Lacey, magenta leaves which are more refined than similar varieties available such as 'Purple Frills' and 'Ruby Streaks'. A stalwart salad mustard for cut-and-come again winter salads. The young leaves are mild, becoming more peppery as the plant ages. Slugs and snails tend to leave this variety alone - perhaps because of its unique leaf shape. The young leaves are mild and become more spicy as they age and spring approaches.
As with most of the salad greens in this catalogue, their use in the UK can all be traced back to the godmother of Grow Your Own, Joy Larkcom. Her book 'The Salad Garden' originally published in 1987 is a seminal work on the subject. Her careful recommendations are both tasty and decorative, as she puts it, salad vegetables which 'feed the body and the spirit'.Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)
Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for salad leaves
Harvest: 4-8 weeks after sowing
Kitchen: Eat fresh or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).
Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice.
Also available in our 'Cool Greens' winter salad seed collection. Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~1g/450 seeds
81% July 25
A tasty Chinese mustard with brightly coloured stems ranging from purple to fuchsia to baby pink. Leaves are shiny with serrated edges, coloured vivid green or deep burgundy. A colourful addition to baby salad mixes but also tastes great cooked.Vivid choi is slow to bolt, cold hardy and versatile in the kitchen. A good choice for home gardeners looking to grow delicious greens you can't buy in the shops.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, braised or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring. Cool weather and plant maturity bring out the purple and pink colouring.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.~1g/450 seeds
Germ: 97% July 25
A productive salad leaf and stalwart cut flower rolled into one. Wrinkle Cress grows quickly and abundantly, adding pep to your salads from autumn through to spring. As the days lengthen, plants throw up shoots full of tiny white flowers which gradually transforming into graceful seed heads. The seed heads can be picked when glaucous green or when dry and silvery. They are super versatile - an easy way to add texture to late summer and autumn arrangements. Use fresh or dried.
Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)
Plant: direct sow or plant 10-20cm apart
Harvest: Salad leaves 4-8 weeks after sowing. Cut seed heads when the uppermost flowers have faded.
Kitchen: Eat fresh in winter and early spring salads. Pairs with citrus (orange, lemon, lime), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic), fats (sesame, cashew).
Vase: Expect fresh seed heads to last for a week.
~1g / 400 seeds
Germ 97% Oct 25
An unusual rocket variety with deep green, broad leaves which aren't lobed like standard rocket varieties. It is slower growing and slower to bolt than more vigorous alternatives such as 'Victoria'. A substantial, peppery leaf for salads harvested between autumn and spring.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.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.~0.5g/250 seedsGerm 92% Jul 25
Mibuna is your answer to home grown greens from autumn to early spring. Gentle peppery flavour that is hotter than Mizuna, milder than Golden Frills. The leaves are elongated and flex backwards, making a small well for salad dressings to sit in. They are a deep, healthy green colour.Mibuna originated from the Mibu region of Kyoto City in Japan, where it was bred from a mizuna hybrid. It's been cultivated from 1804. Use Mibuna as you would Mizuna - a baby leaf salad, a stir fry green or wilted in ramen. In Japan its mixed with kombu (an umami flavour-rich seaweed) and chilli to make a quick salty pickle called asazuke. A crisp, spicy, umami flavoured side dish - exceptionally moreish.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, pickled or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.
