Greenhouses

Cucumber ‘Telegraph Improved’ is an improved strain of this superb heirloom variety. It is an excellent choice for cool greenhouse or cold frame growing. This reliable variety gives medium-long dark, smooth-skinned fruits with a excellent mild flavour.

Cucumber, 'Parisian Pickling' is the ideal cucumber for use in pickling and for eating fresh in salads. The fruits can be harvested while small and young at around 50 days for pickles or left to mature to 67 days for slicing cucumbers. Suitable for indoor and outdoor sowing and ideal for container growing.

Komatsuna ‘F1 Comred’ has rich ruby red leaves and contrasting green stems. Ideal as baby greens, the flat, round leaves are tinted red above and green with red veins below, they maintain their colour under crop covers or glasshouse. The plants are uniform with excellent upright growth for easy harvest.

Komatsuna, F1 Samurai is a robust and reliable Komatsuna, it is longstanding and with good yield potential. With a dark green round/oval leaf and a nice upright habit they are easy to harvest. It can be sown virtually every month of the year, for glasshouse or tunnel crops or open field.

As its name suggests, this classic butterhead lettuce can be the basis of fresh daily salads throughout the year. This is no 'supermarket' variety, but rather a proper lettuce with an exquisite flavour unavailable from anywhere but from your own vegetable patch.

This French butter-head lettuce is famous for its signature butter-head shape boasting the appearance of a bibb-type rosette with an array of beautiful colours ranging in bronze, gold, red and green. The “Four Seasons” will thrive in a range of climates and its texture always remains crisp and its taste unforgettable.

Lettuce Meraviglia d'Inverno is truly a ‘Marvel of Winter’, it is from one of the coldest regions of Italy and is hardy to around minus 10°C (14°F). Compact and tender, it will stand in perfect condition right through winter and can be harvested from September right through to March.

Rougette de Montpellier, a mini butterhead with perfect rosette shaped heads, has the soft, tender, butter-textured leaves with sweet, succulent flavour typical of Butterhead lettuces. Very hardy and resistant to frost, the loosely formed leaves are deep green kissed with ruby red accents at the leaf tips.

Lettuce 'Gustav's Salad' is an heirloom butterhead variety that is compact and silky soft with a a delicious melt-in-the-mouth flavour. Upright, small and compact this sweet and buttery lettuce is reliable and perfect for growing where space might be limited. A new staple in the salad garden, the eating quality is of the next level.

Malabar Spinach, is a vining type of plant that thrives in hot temperatures, it is a discovery that is a boon for those of us that love our greens but find the warm days of summer a bit too hot for good growth. It can be grown throughout the summer and can even cope when the heat exceeds 32°C (90°F).

Commonly called Malabar Spinach, Basella rubra is valued for the brilliant fuchsia-purplish colour of its leaf stems and veins as well as its mild flavour. The leaves are delicious mixed in with other greens in tossed salads. Juicy and crisp, the flavours of citrus and pepper accompany the succulent leaves.

When it comes to cantaloupes, some people agree that the French do it better. Sweet and juicy, 'Cantaloupe di Charentais' melons are delicate fruits, about the size of a grapefruit, ther flesh is firmer and richer than your average cantaloupe. Sweet with a taste of honey, the thick, luscious flesh is delicious right down to the rind.

Melon Galia is an F1 variety, specially bred for maximum vigour and uniform growth it performs reliably despite cooler summers, you can even grow it in humid or rainy climates without worry. The fruits have a spicy-sweet aroma, with a flavour more like a cantaloupe than honeydew.

Today Ananas melons are grown for specialty markets in Europe and America and are somewhat rare to find. Extremely juicy the tropical flavours are followed by a faint, caramel-like aftertaste. Wonderful but rarely available, this variety is well worth growing at home. Sow from February to May for harvesting July to September.

Is it an exceptionally small cucumber or the world’s cutest watermelon? That is the vexing question. This tiny melon has been creating a buzz. Its unique flavour, with hints of cucumber and lime, its ease of growth, not to mention its productivity, all conspire to recommend this unusual vine to home gardeners looking for something new to add to their menus.

Upright, fast and frilly, Mustard ‘F1 Red Dragon’ is a mild mustard, bred for fast growth and resistance to bolting with beautifully patterned purple and green, with lime green petioles and purple veining. An excellent choice for early spring right through to late autumn cropping.

Mustard 'Green Frills' has attractive and sweet leaves that are fringed and finely serrated with the tangy flavour of gourmet mustard. Use it with other salad leaves to create your own bistro salad to suit your tastes. They are fantastic when lightly steamed, stir-fried or sautéed.