List of 2008 varieties
Broad Bean, Vicia faba.Crimson Flowered, A beautiful heritage variety, saved from extinction by Rhoda Cutbush who gave 4 seeds to HDRA in 1978. It is not too tall and is therefore wind-tolerant. Average seeds per packet 27.
Runner Bean, Phaseolus coccineus Painted Lady, Produces masses of long, fine flavoured beans. The attractive bicolour flowers which make a fine show when trained up supports are a bonus. Average seeds per packet 20.
French Beans, Phaseolus vulgaris.
Kentucky Wonder, Climbs to about 2 metres and must be supported on poles. It is very productive and has green flattened pods. Average seeds per packet 72.
Lazy Housewife, An extremely productive dual-purpose bean originally from Andalucia in Spain. The flat green beans are stringless when young and the beans mature to a creamy white bean for drying and for use in soups, stews and bean dips. Average seeds per packet 35.
Borlotto Firetongue, A dwarf bean that can be used fresh or dried. The pods are beautifully striped and the dried beans are speckled purple and white. Average seeds per packet 44.
Jersey Dwarf, A dwarf bean from the Channel Islands that can be used fresh or dried. The pods are flat and striped and the dried beans speckled purple and white. Average seeds per packet 47.
Peas, Pisum sativum.
Hurst Green Shaft, Produces pairs of long pods on tidy plants that only grow to about 75 cm. Average seeds per packet 125.
Irish Green Pea, Irish cultivar we got from the Irish Seed Savers Association. It produces lots of small round peas suitable for drying or eating fresh. Average seeds per packet 119.
Oregon Sugar Pod, A vigorous mange-tout pea with excellent sweet flavour. It needs a fence about 1m high, and peas should be picked while small and flat for maximum flavour. Average seeds per packet 87.
Purple Podded, Purple pods make picking easier. This heritage variety
can be used fresh or dried, or as a mangetout. Grows to 1.5 m. Average seeds per packet 90.
Asparagus Pea, Lotus purpureus An ornamental and useful vegetable with pretty red flowers. The four- winged pods are the edible part tasting slightly of asparagus when steamed. Average seeds per packet 85.
Beetroot: Beta vulgaris. Boltardy, Popular reliable variety producing smooth round roots with a strong colour and fine sweet flavour. Average seeds per packet 200
♠ Leaf Beet, Swiss Chard, Beta vulgaris Bright Lights Multicoloured stems from white through yellows and pinks to deep red. The stems can be cooked separately from the and spinach-like leaves providing two vegetables on the same plant. Chard is hardy and over-winters in the garden providing useful spring greens before bolting. Average seeds per packet 150
Spinach Bloomsdale, Spinacia oleracea A highly productive variety with slightly savoyed leaves. Can be planted in spring for a summer crop or in late summer for an autumn crop. Sow thinly and thin to 15cm. Average seeds per packet 330
Herbs
♠ Basil, Genovese Ocimum basilicum. One of the most popular varieties of the most popular herbs, Of all the basils to grow, Genovese basil is one of the best because it yields 7 to 8 cuttings and makes the best pesto. Average seeds per packet 200.
Sacred Basil, Ocimum sanctum Much better adapted to cool weather than other basils. It has small leaves with a clove scent excellent for salads pesto and herbal tea mixes. Average seeds per packet 500.
Borage Borago officinalis Essential for bees and Pimms. This robust border invader seeds itself all over the place. The pretty blue flowers are edible and decorative. Average 60 seeds per packet.
Chervil, Anthriscus cerefolium Fern-like, aniseed flavoured leaves good in salads and cooking. Average seeds per packet 260.
Coriander/Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum The leaves and seeds are essential to oriental cooking and as well as adding their distinctive flavours have medicinal properties.
Average seeds per packet 200
Dill, Anethum graveolens Feathery foliage flowers and seeds can be used in fish and potato dishes as well as in pickles. Sow from April to June Average seeds per packet 300.
