce de la Tierra Ground Cherry
(Physalis peruviana) Yellowish-green fruits boast a delightful tropical flavor reminiscent of just-ripe kiwi with notes of pineapple. Plants reach 3’-4’ tall and produce round to slightly elliptic fruits that reach up to 1” in diameter. While this variety matures later than Physalis pruinosa ground cherries, it delivers a far more intense flavor.
Eduardo Valenzuela, an Exchange lister from California, donated this variety to Seed Savers Exchange circa 2006.
70-90 days. Organic. 50 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Dulce de la Tierra’ ground cherry seeds here!
Honsesalat Lettuce
(Lactuca sativa) This beautiful, large, and vigorous looseleaf lettuce delivers a dependably delicious, sweet flavor and a crisp, tender, and juicy midrib. Plants sport spoon-shaped, slightly curled, and moderately blistered bright-green inner leaves with a burgundy blush on the leaf surface and margins.
When grown in 2020 at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm, ‘Honsesalat’ tolerated the stresses of a hard freeze and abnormally dry conditions exceptionally well. Plants matured early, bolted late, and grew to 18.5”-23.5” across and about 13.5”-17” high.
50 days. Organic. 250 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Honsesalat’ lettuce seeds here!
Hutterite Breadseed Poppy
(Papaver somniferum) Large, showy flowers range from white to light-pink with a darker-pink patch in the center. Sturdy plants grow up to 3’ tall and produce large, elliptic pods.
Seed Savers Exchange received this easy-to-grow flower circa 2004 and suspects it is the same variety that Sandra Cumming of Alberta, Canada, wrote about in the 1982 Yearbook: “These poppies from a nearby Hutterite colony are grown extensively each year for seed that the Hutterite ladies use to bake an excellent poppy seed cake.”
All plant parts except the seeds are toxic. 90 days. 100 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Hutterite Breadseed’ poppy seeds here!
Lemme’s Italian Sweet Pepper
(Capsicum annuum) Pepper lovers can thank Albert Lemme of Altoona, Pennsylvania, for this moderately sweet and highly productive heirloom variety. Plants grow up to 30” tall and produce slender, pointed, slightly curving, and thin-walled fruits that measure 4”-8” long and 1”-1.75” wide at maturity.
Seed Savers Exchange received this pepper from Darrell Merrell, an Exchange lister from Oklahoma, who received it in 1996 from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. It matured early when grown in 2014 at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm.
75 days. Organic. 25 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Lemme’s Italian Sweet’ pepper seeds here!
Peg O’ My Heart Tomato
(Solanum lycopersicum) Peg Davis has grown and selected seeds from this beautiful, productive, and flavorful pink beefsteak variety for nearly five decades on her farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Weighing from one to two pounds each, these tomatoes are a consistent hit at her stand at the Staunton Farmers’ Market. Fruits ripen slowly and yield uniform slices that are ideal for sandwiches. Peg describes their flavor as “a perfect blend of sweetness and acidity with a classic ‘old-fashioned’ tomato taste.”
Indeterminate, 85 days from transplant. 35 seeds per packet.
What truly makes this tomato special is the story behind its stewardship. Peg Davis is a dedicated farmer, educator, and poet passionate about growing heirloom tomatoes. ‘Peg O’ My Heart,’ her flagship tomato, has been a labor of love for nearly 50 years after a high school student gave her the family’s heirloom seeds.
This inspiring seed story is well-worth reading. Click HERE to read the full story of Peg Davis and the ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomato.
Get ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomato seeds here!
Shop all seeds from the collection
Other New Varieties for 2026
Shake up your garden with one, some, or all of these high-performing varieties, new to the Seed Savers Exchange catalog this year.
Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli
(Brassica oleracea) This broccoli variety grows slowly in the winter and produces an abundance of spectacular purple, buttery-soft, and nutty-flavored shoots in the spring. Originally listed in John Mason’s 1793 seed catalog, it yields both florets that can be eaten fresh in salads or steamed as a side dish and leaves that add flavor and texture to stir-fries. Plants reach about 3’ tall. For best results, sow this variety mid-to-late-summer and overwinter to produce florets the following spring.
59 days. 100 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Early Purple Sprouting’ broccoli seeds here!
Aichi Cabbage
Long a staple in Japan, this heirloom Chinese cabbage variety produces large, barrel-shaped heads with succulent midribs. Its tender leaves have a mild, sweet cabbage flavor that complements other vegetables whether cooked in stir-fries or soups, pickled as kimchi, or eaten fresh.
