The spectacular Elephant garlic is more closely related to leeks than regular garlic and is commonly known as the 'wild leek'. Easy and rewarding to grow, this hardy perennial herb produces massive, papery-skinned bulbs that can measure up to 10-15cm (4-6in) in diameter, each with 5 or 6 huge cloves. It is a perfect choice for the kitchen garden or for adding a touch of drama to your herbaceous borders. Milder and sweeter in flavour than smaller varieties, Elephant garlic makes a versatile and interesting cooking ingredient. Grate it raw for salads and dressings; slice it finely for stir-fries; or best of all, bake or roast whole bulbs and squeeze out the lovely creamy centres for an unusual vegetable or dip, for spreading on crusty bread, or adding to mashed potato. Also great for the barbeque - just wrap them in foil and throw them on the grill! Cloves can be used fresh and succulent, or after they have been dried and stored over a few weeks or months, when they will have a more intense flavour. A native of Asia, Elephant garlic thrives in a sunny position in well-drained soil, although can tolerate a heavier soil than smaller garlic varieties. Its large, broad, flattish blue-green leaves and sturdy flower stems will rise tall and proud in your vegetable garden - or make a striking feature in a mixed border. The pinky-purple blooms appear in June and July; they are pretty enough but should be trimmed early so the plant concentrates its goodness in the swelling bulb. Cut the flowers for your vase or leave just a few in your borders for dramatic effect. Supplied as 4 planting cloves to produce 4 plants. Elephant garlic can be placed in the ground any time from September to February, avoiding times of frost or extreme cold. Grows to 1.5m (5ft) high by 30cm (12in) wide.
'Arran Pilot' is a favourite traditional salad variety with an excellent flavour and texture. It can be planted from March to May and will be ready to harvest as 'new' potatoes from about 13 weeks after planting. Easy to grow, it is a reliable early cropper with good resistance to pests and diseases. Fast growing, 'Arran Pilot' will produce bountiful crops of waxy tubers of consistent size and quality, blemish-free, smooth, creamy skin and white flesh that remains firm during cooking. They can be eaten straight out of the ground, or added to the pot for delicious new potatoes and potato salads. Plant in fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered position, or in large containers or growbags. Water well in dry conditions for optimum cropping. These potatoes are best used fresh from the garden but will keep well for up to 5 days in a cool, dark and dry place. Supplied as a 2.5kg pack of seed potatoes ready to prepare indoors for planting out from March to May. Early plantings will benefit from frost protection.
'Nadine' is a well established and popular variety. An easy-to-grow second early potato that's exceptionally high yielding, with bumper harvests of up to 35-50 or more evenly sized tubers from each plant. These lovely creamy white potatoes are large and have a good round shape and tasty white flesh. They have a texture that is a little waxy texture and are a great all-rounder, excellent for baking, boiling, chipping, mashing and roasting. Once the seed potatoes have produced shoots or chits, they will be ready to plant directly into a prepared bed or large bags or containers from mid-March, preferably after the frosts have gone. Young potatoes can be harvested from 13-17 weeks after planting. 'Acoustic' will also keep well in the soil, developing into larger tubers of a quality maincrop character. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence. Supplied as a 2.5kg bag of seed potatoes (approx. 30-35 tubers) ready to prepare indoors for planting out in the spring.
