***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
Vibrant green leaves a top long, slender white stems with no bulbing. Ishikura is a fantastically robust and frost hardy Japanese variety with a crisp texture and mild onion flavour. Awarded an RHS AGM for its vigorous growth. Sow every couple of months for harvests throughout the year.
Sow: Feb-March undercover, April-September outside. Sow clusters of 10 in modules or sow direct 5cm apart. Stagger sowings every 8 weeks for continuous supply.
Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant clusters 20cm apart
Harvest: Year round
Kitchen: Best used in salads or slowly caramelised.
Notes: Keep cool while germinating. Temperatures above 20C inhibit germination.
Allium fistulosum
1.5g (approx 375 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Germ Rate: 91% Sept 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
Lilia is a lovely little spring onion - vibrant red, right to the core. Leaves are a deeper shade of green than most spring onion varieties. We love to harvest this variety once it has begun to bulb up. The gorgeous, shiny salad onions have a mild flavour, lending themselves to be eaten raw.
Sow: Feb-March undercover, April-July outside. Sow clusters of 10 in modules or sow direct 5cm apart. Stagger sowings every 8 weeks for continuous supply.
Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant clusters 20cm apart
Harvest: June-October
Kitchen: Best used in salads or slowly caramelised.
Notes: Keep cool while germinating. Temperatures above 20C inhibit germination.
Allium cepa
1.5g (approx 375 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Germ Rate: 92% Sept 25
Often our flower field is a sea of pink, peach and apricot shades. They are the colours we're drawn to. So we're delighted to include this apricot coloured delight in our catalogue. Along with strawflowers, they are our top dried flower for beginners because they are so productive and easy to dry down. Harvest when flowers are fully out, tie in bunches and hang upside down to dry. Sturdy flowers to work with fresh or dry.Originating from the Mediterranean, statice is extremely drought and heat tolerant. We find it an easy plant to grow, even in wet summers.Sow: Sow undercover in April or outside direct in May. Benefits from warm soil.Plant: 4 weeks after sowingHarvest: July-September. Pick when flowers are full open. Stems 60cm or longer.Vase: Can be used fresh or dry. To dry, strip off foliage, tie in a bunch and hang upside down. Flower colours will intensify.~30 seedsGerm 81% Aug 25
Forever Happy is a lovely lavender pink statice dotted with pale yellow bracts. The yellow bracts fade after drying. Along with strawflowers, they are our top dried flower for beginners because they are so productive and easy to dry down. Harvest when flowers are fully out, tie in bunches and hang upside down to dry. Sturdy flowers to work with fresh or dry.Originating from the Mediterranean, statice is extremely drought and heat tolerant. We find it an easy plant to grow, even in wet summers.Sow: Sow undercover in April or outside direct in May. Benefits from warm soil.Plant: 4 weeks after sowingHarvest: July-September. Pick when flowers are full open. Stems 60cm or longer.Vase: Can be used fresh or dry. To dry, strip off foliage, tie in a bunch and hang upside down. Flower colours will intensify.~30 seedsGerm 100% Aug 25
Valentine is a very handsome sunflower. Soft, primrose yellow petals surrounding a chocolate brown center. It's hard not to love it. This variety doesn't drop its pollen so you won't be wiping up pollen from underneath your flower vases. It still great for the bees though - producing pollen and nectar for them to forage.Sunflowers have earnt their name because of the way their flowers follow the trajectory of the sun over the course of the day. Although sunflowers look like a single bloom, botanically, they are actually an inflorescence made up of hundreds of little florets. There are disc flowers which make up the main central part of the flower head. These are fertile and turn into seeds. Then there are the ray flowers around the edge of the head which look to us like petals and are completely sterile. The disk flowers open sequentially from the outside in over 5-10 days. Sow: Mar-April undercover, May-June outside.Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing at 60cm. Wait until risk of frost has passed.Harvest: Pick stems when flowers are half open. 80cm stem length.Vase: Expect a vase life of at least 1 week.Notes: Plant seedlings deep - this will help with their stability because sunflowers can grow roots from their stems. Plants can grow to 1.5m - you might need to stake them.~25 seedsGerm 98% Sept 25
An ethereal sweet pea with long stems and excellent scent. The flowers are a soft blue (verging on lilac) with full and frilly petals which hold their ground in an arrangement. An excellent sweet pea grown in the garden or for cutting. Grow undercover for extra long stems. Bred by Chris Hammer and introduced by Unwins way back in 1990.
Sow: Late Oct-Nov for overwintering seedlings or Valentines day to end of March. Resist sowing in the depths of winter.Plant: 20cm apart, enrich with compostHarvest: When uppermost 2 buds are closed.Vase: Expect vase life of 4-5 days.