As its name suggests, this variety hails from the Aichi Prefecture, where its flavor and versatility has made it a staple for centuries.
70 days. 100 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Aichi’ cabbage seeds here!
Morden Midget Eggplant
This delightful, productive, and hardy eggplant variety has survived floods, droughts, frosts, and even a hurricane since originating in 1958 at the Morden Research and Development Centre in Canada.
It produces stunning, rose-purple flowers and a plethora of 3″-4″ purple, oval fruits with a rich, slightly sweet flavor and a tender texture. Plants reach 18-30″ tall, making them ideal for growing in containers.
60-65 days from transplant. Organic. 25 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Morden Midget’ eggplant seeds here!
Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot Pepper
This early-maturing, prolific pepper is both deer-resistant and heat-and-drought-tolerant. Its
5-6″-long, banana-shaped, waxy peppers pack four times more heat than a jalapeño (5,000 to 15,000 on the Scoville heat scale) and can be enjoyed fried, stuffed, or pickled. Harvest peppers at the yellow, immature stage—or at the red, ripened stage for a sweeter, slightly spicier taste. This variety grows well in containers, garden plots, raised beds, and greenhouses.
58 to 85 days from transplant. Medium-hot. 40 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot’ pepper seeds here!
Hungarian Yellow Wax Sweet Pepper
This productive pepper delivers a deliciously sweet, yet slightly hot, flavor. Plants grow 18-30″ high, making them ideal for almost any garden space, from small raised beds to full plots. Banana-shaped, 6″-long peppers have waxy flesh ideal for pickling, stuffing, grilling, and adding to salads and sandwiches. While these peppers are most often harvested when they are yellow, they are sweetest when allowed to mature fully to red.
70 days from transplant. Sweet. 40 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Hungarian Yellow Wax Sweet’ pepper seeds here!
Hollow Crown Parsnip
This popular heirloom parsnip variety produces long (up to 15″), smooth, white roots with a sweet, nutty flavor that intensifies after exposure to frost. The roots can be roasted, sautéed, mashed, or puréed as well as used in stocks, stews, and pot roasts. Also a good storage variety, ‘Hollow Crown’ can last up to six months in a root cellar.
100-120 days. 50 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Hollow Crown’ parsnip seeds here!
Howden Pumpkin Squash
(C. pepo) This winter squash is the industry standard for productive and reliable jack-o’-lantern pumpkin harvests. Deeply ridged, round, and symmetrical fruits weigh from 15-25 pounds when mature and have a thick, hard, rich-orange shell perfect for carving. Primarily a decorative pumpkin, this variety produces flesh that, when baked, can also be used for pies and soups.
Howden Pumpkin was developed in the Berkshire Mountains by John Howden in the mid-1970s; it resists black rot and stores well.
115 days. 25 seeds per packet.
Get ‘Howden Pumpkin’ squash seeds here!
Shop all new seeds here
New Gifts, Tools, and More!
These new products include seed collections, garden tools, and books perfect for gifting to gardening enthusiasts—including yourself!
New Seed Collections: A Garden in a Box
One theme, six high-performing varieties. We’ve selected some of our best seed varieties for you, and bundled them for savings and convenience! Each of our carefully curated Seed Collections contain six packets of open-pollinated, non-GMO seeds ready for planting in any garden. Plus, these collections make a great gift!
Please note: In the event of a seed packet shortage, we will substitute a variety. Rest assured—you’re still getting six great varieties!
The Soup Collection
Do you love making soup with vegetables from your own garden? Then this curated collection is for you! It contains seeds for all the ingredients to make a hearty three-bean soup to enjoy piping hot from the stovetop or freeze for a delicious winter meal!
SEEDS IN THIS COLLECTION:
- Christmas Lima Bean
- Hidatsa Red Bean
- Turkey Craw Bean
- Danvers Carrot
- Tall Utah Celery
- Yellow of Parma Onion
Get the Soup Seed Collection here!
The Jelly Collection
Are you stuck in a strawberry or grape jelly rut? This collection offers six different varieties to make six different jellies sure to delight the palates of all jelly lovers.
SEEDS IN THIS COLLECTION:
- Aunt Mary’s Ground Cherry
- Huckleberry
- Lemon Mint
- Jalapeño Traveler Strain Pepper
- King of the North Pepper
- Speckled Roman Tomato
Get the Jelly Seed Collection here!