Marys Niagra is strictly suited to gardeners with a sweet tooth who welcome a little wildness into their gardens. Also known as cape gooseberries, these berries are all individually wrapped in a papery husk. The orange berries inside taste like the layer of caramelized pineapple you get on a pineapple upside down cake. Totally delicious.Despite having their roots in North America, these grow with wild abandon - the plants are big and the fruits are plentiful. They grow 30cm up and then start to bush outwards to almost 3 foot wide! We think they would look tremendous cascading down the side of a container. Fruits fall off the plant when ripe. You can give them a little shake to encourage them and leave to ripen fully on a window sill. Fruits keep well.Sow: March-April with heat (21-25C)Plant: 50-100cm apartHarvest: July-SeptemberKitchen: Eat straight off the plant or incorporate into fruity desserts - they're particularly good in pavlovaNotes: This variety grows well outside.
~20 seeds
Germ 96% Nov 24
Agretti is a revelation. Like so many Italian heirlooms, it looks elegant and tastes delicious. A salty, seductively succulent green. You can cut stems at 20cm long and blanch it or just cut the tips to use in salads. Keep cutting it back and it will send up fresh stems for picking. One sowing last the year. Grows well undercover or outside once frosts have passed.Sow: Valentines day-April undercover.Plant: 4-6 weeks after sowing.Harvest: After 6-8 weeks.Kitchen: Eat tips raw or cook stems - steam, sautee, or blanch. Pairs with acid (lemon, balsamic vinegar, lime), fats (walnuts, coconut milk, butter), salty (olives, feta, parmesan), aromatics (chilli).Notes: Agretti has a reputation for being hard to germinate. This is because the seeds need to be really fresh to germinate well. We only sell the fresh stuff. ~100 seedsSaLAgr-00147-WNO-CGerm 100% Feb 25
A loose heading broccoli which tastes divine - sweet & succulent stems completely devoid of the sulfurous flavour found in standard calabrese. Piracicaba (from Brazil) is a heat tolerant variety which can be grown right through the summer. The first mini broccoli head is followed by tonnes of side shoots. A great variety for small gardens because you get so many harvest from one plant.
Also a great one for market gardeners - read all about it here: https://growingformarket.com/articles/piracicabaSow: March-April (undercover or outside with fleece or cloche)Plant: May, 60cm spacingHarvest: Nov-Dec Kitchen: Roast or steam. Pairs with acidic flavours (lemon, balsamic vinegar). fats (bacon, ham, blue cheese, parmesan), nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts), aromatics (parsley, thyme).Notes: Plant deep and firm plants in very well to avoid toppling.BrcPir-00146-WNO-C~100 seedsGerm 90% Jan 25
This heritage Italian variety of chicory is one of our favourites. Sweet flavour and crisp texture - this is a variety for chicory noobs. It rivals iceberg lettuce for crispness but with a much more aromatic, complex flavour. Outer, deep green leaves have more radicchio bitterness than the yellow hearts. Pan di Zucchero grow to an impressive size - about 40cm long - a satisfying green to grow. Sowing and planting timing is important to grow chicory successfully. Sow in mid-late July and plant out promptly. Chicory like to germinate in the cool. Sow: mid-late July. Keep seeds cool while germinating.Plant: 4 weeks after sowing.Harvest: October-December. Chicory is frost tolerant but the outside leaves can suffer, looking rotten and slimy. Hold your nerve and peel them away to reveal the jewel-like chicory heart. Kitchen: Best raw in salads but can also be cooked. Cut the hearts in half, marinate and griddle or barbecue. Pairs well with acid (lemon, balsamic vinegar, orange), fats (blue cheese, walnuts, hazelnuts), salty (capers), sweet (winter squash).~0.5g/350 seedsChicPZ-00031-KNG-OGGerm 77% Dec 24
Photo courtesy of Springtail Farm
Grow vegetables you'll be hard pressed to find in the supermarket! Find rare and unusual varieties to add to your productive garden. All tried and tested in the UK climate! Shop our seeds and sow something special!