♠ Fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum The seeds, sprouts and leaves can be used in cooking for flavour. Medicinally it is said to lower cholesterol and prevent cancer. Easy to grow. Average seeds per packet 70
Parsley, Petroselinum crispum Moss Curled, Deep green curled leaves with strong parsley flavour. Average seeds per packet 300
♠Parsley, Petroselinum crispum Giant Flat Leaved, Very high yielding variety with great taste. Average seeds per packet 300
Salad Burnet, Sanguisorba minor A perennial herb whose young leaves are used in salads and have a cool cucumber flavour, it can also be used in cooked dishes substituting for mint. Average seeds per packet 120
Herb leaf Mix, Parsley, Basil, Coriander Dill and Chervil. Grow to make a ‘cut and come again’ mixture with lots of flavour and health giving qualities.
Lettuce, Lactuca sativa Average seeds per packet 300.
Asparagus lettuce/ Celtuce, Another tall narrow leaved lettuce which stands well over winter. It produces thickened stems when it starts to go to seed, which can be blanched and eaten like asparagus.
Blonde de Paris, A large green Batvian lettuce with frilled leaves and well flavoured hearts.
Cerise, A salad bowl type lettuce with loose red leaves. The colour discourages slugs. This variety is disease resistant and has excellent flavour.
Garnet Oak Leaf, An upright lettuce with burgundy tinged leaves become darker with maturity or when grown in full sun. It forms a loose heart when mature.
Grand Rapids, A frilly green loose leafed variety leaves for salads. This variety can be grown in cold-frames, greenhouses or in the garden. Crisp, tender and tasty.
♠ Outredgious An upright cut salad variety, which forms a loose romaine head at maturity. An outrage of red in the salad bed, becoming a standard for salad growers. This variety was bred at Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon.
Wonder of Four Seasons, A bronze tinged butterhead lettuce. It is a very old variety.
Mixed, At least four different varieties of lettuce providing a mixture of colours, textures and flavours in the garden and on the plate.
Radishes, Raphanus sativus. Average seeds per packet 300.
French Breakfast, A popular variety with cylindrical red roots tipped with white.
Japanese White, Tapered white roots with a nutty flavour.
Round Black Radish, A large winter radish with roots the size of tennis balls that keep well.
Scarlet Globe, Small salad radish, red with a white tip, quick and easy to grow.
Salad Leaves
Chicory and endive are hardy vegetables that over winter outdoors, and are slug proof. They crop over a long season. The leaves are bitter, but this bitterness can be ameliorated by cutting finely and mixing with milder leaves.
♠ Chicory, Sugar Loaf, Cichorum intybus Large leafy heads that stand over a long period. Mild taste.
Average seeds per packet 250.
Lamb’s Lettuce, (Corn Salad) Valerianella locusta.This invaluable constituent of winter salads grows as a small rosette of glossy dark leaves. It is very hardy and undemanding. Average seeds per packet 450.
♠ Land Cress, Barbarea verna Provides mineral and vitamin rich leaves which taste like watercress but are smaller. It is easy to grow, and supplies over a long period. Average seeds per packet 450.
Red Orache, Atriplex hortensis.
Mildly flavoured spinach type leaves that can be eaten raw when young or cooked like spinach. Average seeds per packet 180.
Rocket, Eruca sativa. Spicy flavoured leaves for use in salads. This versatile leaf is easy to grow and can be produced all year round with regular sowings. Average seeds per packet 700.
Summer Purslane, Portulaca oleracea. The succulent leaves of this plant add crunch to summer salads. Best grown in mid-summer or undercover. Average seeds per packet 750.
Texsel Greens, Brassica carinata. Vigorous plants producing succulent greens suitable for salads and stir-frying. It is very nutritious and rich in Vitamin C. Average seeds per packet 290.
Winter Purslane, Montia perfoliata also known as Miners’ lettuce or Claytonia. This is a great spring salad that can be grown indoors or out. Its succulent triangular leaves and white flowers are both edible. Average seeds per packet 500
Wild Rocket, Dipsotaxis tenuifolia With a more finely divided leaf than salad rocket this variety is less prone to bolting and has a strong nutty flavour. Average seeds per packet 800.