~20 seedsSwPCA-00123-MSW-OG
Germ 86% Aug 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
A very tasty sweet pepper with lipstick-red, heart-shaped fruits. Lesya is often touted as being one of the sweetest peppers around, we're a little dubious of the title, but what we will say is that Lesya reliably produces very tasty peppers with thick flesh, thin skins and rich flavour. And they're very popular with kids. Despite their compact size, these plants don't take well to being grown in pots.
Sow: Valentines day to end March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (olives, bacon, cured pork), aromatic (parsley, coriander, oregano, ginger), spicy (paprika, cumin, cinnamon), fats (avocado, soft cheese, eggs).
Notes: Grow in greenhouse or similar. Stake plants using a tripod method - they don't get very tall but branches are liable to snap under the weight of their fruit.
Approx 20 seeds We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Capsicum annuum
Germ Rate: 78% Oct 25
An early sweet pepper that looks like a really long chilli. They produce slender, curling fruits as long as my forearm which begin pale green turning to orange then red. Eat them at any stage of the proceedings but our favourite is to pickle the still-green peppers whole with garlic and a bit of dill. The perfect kebab condiment. Or BBQ side. Or just to add a little sparkle to your packed lunch.Sow: Valentines day to end March, with heat (25C)Harvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Pairs with savoury (olives, bacon, cured pork), aromatic (parsley, coriander, oregano, ginger), spicy (paprika, cumin, cinnamon), fats (avocado, soft cheese, eggs).Notes: Stake plants using a tripod method - they don't get very tall but branches are liable to snap under the weight of their fruit. Grow in greenhouse or similar.~20 seedsStock Ref: PepTDel-00137-WNO-CGerm 84% Aug 25
Often the best things in life are found in unlikely places. Who would have guessed that earliest and most productive pepper would hail from the warm Middle Eastern gardens of Turkey? Not us. But Turkish Dolma produces bountiful harvests of sweet, palm-sized peppers from July to September. The peppers are blocky with shiny skins which turn from green to red.Turkish Dolma has been bred to be picked green and stuffed ('dolma' is Turkish for 'stuffed) then baked. We find them very versatile peppers in the kitchen. Roast the young fruits whole and eat them seeds and all; fry them up for breakfast menemen (Turkish scrambled eggs) or let them ripen fully for the perfect snack pepper.Sow: Valentines day to end March, with heat (25C)Harvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Pairs with savoury (olives, bacon, cured pork), aromatic (parsley, coriander, oregano, ginger), spicy (paprika, cumin, cinnamon), fats (avocado, soft cheese, eggs).Notes: Grow in greenhouse or similar. Stake plants using a tripod method - they don't get very tall but branches are liable to snap under the weight of their fruit.
~ 20 seedsPepTDma-00135-WNO-C
Germ: 82% Aug 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
The OG heirloom sweetcorn variety which is the ancestral parent of many hybrid varieties. It is early and sweet with satisfyingly large yellow kernels.
Sweetcorn is one of the best vegetable varieties to grow because the ears are so much sweeter when picked fresh. Plant in a block rather than row to ensure good pollen circulation and full kernels. Our favourite way to eat it is rubbed with lemon, salt and chilli then barbecued or grilled.
Sow: April-May (undercover), end May-early June (direct)
Plant: 2 weeks after sowing into warm soil, 45cm apart.
Harvest: September
Kitchen: Boil, grill or barbecue. Pairs with spice (chilli, paprika), salty (soy sauce, capers, feta, bacon), aromatics (coriander, thyme), citrus (lime).
Notes: If growing in modules, plant seedlings promptly - they don't like to get pot bound.
10g (approx 40 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Zea mays
Germ Rate: 85% Oct 25
Syrian oregano is a beautiful species of oregano with silvery, downy leaves which have an aromatic oregano-thyme flavour. It's the authentic herb used in za'atar and a distinctive flavour in Levantine cuisine. Rarely grown in the UK, we find it grows really well from seed, happily adapting to life in a container or herb bed.This is a perennial herb which you can expect a smaller harvest from in the first year. It will bulk out over the next few years. Cut back old growth in early spring to encourage new soft growth.Sow: March - April (at around 18C)Plant: 30cm apart in MayKitchen: The it herb for greek, mexican and italian dishes. Pairs with fats (eggs, yogurt, halloumi, soft cheese, parmesan), aromatics (basil, parsley, chives, mint, thyme), spicy (chili), acid (white wine, red wine vinegar)~0.1g/1000 seedsGerm 84% Oct 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
An exceedingly elegant French Marigold, with long stems, aromatic foliage and deep red flowers edged with gold. They are extremely easy to grow (and save seed from) and extremely useful in a cut garden. One sowing will give you buckets of foliage followed by bunches of richly coloured flowers.
Cinnabar is a Great Dixter original (go visit this garden if you haven't already) - selected from a particularly tall specimen found in their borders. When I say tall, I mean tall - Cinnabar reaches 1.2m, so don’t plant it in between your tomatoes! Give it its own area of the garden to flourish in.