~1g/450 seedsGerm 96% July 25
Golden Frills is a vigorous variety, producing an abundance of lacy, golden-green leaves. A stalwart mustard for cut-and-come again winter salads. The young leaves are mild, becoming more peppery as the plant ages. I find slugs and snails tend to leave this variety alone - perhaps because of its unique leaf shape. Harvest the yellow flowering tips too - they're spicy and sweet.Golden Frills, along with a lot of the popular Asian greens, was popularised in the UK by the godmother of Grow Your Own, Joy Larkcom. Her book 'The Salad Garden' originally published in 1987 is seminal. Her careful recommendations are both tasty and decorative to 'feed the body and the spirit'.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 stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
~1g/450 seedsGerm 87% 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
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
Our pick for a classic salad rocket - green, lobed leaves with strong peppery flavour. A fast growing, vigorous variety which works well as a cut-and-come-again salad leaf. It bolts faster than our other salad rocket variety 'Astro' which is slower growing. Ideally, you'll sow this variety thickly in successions. The flowers are a delicious salad ingredient too. It makes a flavoursome addition to salads from autumn until early spring. 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 seedsRocVic-00112-CNS-CGerm 98% Aug 25
Pizzo is a lovely broad-leaved salad mustard with squiggly serrated edges. It adds verdant volume to winter salad pickings. Its visually similar to 'Green in Snow' but much milder. Definitely our preference for a productive winter salad leaf.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 stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
Download our Winter Salads Growing Guide to learn more about growing winter greens.~1g/450 seedsGerm: 88% Sept 25
Mizuna is one of the most popular winter salad leaves out there. It produces succulent, green winter leaves with a mild, peppery flavour. It is more vigorous than the other winter salad leaves we offer and very frost tolerant. A brilliant bulker for winter and early spring salad mixes. 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, pickled or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (coriander, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Sowings bolt around the solstice. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.1g / ~450 seedsGerm 94% Aug 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
Fireworks makes a beautiful addition to your garden (vegetable or ornamental) and a very nutritious addition to your plate. You can 'eat the rainbow' by growing just one variety! It's a celebration of colour and diversity. You'll find stems in icy white, canary yellow, zesty orange, and cerise red with leaves ranging from verdant green to deep burgundy.
Say goodbye to uniformity and say hello to diverse form and colour. This is a diverse interbreeding population of plants rather than a single variety. If you dig up a seed cluster as its germinating and you'll see different coloured shoots stretching out of a single cluster. Each cluster is made up of several individual seeds, each with their own unique genetics. What a joy.
Sow: April (undercover) & July (outside or undercover) for continuous supply.
Plant: 4 weeks after sowing, or sow direct.
Harvest: Baby leaves in 6 weeks, big leaves in 8-10 weeks. Harvest outside leaves.
Kitchen: Eat baby leaves raw and cook older leaves - steam, sautee, or braise. Cook stems a little longer than leaves. Pairs with acid (lemon, balsamic vinegar, lime), fats (goats cheese, walnuts, coconut milk, butter), salty (olives, feta, parmesan), aromatics (chilli, nutmeg, dill, fennel, thyme).
3g (approx 150 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Beta vulgaris var. cicla
Germ Rate: 84% Sept 25
***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***
A robust, slow-to-bolt spinach with beautiful deep green leaves. If you're looking for a spinach to succession sow throughout the year - this is the one for you. Sow in successions every 4-6 weeks from March until September. Awarded the prestigious RHS AGM for its thick, succulent leaves and upright growth habit. As with all spinach varieties, Matador is high in vitamins A and C.
Sow: March to Sept. Sow early sowings undercover.
Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for greens
Harvest: 4-8 weeks after sowing
Kitchen: Eat young leaves fresh, mature leaves just wilted. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime), aromatics and spices (basil, turmeric, cumin, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew, bacon, feta).
Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Succession sow for continuous supply.
Spinacia oleracea
5g (approx 460 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Germ: 82% Aug 25
***COMING NOVEMBER 1ST***
This kale is popular for a reason! Also known as 'Ragged Jack', its blue-green leaves have jagged edges and delicate purple stems and are some of the most tender greens around. Cold weather brings a sweeter flavour and a bright magenta colouring in the leaves.
Red Russian Kale came to Europe from North Siberia and its impressive frost hardiness has meant its been grown all over the Northern hemisphere. The 'Red' in the name refers to communism rather than the colour of the plant. In the US this variety is nicknamed 'Communist Kale'. Whatever your political persuasion, your bound to be impressed by this popular heirloom Kale.
Sow: mid March-May & Aug-Sept (undercover or outside)
Plant: densely for baby leaves, 20cm for salad leaves, 30cm for cooking greens.
Harvest: 4-8 weeks after sowing
Kitchen: Eat fresh or stir fried. Pairs with citrus (lemon, lime, ponzu), aromatics and spices (turmeric, ginger, five spice, chilli), alliums (spring onion, garlic, garlic chives), fats (sesame, cashew).
Notes: Early sowings benefit from fleece. Long harvest period, particularly over winter - you'll have greens from October into spring.
1g (approx 250 seeds) We pack seeds by weight, the number of seeds in a packet is an estimate.
Brassica napus
Germ Rate: 80% Sept 25
Sow seeds for winter hardy salads and greens! Download our FREE Winter Salad Growing Guide, complete with a sowing calendar, to make growing winter salad simple!
