Heritage Varieties

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.

Nasturtium 'Blue Pepe' is a unique variety from Europe. A culinary variety, originally bred for the edible blue-green leaves and vivid dark red flowers. The flowers dress up a plate and pair sweetness and spice while the leaves deliver peppery punches.

With outstanding quality and excellent keeping qualities, Ailsa Craig Prizewinner is much loved by both home gardeners and exhibitors producing weighty onions perfect for the kitchen or show bench. A heritage variety and great all-rounder, Ailsa Craig still takes some beating.

A very popular and reliable variety for well over 100 years. 'Bedfordshire Champion' is ideally suited to our climate producing large globe shaped, golden brown skinned bulbs with crisp white flesh. Late summer maturity. Well grown bulbs have excellent storing capabilities.

Borettana onions are the Italian sports car of onions. Sweet, sleek, and stylish with a wonderful flavour, once a rare treat only to be found at gourmet restaurants. They are a good onion for colder climates, harvested in early autumn they fill the gap between winter-stored onions and the early new ones.

Italy boasts many varieties of onion, but perhaps the most famous is Cipolla di Tropea. It can be sown in either autumn, September to October or in spring, late February to early April. The shape of its bulbs, the deep purple colour, its extraordinary sweetness, and its refined taste, make it one of the most interesting products in the entire Italian agriculture.

Overwintering Onion ‘Senshyu Yellow Globe’ is a hardy and reliable maincrop onion, for harvesting before the traditional spring sown bulbing varieties are ready. It produces heavy yields of semi-globe shaped bulbs with straw coloured skins and matures June to July from an August sowing.

Bunching onion 'Kyoto Market' is an early, vigorous and heavy yielding bunching onion that does not bulb but forms long white stalks with long green foliage. suitable for later crops and for overwintering. This perennial variety splits into bunches as it grows, simply divide the clump to multiply your onion patch.

Hollow Crown is one of the oldest varieties of parsnip, with probably still the best flavour of all, with a depth and richness unmatched by most other varieties. It has been grown since at least the 1850's and is still very popular among gardeners in the know.

Although not widely available commercially, the vintage, sugar pod type pea 'Carouby de Maussane' has been enjoying a small-scale renaissance among heritage vegetable enthusiasts. Not only is the flavour superior, but the vines are covered with beautiful lavender and purple flowers.

One of the most well known of the New Mexico peppers, the Anaheim is a slightly sweet pepper with just a little pop, they are great for people who typically don’t like spicy foods. Versatile and family friendly and big enough to be stuffed, if you are bored of the bell pepper, try moving up this small notch.

Pepperoncini peppers originally hail from Europe, specifically Italy and Greece, often served in salads and on antipasti platters. They barely nudge the pepper scale and have a slightly sweet 'tang’ especially when pickled. Mild, tasty and crunchy, they bring many foods to life.