Sow: Mar-April undercover, May-June outside.
Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing at 30cm. Wait until risk of frost has passed.
Harvest: Pick stems when flowers are half open. 60cm stem length.
Vase: Expect a vase life of 7 days.
Approx 100 seeds
Germ 85% Oct 25
All cut flower seeds are subject to 20% VAT which is added at checkout. If your order contains VAT-able goods, 20% VAT is also charged on shipping.
Thyme is a beautifully savoury herb which is very versatile in the kitchen - pick it fresh and it's even more aromatic. It's easy to grow - choose a sunny spot in a flower bed or pot and it will look after itself. It is a perennial herb which will last for years but we find it's best to resow every 3 years for strong lush growth. Sow: March - April (at around 18C)Plant: 30cm apart in MayKitchen: Use thyme to enhance the flavour of roasts, soups and stews. You can also pick the flowers and eat them in salads or as a garnish.Notes: Prefers well drained soil. On heavier soil, add gravel to hole before planting.~0.25g/1000 seedsGerm 79% July 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
Gardener's Sweetheart is an overachiever. It produces trusses as long as your forearm, laden with cute red tomatoes, shaped like anatomical hearts. Unusually for most heirloom varieties, Gardener's Sweetheart has a high resistance to splitting so you can leave whole trusses of tomatoes to ripen before picking them. The tomatoes have a lovely firm texture (they make great sauces too) and sweet flavour.
As with many tomatoes, the flavour of this variety is deadened with over-watering. Once plants are established, water the absolute bare minimum (if growing in open ground) and you will be rewarded with the sweetest fruits.
Gardeners Sweetheart is a vining, (indeterminate) variety which is best grown undercover, grown up strings - either in the ground or in containers.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
Approx 20 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Solanum lycopersicum
Germ Rate: 100% Oct 25
The best tasting deep red tomato we've grown - a moreish balance of sweetness and acidity. Exactly as a cherry tomato should taste! A very impressive open pollinated variety, bred by Kings Seeds and awarded the RHS AGM for excellent flavour. Plants are healthy, productive and vigorous. Rosella is a vining, (indeterminate) variety which is best grown undercover, grown up strings - either in the ground or in containers.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
~10 seedsTomRsl-00038-KNG-CGerm 96% Sept 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
Let me introduce you to the winner of our 2024 outdoor dwarf tomato trials! Uralski Ranniy is a Russian heirloom tomato which performs extremely well for us in South West England. It produces mini-beefsteak tomatoes, the size of a salad tomato but beautifully ridged. They are excellent eaten fresh but come into their own when they're cooked down into sauces or fried for breakfast. Happy growing outside, and will yield well in a sunny spot.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
Approx 20 seeds We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Solanum lycopersicum
Germ Rate: 88% Oct 25
Sunshine yellow, golf ball sized tomatoes which are always the earliest to ripen. A great tomato to kick off the season and for areas with a cooler climate. This British heirloom dates back to 1890s and produces prodigious quantities of delicious, juicy salad tomatoes. Like all yellow tomatoes they have a mild, fresh flavour - perfect for salads.
Sow: March, with heat (25C)
Harvest: July-September
Kitchen: Pairs with savoury (anchovies, capers, cured pork), aromatic (basil, coriander, thyme), spicy (anise, clove, chilli, cinnamon), fats (avocado, cream cheese).
Notes: Potato-leaved variety - broader leaves than standard tomatoes.
~15 seeds
Germ 96% Aug 25
Our vibrant collection of rare, heirloom vegetable seeds make an excellent gift for the nature-friendly kitchen gardener in your life. Our Top of the Pots Seed Gift Collection has been carefully curated by Ellen to look gorgeous and taste delicious. Full of colourful varieties which happily grow in pots in a container garden, courtyard or balcony. Locally adapted to UK growing conditions, most of the varieties in this collection have been saved on our 3 acre farm in Dorset, giving you the best chance of success!
Chard 'Fireworks'
Dwarf French Bean 'Dior'
Rocket 'Victoria'
Spring Onion 'Ishikura'
Calendula 'Ivory Princess'
Broad bean 'Ratio'
Radish 'Saxa'
Why buy this collection?
Perfect for Container Growing: Features 7 colourful varieties, all chosen because they grow well and look beautiful grown in pots. Anyone can make a beautiful and tasty garden - be it a courtyard, terrace or balcony.
UK Sourced & Adapted: Our seeds are selected for their resilience and ability to thrive in the British climate, giving you the best chance of success! Most of our varieties are produced on our organically managed, 3 acre farm in Dorset.
Sustainable & Eco-friendly: We only sell open-pollinated & heirloom varieties (no F1 hybrids) which means you can save your own seeds for the next year.