Oriental vegetables
Mibuna Brassica rapa var. niposinica This Japanese vegetable has strap-like leaves that can be used for salads or cooked. Mibuna can be planted in early spring for early leaves but is probably most useful sown in late summer for a winter crop. It tends to bolt in hot weather. Average seeds per packet 450.
Mizuna, Brassica rapa var. niposinica. Serrated leaves used in salad or stir-fry. They have with a slight mustard flavour. Very easy to grow. Average seeds per packet 850.
♠ Osaka Purple Mustard Brassica juncea) Small leaves that add piquancy and colour to salads and stir-fries. Shredding the leaves moderates the fiery zing. The leaves are more coloured outdoors than indoors. Average seeds per packet 500.
Pak Choi, Brassica rapa. Canton Dwarf, A compact variety with dark green leaves and white midrib, the crisp leaves are delicious raw or cooked. Average seeds per packet 500.
Salad mixes
Spring salad mix, A mix of Lettuces, Rockets, Mibuna and Texsel Greens for ‘cut and come again’ salad.
Summer salad mix, Lettuces, Rocket, Wild Rocket and Orache, for ‘cut and come again’ salad.
Autumn salad mix, Lettuces, Spinach, Chicories and Mibuna, for ‘cut and come again’ salad.
Winter salad mix, Winter Purslane, Land Cress, Lamb’s Lettuce and Mustard Greens for ‘cut and come again’ salad.
Carrots, Daucus carota. Early Nantes An early productive variety with blunt ends and good flavour. Average seeds per packet 250.
Japanese Burdock, Arctium lappa. This is the cultivated variety of the weed of the same name, the one that produces sticky burrs that stick to you and your dog. The long edible roots are mildly flavoured, and are delicious steamed or stir-fried. Average seeds per packet 170.
Parsnip, Pastinaca sativa. Tender and True, Creamy white tapered roots with canker resistance. Average seeds per packet 450.
Leeks, Allium porrum
Blue Solaize A hardy winter variety with attractive blue green leaves in cold weather. Average seeds per packet 225
Celeriac, Apium graveolens Prinz, Large celery flavoured roots. Average seeds per packet 1300
Celery, Apium graveolens Giant Pascal, Large trench celery, Average seeds per packet 2,000
Florence Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var azoricum, Romanesco Crisp aniseed flavoured bulbs with feathery leaves. Likes warm moist conditions. It may bolt if checked by cold or drought so sow from early to mid-summer. Average 150 seeds per pack.
Cauliflower, Brassica oleracea, Winter Roscoff, This is a giant Irish variety of cauliflower that under good conditions can produce curds two feet across. The curds appear in spring, over a period of about a month. Planted close together they will produce normal sized heads. Average seeds per packet 325.
Swede, Brassica napus, Best of all, A native cultivar sourced from ISSA. It has a purple top and white skin below. The flesh is yellow. Average seeds per packet 330.
Swede, Brassica napus, Tipperary turnip, Another native swede from ISSA with green skin, yellow flesh and a mild favour. Average seeds per packet 340.
Turnip, Brassica rapa, Milan Purple Top, Tasty white turnips with purple colouring on the top of the roots.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Brassica oleracea. This is a great spring vegetable that bridges the hungry gap when there is little else in the garden. Average seeds per packet 265.
Asparagus Kale, Brassica oleracea. A heritage kale variety that produces flat kale leaves throughout the winter. In spring the young shoots can be blanched and eaten like asparagus. A late sowing can produce a useful crop of small leaves for stir-frying. Average seeds per packet 280.
Ragged Jack Kale, Brassica oleracea. Frilly purple leaves that look as good as they taste. Stands all winter. Flower shoots can be eaten like
broccoli in spring. Average seeds per packet 300.
