Salad Leaves

Alexanders are an ancient food source, cultivated for many centuries. This biennial wild flower, with dark green, shiny leaves and umbels of yellow-green flowers can be grown as an ornamental or can be put to use as a culinary herb or spice, the flavour is said to be similar to myrrh.

Amaranth 'Green Giant' is a vigorous selection that produces slightly savoyed, large mid green leaves. With a mild spinach flavour, the leaves can be used at babyleaf stage for salad or garnish, or at maturity for steamed vegetable or soups. The gluten free, protein rich seeds can be eaten as a grain, perfect for vegetarians and vegans.

Amaranth 'Passion' has attractive oval, mid-green leaves that are streaked through with shades of red and purple. Easy to grow and tolerant of wide-ranging conditions. Its soft leaves are a great addition to salads and, like spinach they melt delectably when cooked. The plants are very ornamental and also look good in the border

Most gardeners are familiar with ornamental amaranth, but few realise that this plant is a delicious nutritional powerhouse. In the hot summer months, when growing spinach is near impossible, amaranth thrives. A favorite with chefs, Amaranth tricolor ‘Red Army’ is an intense cherry red selection with a delicate pea-like flavour. Use at babyleaf stage for salad or garnish, or leave to mature for steamed vegetable or soups.

The Bright and Spicy Leaf Salad mixture contains a well balanced salad mix that is rich in colour and taste. The mix includes Greek Cress, Tatsoi, Pak Choi and the Mustards Red Zest and Red Frills. The attractive flavoursome leaves need only the lightest dressing.

This salad mix is comprised of a dynamic array of niche varieties. The vivacious colours along with its well loved taste, makes this mix wonderfully enticing. The mix contains American or Land Cress, Kale Red Russian , Red Chard, Salad Rocket and Spinach.

The Frilly Leaf Salad Mix is a new blend that contains an attractive blend of salads with frilled or indented leaves, an explosion of tastes and colour that is perfect for micro leaf or baby leaf production. Juicy, crisp and fast-maturing, they can be grown all year round.

Mesclun Mix has been made for hundreds of years around Nice in Southern France. The idea was to make a salad that touches upon every taste and texture sensation: bitter, sweet, tangy, crunchy and silky. This mix is based on the traditional recipe and is a treat for the eye as well as the tongue.

The Oriental Salad Mix is one of a series of six blends which provide a wide variety of colourful and tasty salads. The mix includes Mizuna, Mibuna, Red and Green Mustards, Pak Choi and Tatsoi. The vivacious colours along with its well loved taste, makes this mix wonderfully enticing.

The Pak Choi Colour Crunch Mix is a new blend that contains a colourful array of pak choi varieties, an explosion of tastes and colour. Juicy, crisp and fast-maturing, they can can be eaten in salad or cooked in stir-fry dishes and can be grown all year round for a continuous supply of tasty baby leaves.

The Provence Salad mix has a light texture enriched with striking red stems portioned throughout. Containing Sorrel de Bellevile, Corn Salad Verte de Cambrai, Lettuce Rougette de Montpelier and Chervil. A tasteful mix with a warming sensation to assist any appetite.

This is an exiting mix of vibrant colour and incomparable textures of salad in its youth. Containing Chicory Italico Rosso, Rocket Dentellata, Kale Nero de Toscana, Lettuce Lollo Rossa and Catalogna Cerbiata - Classic Italian leaves that will enhance presentation and flavours of any dish.

The Baby Leaf Salad Mix Collection contains eight packets of seeds. They can be grown all year round, for a continuous supply of tasty and nutritious baby leaves. They can be grown in the home, on windowsills or raised in pots in glasshouses or polytunnels in cooler areas for winter early spring crops.

Kailan is a fantastic vegetable chimera - the florets of broccoli, the stems of asparagus, and leaves like tender collard greens. 'Kichi' is a uniform variety with large blue green waxy leaves and excellent stem and bud eating quality. It has a mild flavour and, best of all can be harvested in only eight weeks.

'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.

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.

Chervil 'Massa' has a sophisticated yet gentle, aniseedy warmth. It is a dark green selection with smooth leaves and good plant vigour, it has better cold tolerance than standard Chervil and is used for autumn sowings, it also bolts much later.

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.