Welcome to our seed selection

A few vegetables are better grown from seed rather than transplants. These include tap-rooted crops such as parsnip and carrot. True spinach (as opposed to perpetual spinach or leaf beet) also grows better from seed.

Broad Bean Seeds

Carrot Seeds

The ideal soil for carrots is light, deep, fertile, stone-free and well-drained. If you are adding manure or compost it must be incorporated several months before sowing or the roots will be 'fangy'. Sow in March and again at the end of May to avoid the peak carrot-fly egg laying period or grow under mesh. 'Flyaway' is far less attractive to carrot fly than standard varieties. You can also plant rows of annual flowers between the carrots e.g. cornflower to confuse the carrot flies.

Seeds for sprouting

On blotting paper or paper towel
Turn your kitchen windowsill into a source of food with these two easy to grow and great flavoured mustard and salad cress varieties.

Parsnip seeds

Pea seeds

Peas are worth growing for the superior taste alone. On the farm where I worked as a teenager they never got cooked because we used to pick them and eat them like sweets. Peas are surprisingly hardy - the early crops are the best to grow - they avoid most pest and disease problems. For a succession of crops, plant 'Kelvedon Wonder' plants and 'Onward' seed in March, followed by 'Greenshaft' in April and May.

Pea ''Kelvedon Wonder'' is available as a plug in the March Delivery (NEW for 2008) ~ Pea ''Kelvedon Wonder'' .

Radish seeds

Radishes can be grown most of the year and mature very quickly (20-30 days). They prefer light, well-drained soils which should be kept moist. They need reasonable fertility but as with all root crops don't apply manure directly before sowing. Choose a sunny position for Spring and Autumn sowings but in Summer light shade may stop them bolting (going to seed). They can be sown in between other slower growing crops if space is short. My father grows them in between his parsnips (see 'Fred said' on the Toolshed page).

Spinach seeds

Sunflower seeds