Calabrese Waltham 29, Brassica oleracea. This is the best open-pollinated calabrese that I have tried. Average seeds per packet 300.
Courgette, Cururbita pepo, Cocozelle, A long green bush variety that is pre 1885. The fruits are dark green, striped with lighter shades. Can be grown on as a marrow. 20 seeds
Winter Squash
Buttercup, Cururbita maxima, Heavy dark green fruit with a button on the blossom end. 20 seeds
Waltham Butternut, Cururbita moschata, This winter squash produced ochre coloured fruit swollen at one end. The flesh is apricot coloured and has a fine and not too sweet flavour. Keeps well.
20 seeds
Ushiki Kuri, Cururbita maxima. Bright orange inside and out, this is a very productive winter squash indoors and out. 20 seeds
Bottle Gourd, Lagenaria siceraria The bottle gourd is a vigorous, annual, running or climbing vine that produces fruit that dry to useful hard containers. Fun to make into musical instruments, nest boxes and scoops. Needs plenty of heat and water. 10 seeds per packet.
Melon, Cucumus melo.
Delicious 51 PMR A powdery mildew resistant variety bred by Cornell University from an old open pollinated variety. Fruit ripened in early September 2006 in our polytunnel. Flavour excellent. 20 seeds
Most Northern Melon A very early variety. These melons ripened in September 2007 in our polytunnel. Flavour excellent. 20 seeds
Cucumber, Cucumis sativus
Crystal Apple, A pale yellow variety with spherical fruits about the size of an apple. They are sweet and crisp. Originally a Chinese variety, it is quite hardy and can be grown under cover or in a sheltered spot outside. 20 seeds
Dekah, A hardy variety from the Ukraine. It can be grown indoors or out, and produces a tasty cucumber that can be used fresh or pickled. 20 seeds
Tamra, A small, thin-skinned ‘English type’ cucumber with crisp delicious flesh. It has no bitterness and does not need its male flowers removed. Best under cover as more tender than others. 20 seeds
Tomatoes, Lycopersicon esculentum.
Alicante, This is a great variety producing masses of well flavoured, medium size red tomatoes in a polytunnel or green house.
Auld Sod, Roughly the size and shape of an egg. This variety was the second to ripen in the polytunnel this year, beaten only by Aurora. Believed to be an old Irish variety, it can be grown outdoors.
Aurora, This is a variety from Siberia. It fruits very early, and germinates well at low temperatures. The fruits are red and slightly flattened. More of a paste type with thicker flesh, this one is particularly good for cooking down into a rich sauce.
Black Crimea, A large red-brown/red tomato that produces a heavy crop early in the season. It has a rich sweet flavour.
Black Russian, Large red/brown tomatoes with an intense sweet flavour. Similar to Black Crimea, but with hollow navels.
Brandywine, A large fruited (most fruit in the one pound range), potato leaf, pink heirloom tomato that has taken on legendary status due to its superb flavour.
Brown Berry, Prolific cherry tomatoes produced over a long season. Rich sweet flavour.
Caro Rich, Large orange yellow fruit with sweet flavour and thick flesh with few seeds.
Gardeners Delight, A sweet red cherry tomato. It is a particular favourite with children.
Harbinger, This is a traditional variety. Highly productive over a long period, it produces medium-sized fruit, thin-skinned and of very good flavour. Does well under glass but suitable for outdoor use, particularly as the fruit ripens reliably, off the plant.
Mavritanskite, A purple Latvian variety with great flavour.
Mr. Novak, From the Heritage Seed Library in England, this is a large red beefsteak tomato with rich flavour.
Polen, An Eastern European heritage variety, with numerous small yellow fruits per truss.
Suitable for containers.
Persimmon, An heirloom variety producing large, sweet, orange fruit.
Red Centiflor, Red cherry tomatoes on a sprawling blight resistant plant. This variety was bred by the Kapulars in Oregon by crossing various varieties including a wild tomato species, Lycopersicon hurnboldtii. Continued ripening out doors until the end of October.