An outstanding golden-orange cherry Tomato 'Sungold SuperSweet' is without question, the sweetest bush cherry fruit you'll ever eat! It has an intensely sweet flavour with a BRIX reading of 11.5%, four times as sweet as your average supermarket variety. Perfect for growing outdoors or in the greenhouse, its cascading trusses are smothered in fruits that remain ripe and ready for picking over long periods of time (early July to October). A very prolific cropper, Sungold SuperSweet will produce up to 10lbs of cherry sized fruits from every plant - over 400 fruits per season per plant in trials! We're pretty sure this World Exclusive Variety will replace your favourite bush cherry Tomato; with its thin skin and juicy flesh, it's perfect for adding flavour and colour to salad or fantastic as a tasty snack on its own. Incredibly easy to grow in pots, baskets, or in your flower or vegetable border, tomato Sungold SuperSweet is robust and has excellent resistance to disease, making growing your own tomatoes fool proof - even if you have never tried before. There's no complicated training or pinching out of side-shoots as this is a bush variety - just plant them, water and feed them - then wait for the deliciously tempting fruit! Supplied as 6 plug plants they'll be delivered nursery fresh during April* ready for potting up and growing on and then planting outdoors from early May. *Seasonal growing conditions permitting
This Patio Potato Growing Kit means that anyone can now grow delicious, fresh potatoes. You don't even need a garden as a patio, balcony or courtyard will do! Just add compost and water and you'll soon be harvesting your first new potatoes. We have included three popular varieties: 'Charlotte', 'Casablanca' and 'Desiree': 'Charlotte' - One of the most popular salad potatoes in the UK, the instantly recognisable, oval-shaped tubers can grow much larger than other salad varieties and have a firm yellow waxy flesh. Perfect for potato salads or boiled and dripping in butter. 'Casablanca' - is a first early variety, producing lots of small, tasty potatoes. Ideal for boiling and also for roasting and baking. 'Desiree' - Creamy-yellow flesh with red skin, great for chips, roasting, jacket potatoes or simple boiling. These special seed potatoes have been held in cold store until now and will grow rapidly once planted - right up to the end July to give you 'new' potatoes through autumn and even up to Christmas. This is the perfect way to grow your own potatoes and what's even better is it requires no back-breaking digging whatsoever! The Heavy Duty 30 Litre Pots can be used again and again and the Organic Potato Fertiliser can be used all around your vegetable garden. Potatoes will be packed in the bottom pot, underneath the other two, in order to protect them.
A vigorous Xtra-Tender© variety, 'Swift' has been specifically bred to give incredibly sweet and succulent cobs which grow to 20cm (8in) long and are packed with sunshine yellow, mouth-watering kernels. 'Swift' cobs have particularly thin-skinned kernels, so they are delicious eaten raw and have a wonderful super-sweet crunchiness, or they can be cooked whole. Just remove the husks and boil the cobs for a few minutes or wrap them in foil for the barbeque. Sweetcorn is rich in fibre and a good source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The cobs are best eaten straight after picking but will keep for a few days in the fridge and they freeze very well too. Sweetcorn thrives in a sunny position, and 'Swift' will be ready to harvest from August. However, it can be picked as baby corn when the ears are about 10cm (4in) long. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and enjoy a top-quality harvest. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 2m (6½ft), ready to harvest from August.
A wonderful dwarf broad bean growing to just 30cm tall, 'Sutton' is perfect for growing in pots. It produces a good crop of pods that grow to about 15cm (6in) long, each with 5-8 small but delightfully tender white beans that are delicious fresh and ideal for home freezing. 'Sutton' crops quite early, from June, so it's one of the earliest legumes to harvest. Pick them young for the most tender beans or let them grow a little longer for larger beans. The pods can be cooked whole if you wish, just cut off the ends and they're ready for the pot! Easy to grow, plant about 30cm (1ft) apart, and the same distance between rows, it has a spreading habit and doesn't require a support to climb up, but you may want to mulch underneath the plants for keep the pods off the soil. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence for a top quality harvest. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 30cm (1ft), with beans ready to harvest from June to August.
A vigorous and prolific climbing French bean, 'Isabel' produces generous harvests of long, pencil thin, stringless pods with white beans that have an excellent sweet flavour and are firm but tender to the bite. Delicious eaten lightly boiled or steamed and packed full of vitamins A and K, minerals and fibre, and they freeze very well too, so you won't waste any of your crop! 'Isabel' is a vigorous grower, and with its outstanding natural health you'll be picking masses or tasty French beans for weeks on end. Being a climbing French bean, 'Isabel' will require a sturdy support that's at least 6ft tall. Cane wigwams are traditionally used, made by placing four or five canes 6 inches apart around the plant, tied together at the top to give a strong structure that's an attractive feature in the vegetable garden, and works well if you're growing your beans in pots too. If you're growing long rows of beans, place canes 6 inches apart either side of the row and tie them to a horizontal cane at the top to make a tent shape. After a little help, your beans will twine their way naturally over the support. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 2m (6½ft), with beans ready to harvest from June to October.
