The Crazy Kids Collection

The Crazy Kids Collection brings fun to the garden with five unusual—but utterly delicious—plants: Mouse Melon, Strawberry Spinach, Goldenberry, Indigo Rose Tomato, and Magenta Spreen. Each variety offers a playful shape, vibrant hue, or unexpected taste that will get little hands digging, snacking, and learning about where food comes from.

Where Can You Grow
These sun-loving annuals thrive in pots, window boxes, raised beds, or in-ground gardens. They’re perfect for small spaces and container gardening—just give them rich, well-drained soil, consistent moisture, and plenty of sunlight.

History and Historical Uses

• Mouse Melon: Also called Mexican sour gherkin, long cultivated by indigenous peoples as a miniature cucumber snack.

• Strawberry Spinach: A Chenopodium relative valued in Europe for its magenta seed heads and mild spinach-like leaves.

• Goldenberry: Native to the Andes, prized for its sweet-tart berries used fresh, in jams, or dehydrated.

• Indigo Rose Tomato: Modern breeding marvel with anthocyanin-rich dark skins, combining good flavour with antioxidant benefits.

• Magenta Spreen: A colourful South African herb traditionally used as a seashore “green” and mild spinach substitute.

Canadian Zone Information

Zones 3–9: Start all five indoors 4–6 weeks before last frost. Harden off and transplant after danger of frost has passed.

How to Grow and Harvest

• Sowing: Sow ¼ in deep in seed trays or directly in warm soil.

• Spacing: Thin to 6–12 in apart, depending on plant size.

• Support: Provide stakes for Indigo Rose Tomatoes; other varieties grow well without support.

• Harvest: Pick mouse melons and goldenberries when bright; pinch spinach-style leaves and harvest berries before splitting.

Seed Saving Tips for Future Supply

• Isolation: Keep varieties at least 3 ft apart to prevent cross-mixing.

• Collection: Allow seed heads (spinach, spreen) and berries (goldenberry) to fully mature on the plant.

• Cleaning: Rub seed heads or squeeze berries to release seeds; rinse, dry, and store airtight in a cool, dark place.

Certified Organic By
Islands Organics Producers Association (Cert#1962)