Seeds

Grand Rapids is the best known loose leaf lettuce variety. This variety produces medium to large upright, light green leaves. The mild and flavorful leaves are frilled and crisp. Being an exceptionally fast grower, it is the earliest to bear. This cool season plant is slow to bolt and can be grown later in the spring than most other varieties.

Please Note: Seed tapes require consistent moisture to ensure best germination.

Days to Germination: 7 to 10 days

Days to Maturity: 45 days

Best Container Size: 18" +

The best known loose leaf variety. Medium to large upright, light green leaves which are frilled and crisp. Mild and flavorful. Earliest to bear and an exceptionally fast grower. Slow to bolt. It can be grown later in the spring than most other varieties.

Days to Germination: 7 to 10 days

Days to Maturity: 45 days

Best Container Size: 18" +

Romaine Lettuce develops elongated heads with long, ribbed leaves. The coarse outer leaves of this cool weather crop are a dark green, while the inner leaves are a lighter green. This Romaine variety is of splendid quality for Caesar salad.

Please Note: Seed tapes require consistent moisture to ensure best germination.

Days to Germination: 7 to 10 days

Days to Maturity: 65 to 85 days

The ultimate in baby carrots, Little Fingers is a fast-maturing Nantes type with smooth, golden orange skins, crisp texture, and a tender core. Short at 10cm (4"), Little Fingers carrot seeds are well suited to container growing and may succeed in heavier soils. For best results, plant these gourmet carrots in well-cultivated soil from March to July for continuous harvests right into early winter. The sweet flavoured, uniform roots are perfect for pickling, or eating fresh out of the garden.

Bred in France to develop their characteristic orange colour earlier than other varieties, these carrots can be harvested early at 8-9cm (3-3.5"). Don't let them stay in the ground beyond around 68 days or they begin to lose their gourmet qualities.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

This super-early HEIRLOOM bush pea has been a favorite both for home gardeners and commercial growers. Stocky, semi-dwarf bushes from 30-45cm (12-18") tall are well suited to container growing for balcony gardens, or in the vegetable bed. In containers, Little Marvel shelling pea seeds can be grown in spring, and cut back in time for a summer crop, leaving the soil enriched with nitrogen. Each of the 8-10cm (3-4") pods contain 6-7 mid-green, tasty peas. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Resistant to Fusarium wilt.

Little Marvel shelling pea seeds were first introduced as Sutton's Little Marvel in 1900. It is an old, dependable variety with an extended season, fine quality, and heavy yields.

Matures in 62 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Sometimes listed as Fingerling or Long Purple Italian, Long Purple Eggplant seeds produce stocky, productive plants that bear four or more fruits per plant. The fruits are dark purple and club shaped 20-25cm (8-10") long and around 6cm (2.5") in diameter. The flesh is firm and mild in flavour, and it's lovely when cooked, taking on the flavours it is cooked with. This old heirloom variety arrived in American gardens back in the 1850s. Try growing this eggplant in a three to five gallon pot on your patio. Eggplants thrive in hot weather, and this variety does particularly well in northern areas.

Matures in 60 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Stunning creamy white carrots with light green shoulders. Almost coreless, the sweet but mild flavour develops early so it is a great choice for baby carrots. This heirloom carrot variety is great for cooking, which brings out the sweetness even more. These tender, tapered, 15-30.5cm (6-12") roots have a pleasantly crisp and crunchy texture. White carrots are closest to the original carrots first cultivated hundreds of years ago.

Matures in 60 days

Lathyrus odoratus. Striking shades of crimson, lavender, deep rose, navy blue, rose pink, and salmon, these climbers are 1.6m (6ft) and perfect for cut flowers. Sow Mammoth Blend sweet pea seeds for the earliest sweet peas to bloom from late spring to early summer. Direct sow sweet pea seeds at three week intervals for an extended bloom period. This variety has particularly large flowers on particularly long stems, so they're a great cut flower for the farm table or the home garden. While they have a distinct fragrance, they are not like the intense Spencers or High Scent, so they will appeal to growers who prefer subdued scents.

Annual

Among the largest available snow peas, these 10-13 cm (4-5") long pods are produced on 1.2m (4') tall plants that require a trellis. The large white flowers of this heirloom variety are pretty enough to use as cut flowers. Mammoth Melting Sugar snow pea seeds produce pods are sweet and tender, even sweeter and more tender than Dwarf Gray Sugar. Plants are high yielding, early, uniform, and productive. This variety is more productive in cool weather, so it's perfect for early spring planting, and a second planting in early August for fall production. Mammoth Melting Sugar is Wilt resistant.

Matures in 70 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Crackerjack Marigolds grow large double blooms 10-12.5 cm (4-5") in diameter in shades of yellow, gold, and bright orange. The fluffy flowers on this African marigold are carried well above the foliage. This gorgeous plant is easy to grow and tolerates heat and poor weather.