Red Cherry, What it says on the tin. Prolific producer of sweet tasty fruit.
Rigas Zemie, This is a Latvian variety that fruits outdoors.
Rose de Berne Large Pink tomatoes with excellent flavour.
San Marzano Oblong paste tomato with very high dry matter.
St. Pierre Early high flavour salad tomato.
Stupice, The tastiest of our early ripening tomatoes. This is an old Czech variety with flattened, medium sized fruits. It is productive and reliable. Will produce outdoors.
Tangella Prolific yellow medium sized tomato. Sweet taste and low acid content. Our most productive yellow tomato.
Tangidel This cordon variety is a descendant of ‘Gardener’s Delight. It has tangerine-coloured cherry tomatoes and a superb flavour. The fruit ripens over a long season.
Tommy Toe, This Australian heirloom has slightly elongated 1” tomatoes They are bright red and prolific with excellent flavor and plenty of juice. It produces over an extended season.
Tigerella, Prolific, early, striped tomato full of flavour. Medium sized fruits.
Tumbler, Small plants with masses of cherry red tomatoes suitable for outdoor containers. This was first variety to ripen out doors this year.
White Wonder, An almost white fruit that is slightly flattened and ribbed, with firm sweet tasting flesh.
Yellow Centiflor, A yellow cherry on a robust sprawling plant. This was bred by the Kapulars in Oregon by crossing various varieties including a wild tomato species, Lycopersicon hurnboldtii. Good blight resistance. Continued ripening out doors until the end of October.
Zapotec pink ribbed Large, ribbed tomato with bright pink-red flesh. A wonderful variety both for its ornamental nature and great tasting flesh that can be used as a slicing tomato or for stuffing.
Zapotec Pleated, Similar to the pink ribbed but red. A large almost seedless variety, with deeply folded flesh. It produces a late but heavy crop.
Heritage mix, A few seeds each of Tigerella, Polen, Black Crimea, and Persimmon.
Cherry Mix, A few seeds each of Tangidel, Brown Berry, Red Cherry, and Tommy Toe.
Cape Gooseberry, Physalis edulus. This tomato related plant produces cherry sized orange fruit in a ‘chinese lantern’. Grow like a tomato. A sweet fruit, eat raw or in jams etc. Average 25 seeds per packet.
Painted Mountain, One of the most widely adapted and genetically diverse corns available today. Painted Mountain contains every shade of color known to corn. The 4-5 foot stalks bear up to 2 narrow, 7 inch long cobs. Selected from Native American corn by Dave Christiansen. Can be eaten fresh or used for meal. Average 100 seeds per packet.
Peppers/Chilli, Capiscum anuum.
Sunnybrook, A sweet and early pepper ripening to red. The flesh is thick and the plants grow to about 60 cm. Average 25 seeds.
Marconi Rossa, Long thin fruits with a mild sweet flavour for use either green or red. Plants 90cm tall.
Average 25 seeds.
Firecracker, A mighty hot chilli, Fruit vary in shape and ripen from yellow or green through purple to red. Very early and reliable. Handle with care! Average 25 seeds.
Aubergine, Solanum melongena Black Beauty, A popular old variety that produces large glossy fruit. Average 25 seeds.
Flowers
Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus Trailing plants with yellow and orange flowers that are as tasty as they are colourful. Use flowers and young leaves in salad and pickle the seeds as a caper substitute. Average 22 seeds.
French Marigold, Tagetes patula Anastasia’s Mirror Marigold, Prolific, multi-shaded flowers that shine in the garden until late Autumn. Bred by Alan Kapuler in Oregon. Average 50 seeds
Marigold Callendula officialis A mix of yellow to peach and orange flowers to brighten up your patch.
Average 50 seeds.
Sun Flower, Helianthus annuus, China Cut Mix, A beautiful mix of colours and shapes from Alan Capuler’s Peace Seeds.
Mixed Flowers
A mix of the above flowers.
Average 35 seeds.
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Last updated 24Feb08 19:51