A Thoughtful Christmas Present: Sharing seeds over the darkest months of the year is an ancient tradition we can all be part of. Our gift collections are beautifully packaged in a plastic-free, eco-friendly gift bag made from recycled cotton - perfect for anyone who wants to experience the joy of growing your own produce.
Gift mindfully this Christmas and give a gift that grows! Our Top of the Pots Seed Collection is the ultimate Christmas gift for small-space gardeners, inspiring joy, hope and growth in the year ahead.
Purple Top Milan is bred to grow fast and be eaten young. Harvest when they are ping pong sized and cook whole - skins and all. We are really happy with this selection of the variety - the roots are beautifully flattened with excellent bright violet colouring. They have a nice firm texture and well-balanced flavour. Turnips excellent way of making use of any gaps in the vegetable garden which begin to show in late summer. It's worth having a packet of seed spare just in case!Sow: Valentines day-March (undercover), July-August (direct)Plant: multisow and plant 20cm apart or sow direct and thin to 5-10cm apart.Harvest: 6-8 weeks from sowingKitchen: Eat fresh, pickled or stir fried. Pairs with acid (lemon, lime, ponzu, balsamic, wine), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli, thyme), alliums (spring onion, garlic), fats (bacon, sesame, cashew).~1g/450 seedsGerm 996% Aug 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
A kale that needs very little introduction. Nero di Toscana has a reputation for being the kale of choice for any gardening gourmet. The long, deep green leaves are more tender than standard curly kales with a flavour that sweetens after the first frost. A Tuscan heirloom which has been bred to withstand both hot and cold temperatures, you can harvest this kale from late summer to early spring.
Sow: March-April (undercover or outside with fleece or cloche)
Plant: May, 45cm apart
Harvest: Late summer- early autumn
Kitchen: Roast, steam, sautee or braise. Pairs with acidic flavours (lemon, white wine), fats (sesame, bacon, chorizo, walnuts, parmesan), alliums (garlic, leeks), aromatics & spice (mustard, cumin, parsley, coriander, ginger, chilli).
Notes: To avoid massive cabbage heads, grow no further than 45cm apart. As with all brassicas, plant deep to avoid toppling
0.5g (approx 150 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Brassica oleracea
Germ Rate: 97% Oct 25
Uber has all the vigour of a salad rocket with wild rocket flavour. It adds another dimension to a salad mix. Plant grow fully upright, even in winter, making them easy to harvest. It makes a flavoursome addition to salads from autumn until early spring. Leave to bolt - the flowers are delicious and provide early forage for pollinators.Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for salad leavesHarvest: 4-8 weeks after sowingKitchen: Eat fresh or just wilted. Pairs with citrus (lemon, balsamic vinegar), aromatics (basil, dill, mint) and spices (chilli), salty (capers, olives, feta), fats (blue cheese, goats cheese, pine nuts).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice.~1g/500 seedsRocUb-00110-CNS-CGerm 95% Aug 25
An early spring treat for anyone who loves butterhead lettuces. Leaves are bright green, buttery soft, lightly dimpled and pleasantly sweet from growing in the cool. A key addition to my quest for a year round supply of butterhead lettuces! Harvest as a looseleaf salad mix by harvesting individual leaves or wait until for the dense heads to form in early spring.Lettuce is a very ancient crop, originally domesticated by the ancient Egyptians for its seeds and sap which were used as a pain killer and sedative. The Romans went on to cultivate lettuce for its leaves and used it as a braising green.Sow: Sept-November undercoverPlant: 4-6 weeks after sowing, plant 20cm apartHarvest: Feb-AprilKitchen: Best used in salads.Notes: Best grown undercover. To make the most out of your space, you can sow/plant 10cm apart then harvest every other plant leaving the remaining half to head up in early spring. Do not let seeds get hot when germinating. 15C is ideal, anything above 18C encourages seed dormancy.
Also available in our 'Cool Greens' winter salad seed collection. Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~200 seeds/0.25gLetWcp-00029-KNG-OGGerm 70% July 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
The daintiest winter squash we grow! The plants are much less brutish than other varieties, co-existing well with the other plant life in your vegetable patch.
The squashes themselves are small too - rarely weighing over a kilo - making them the perfect size to roast whole. Fruits have a creamy texture and thin, digestible skins so no need for peeling. If the season is long, the fruits will mature to a dusty orange - pick at any stage.
Sow: April (undercover, ideally at 21C), late May outside
Plant: end May, 60cm spacing
Harvest: Sept-Oct
Kitchen: Roasted whole. Pairs with fats (hazelnuts, peanut, walnuts, goats cheese, feta), citrus (lemon, lime), aromatics & spices (coriander, sage, rosemary, thyme, chilli).
Notes: Protect early plantings from frost.
approx 15 seeds
Cucurbita moshata
Germ Rate: 98% Oct 25