Growing Information: Safe for bees

Days to Germination: 5 to 8 days

Grows best in: Full Sun

Best Container Size: 12"+

Growing Height: 24-36"

This French filet type bean has superb flavour. The tender, uniform, 10cm (4”) long beans are produced in abundant yields on tidy, upright plants. The plants’ petite size make them a good choice for containers. Masai bush bean is resistant to BCMV, and tolerant to Curly Top virus, bacterial brown spot, and halo blight. The beans are produced in a concentrated set on the upper half of the plants, so they are easy to see and harvest. Try some in the balcony vegetable garden or community plot.

Matures in 55 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

These most unusual Italian heirloom sweet peas are bi-coloured violet and deep maroon. Matucana sweet pea seeds are thought to be one of the first sweet peas to be introduced to Britain in 1700 by a Sicilian Monk, Franciscus Cupani.

Mesclun Gourmet Greens Mixture is a gourmet blend of salad greens. Enjoy the complementary flavors and textures of Arugula, Endive, Red Kale, Red and Green Romaine, Salad Bowl, and Lolla Rossa Lettuce. Beautiful in the garden and on the plate!

Noted for its combination of flavors, colors, and textures, it is a fun choice for salads. The leaves are most enjoyable if harvested when young and crisp.

Please Note: Seed tapes require consistent moisture to ensure best germination.

Days to Germination: 7 to 10 days

Days to Maturity: 40 to 65 days

Best Container Size: 12"+

Contrary to what its name implies, Micro Clover is not simply a tiny version of standard clover. When Micro Clover is mowed, its leaves grow smaller and more numerous, with fewer flowers than conventional clovers. It becomes established more quickly and can be mowed shorter than typical lawn grasses. It will also stand up to foot (and pet) traffic. Once established, Micro Clover is more drought tolerant than grasses and require less frequent watering.

If starting a lawn from scratch, use 5% Micro Clover of the total weight of the grass seed being sown.

NOTE: Over-seeding existing lawn may not work, as the seeds need to be in contact with moist soil in order to germinate. 

Basil microgreens are a nutrient packed food with the same classic flavour of mature basil leaves and a pleasingly crunchy texture. They contain up to 40X more nutrients than full size plants. An excellent addition to Italian dishes with its tender and aromatic bright green leaves or add to sandwiches with some tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

ready in 2-3 weeks

Lovely white flesh streaked with purple, and deep purple skins are the product of Mini Purple Daikon radish seeds. The flavour of the root is quite mild compared with the spicy (edible) leaves. Expect 5 to 10% white off-types. This is the perfect variety for kimchi or pickles, and just a nice raw addition to salads for crunch and visual appeal. Learn when to plant radish seeds in our How to Grow Radish instructions by clicking on the tab below. Daikon radishes do best in cool weather so they're a great crop for spring and fall growing, and can be harvested in the winter if grown with crop protection.

Matures in 40 days. (Hybrid seeds)

CERTIFIED ORGANIC. This parthenocarpic, early variety bears an abundance of 7-8cm (2.5-3 inch) fruit that are perfect for snacking. Mini-Me is a productive plant that performs well in the field as well as in greenhouses as it does not require pollination. The mini cucumbers are uniform with smooth skins and crisp, mildly sweet flesh. Harvest the cucumbers often so plants keep producing. An excellent choice to fill lunch boxes and crudités platters!

Raphanus sativus. Daikon radishes are large and require deeply prepared soil, as they can grow to over 30cm (12") long. One of the best daikon radishes for summer, Minowase Summer Cross have white roots that are 15-20 inches long and 2.5" in diameter. The pure white flesh is excellent for salads, sandwiches, cooking, and pickling. Flavour is milder when grown to maturity in fall, in light soil, and with good irrigation. 

Sow and grow as you would turnips, thinning them to 15-20cm (6-8") apart. At each cultivation, push the soil over the top of the root. 

Matures in 50 days. (Hybrid seeds)

Deeply ribbed and slightly flattened fruit are made for fall stacking displays. Mint Prince’s colour is a pretty mint green that is complimented by the dark green of Jade Knight and the pale pink of Porcelain Princess, which all have a similar size and shape. Bright orange flesh looks and eats like a kabocha. 3-4.5kg (7-10lb) Full vines.

Matures in 100 days

Mokum carrot seeds are back by popular demand! The finest flavour and so crisp and delicate that it actually has to be hand dug, not just pulled out by the tops. You can enjoy these as baby carrots (they colour up quickly) or longer at 15-20 cm (6-8"). These deep orange carrots are high in Vitamin A and sugars. Mokum is an Amsterdam type - an imperator with blunt (as opposed to pointed) ends. Be sure to plant this variety in soil that has been deeply cultivated. Use a garden fork to break up all dirt clods and remove all stones. And thinning carrots is critical if you want them to grow straight and unblemished.

Matures in 60 days. (Hybrid seeds)

Stunning the garden, these snowy white mallows make excellent cut flowers. Gleaming white, massive 10cm (4") wide flowers glow in the moonlight. Aptly named Mont Blanc for its profuse blooms on a compact plant growing up to 90cm (36") tall earns this fast growing annual a place in the flower bed, front and centre.