Other vegetable plants

Borlotti bean (organic)

A truly beautiful bean inside and out. The pods turn pink to maroon with white and green striations and the beans themselves reverse the theme. 

They're commonly collected from the dried pods toward the end of the season in one effort, but we like taking them intermittently when they're fat and raw to throw in a salad, or to freeze for a winter stew.

Lazy Housewife pole bean

This is a heritage, haricot type that's slow to get going - blame a 19th Century cultivator for the name. We first grew it last year. We were getting impatient when all of a sudden we were overrun with pods late in the season. We recommend combining your order with an earlier cropping type. Real Seeds say: 

'A prolific bean introduced by W. Atlee Burpee and Co in 1885 - from their original description: the pods are green, entirely stringless, of extra fine flavor, exceedingly rich and buttery when cooked.'

Cobra bean (organic)

We've grown this RHS Award of Garden Merit winner many years for its sheer reliability and productivity. Vital Seeds say: 

'It’s got everything you’ll want from a bean. It produces an early crop of stringless round green pods that have the most delicious flavour. The showy violet-purple flowers will stand out in your garden and you’ll be surprised at how long your beans will keep coming.'

Startgreen Courgette (F1) - SOLD OUT (but we can grow to order)

An early squash-courgette hybrid that's both high-yielding and also boasts a long fruiting period. It's bushy with a compact habit. Fruits are smooth, straight, with a shiny dark green skin.

Goldline Courgette (F1) - SOLD OUT (but we can grow to order)

Yellow courgette known for its high yield and resistance to common courgette diseases.

Summer Squash – Lemon (Organic)

Vital Seeds say:

'A trailing summer squash variety producing an abundance of lemon-sized and shaped fruits. This is a very interesting variety of summer squash which sits somewhere between a patty pan and a courgette. Its flesh is slightly denser than a typical courgette and is extremely tasty. A definite star of the veg patch and will keep on producing until the last frosts.'

Hokkaido Squash 

Hokkaido squash, also known as red kuri or chestnut squash, is a winter squash variety from Japan favoured by chefs, with a mild, sweet, and nutty flavour. Its firm, orange flesh is delicious roasted with olive oil, garlic and herbs and it can be eaten with the skin on. 

Pinch out the main growing stem when the vine is 2-3 feet long and a few fruits have set to make sure they reach full size (1-2kg). They store very well - we've eaten them months after harvesting.

Crown Prince (F1)

RHS award winning pumpkin with a blue-grey skin. It's a calssic winter squash variety with a sweet nutty flavour that's great for soup and roasting. Fruits will be ready for harvest in September to October and may be 2.5-4.5 kg.

Saladin Cucumber (F1) - SOLD OUT

Produces long (25-30cm), smooth fruits without bitterness, mild and crisp, prized for salads and sandwiches. Saladin is a bush-type cucumber, which means it has a more compact growth habit compared to vining cucumbers. This makes it ideal for smaller spaces or containers with some support like a small trellis or canes. It's also parthenocarpic variety - it can bear fruit without pollination.

Cheer Cucumber (F1) - SOLD OUT

This is an American variety of slicing cucumber very popular in eastern Europe. Known for its exceptionally quick harvest and shiny, dark green, firm-skinned fruits (15-20cm). Unlike Saladin (above) it's bee-pollinated. Cheer cucumbers are compact and bushy, requiring less space than other vining cucumber varieties. 

Regina Cucumber (F1) hybrid

Our trellis was festooned with dozens of this very early and vigorous vining variety renowned as a great pickling cucumber. The fruits were remarkably uniform in size and just kept coming, no matter how many we picked into the autumn. Regina has a high tolerance to downy mildew and other diseases affecting cucumber.

Cucamelon (organic)

We've never grown the curious Cucamelon before, also known as Mexican gherkins and mouse melons. It produces grape-sized fruits that look like tiny watermelons. They're described as crisp and citrusy and are rich in vitamins and minerals. Vital Seeds say: 

'Cucamelons have become popular addition to the veg patch in recent years. Despite the name they are neither cucumber or melon but their own species, Melothria scarba.'

Dwarf Green Kale (organic)

Compact, space-saving variety that is perfect for smaller gardens, containers, or raised beds. Its deep green, frilly leaves are more tender than larger kale type and it typically grows 30-45cm tall. Vital Seeds say: 

'It is extremely hardy and withstands frosts in the winter when no other brassica stays standing while also producing well when sown in spring for a summer harvest. It is a Scottish heritage kale dating back to the 19th century, originally known as ‘Dwarf Curlies’ or ‘Scotch’ kale.'

Nero di Toscana Kale (organic)

Our favourite kale, a traditional variety from Tuscany with various culinary uses. The dark green leaves are the 'savoyed' type and grow 60-90cm tall.

Real Seeds say:

'Normally used as a cooked vegetable, but this has such a nice flavour that we eat the thinnings and baby leaves raw in salad. When it finally bolts, the flower shoots are a gourmet treat raw or cooked.'

Sutherland Kale (organic)

We grew this last year, our interest piqued by a story of near extinction on the Real Seeds website. It grows waist-high with a very large broad leaf. Here's a picture of our leaves from last year. You will enjoy large crops. Real Seeds say:

'It is the most vigorous and resilient kale we have seen. It shrugged off attack by aphids, cabbage white caterpillars, ravenous goats, and 70 mph freezing sleet overwinter. In each case it sprang back, growing new leaves with no trouble in spring when at its most valuable. And when it starts to flower, the shoots are good to eat too, very much like sprouting broccoli shoots.'