Heritage Varieties

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.

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.

Lemon Cucumbers are a very old variety cultivated since in 1894. Each fruit is the size of a small apple, hence it was known as 'Apple Cucumber', but as its fruit is a pale yellow in colour it is often called 'Crystal Lemon'. Very similar to a typical cucumber, with tender pale greenish skin and sweet flesh.

Corn Salad 'Verte de Cambrai' is a traditional old French variety, the compact plants have good colour and small leaf shape. It is among the softest and most tender of all greens, the leaves have a sweet buttery flavour which almost melt in the mouth.

'Wong Bok' is a tender, sweet tasting, hearted-type of Chinese cabbage. Growing this fast growing cabbage is simplicity itself. Plant the seeds, stand back and once the secondary leaves appear you are a mere 30 days away from mealtime. This vegetable growing season promises to be very rewarding.

‘Variegata di Castelfranco’ has a beautiful form with wavy leaves that are flecked with purple. It is one of the hardiest and easiest to grow at any time in the year. Traditionally sown in mid to late summer, the harvest begins in December and lasts well into winter.

The classic tall Italian radicchio. Upright with red and white striped leaves with large pure white stems. Highly prized, this flavoursome early variety is grown in the Treviso area in winter and is eaten, root and all, simply pan fried or grilled. It has high resistance to cold.

Famous for the forced, blanched heads or ‘chichons’ that are loved by gourmets Chicory 'Brussels Witloof' is the traditional finely-textured variety used for forcing. With a delicious, tangy, unique flavour, it is very easy to grow and produces one of the finest tasting winter vegetables.

While there are now several varieties of leaf celery, one of the most popular is Par-Cel. Resembling curled parsley with the flavour of celery., this Dutch heirloom can be difficult to find in most grocers. Originated from Holland, it was dispersed by German settlers, which is why it is also known as Zwolsche Krul.

Cutting celery or Leaf celery is the type that is used in Europe. It looks similar to parsley but tastes like regular stalk celery, but with a slightly stronger, herbier taste. It is a darker green, with thin, rounded, flexible stalks and curly, aromatic leaves; it is much easier to grow than its big brother.

'Golden Self Blanching' produces thick, crisp, juicy, aromatic stalks of celery with solid hearts that have no hint of bitterness or stings. This dwarf variety is ideal for smaller gardens and does not need blanching. It produces naturally cream-coloured stalks with a crisp, crunchy texture and mild flavour.

Originally from Northern Italy and named for the fair city of Verona, this heirloom celeriac variety produces large white skinned globes with a sweet yet savory flavour and a creamy texture, similar to a potato. Crisp and delicious, and it keeps all winter, once you’ve grown it you’ll realise that ugly is only skin deep.

Cauliflower Snowball is a superb heritage variety from the 1890's, this regular favourite has certainly stood the test of time. This easy maintenance variety is very suitable for the home gardener, the pure white, snowball-sized heads can be harvested when small or left to mature.

One of the most beautiful vegetables and a true Objet d'Art. Each complex, symmetrical head features whorls of chartreuse green florets, in a complex, bewitching design, an amazing example of phyllotaxis - the fractal patterning that appears in nature.

The Giant of Naples cauliflower is a popular open-pollinated heirloom, a typical variety from the South of Italy. Attractive, good tasting white heads that are medium sized with a hemispherical shape. If left to mature they can weigh 1.6 to 1.8 kg.

'Autumn Giant' is a well-known and respected maincrop cauliflower with large dense white curds which are thoroughly protected by the leaves. Sow in mid spring for an autumn harvest, or late spring, for a winter harvest.

It is very uplifting to go to the garden on a cold December day to harvest a perfect, intricately woven, beautiful white head of cauliflower. “All Year Round” produces good quality white heads and is an excellent all-purpose variety for successional sowing.

Early Nantes 2 An excellent variety for early and successional crops producing uniform blunt-ended cylindrical roots. With good carrot fly resistance, it matures in 110 days in a warm climate and reaches an average size of 15cm. Ideal for freezing. Sow February to August, harvest in June to October .