A favourite amongst vegetable growers, climbing French bean 'Cobra' is quite possibly the tastiest there is, and it has wonderful mauve flowers too! Cropping continuously over a long season from July, you'll get heavy crops of stringless green pods 18cm (7in) long that have exceptionally good flavour. Delicious al dente, and packed full of vitamins A and K, minerals and fibre, and they freeze very well too, so you can enjoy your home grown crop into next year. Being a climbing French bean, 'Cobra' will require a sturdy support that's at least 6ft tall. Cane wigwams are traditionally used, made by placing four or five canes 6 inches apart around the plant, tied together at the top to give a strong structure that's an attractive feature in the vegetable garden, and works well if you're growing your beans in pots too. If you're growing long rows of beans, place canes 6 inches apart either side of the row and tie them to a horizontal cane at the top to make a tent shape. After a little help, your beans will twine their way naturally over the support. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and enjoy a top quality harvest. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 2m (6½ft), with beans ready to harvest from June to September.
'Moonlight' is the world's first ever self-pollinating white flowered runner bean. This breakthrough has meant that the flowers will set in almost any weather, guaranteeing a fantastic crop! The delicious stringless beans grow up to 25cm (10in) long and have a great texture and classic runner bean taste. This heavy cropping variety will produce plenty of mouth-watering fresh beans for your plate and plenty more for the freezer. Versatile and nutritious, they are a classic cooked veg, and are perfect when lightly steamed or boiled. Runner beans are highly nutritious and rich in vitamin C and a good source of fibre. Trim and blanch surplus crops to store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer. They will freeze well, retaining good flavour and texture when cooked from frozen.Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to a bumper harvest. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 3m (10ft), beans will be ready to harvest from July to October.
A cross between a runner bean and a French bean 'Firestorm', has the best of both and being self-fertile, you can rely on a bountiful harvest of top quality, fresh and tasty beans. With its bright scarlet flowers, it brings a splash or fiery colour to the vegetable plot and wouldn't look out of place in flower borders. A popular and reliable variety, the long, straight beans have a scrumptious sweet flavour and firm texture. Growing up to 25cm (10in) and being stringless, they are perfect when lightly steamed or boiled. A heavy cropping variety, 'Firestorm' will produce armfuls of delicious fresh beans for your kitchen and there will undoubtedly be lots lets over for freezing. Runner beans are highly nutritious and rich in vitamin C and a good source of fibre. Trim and blanch surplus crops to store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer. They will freeze well, retaining good flavour and texture when cooked from frozen. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to a bumper harvest. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting. Growing to 2m (6½ft), with beans ready to harvest from July to October.
One of the most popular varieties of tomato, 'Shirley' is a home-grower's favourite and a fantastic, versatile all-rounder, producing bountiful crops of medium-sized, bright red, juicy fruits on large trusses whether grown in an unheated greenhouse or outdoors. A cordon variety, it will fruit most prolifically when side shoots are pinched out to encourage an upright central stem that requires a support. Each plant will then produce a succession of fruit-laden trusses that ripen from July onwards to give a continuous crop. Easy to grow and with excellent disease resistance, 'Shirley' has a lovely sweet, rich flavour perfect for salads, sandwiches and sauces. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence for a delicious crop of tomatoes. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out when the risk of frost has passed, reaching 2m (6½ft) in height.
One of the most versatile vegetables, sweet potatoes have become exceedingly popular over the last decade thanks to their delicious flavour, ease of cooking and all the new and unique ways to create a storm in the kitchen - with a healthier, vitamin rich twist on a normal white potato and with its bright orange flesh and red skin 'Erato Orange' brings an exotic flavour to your cooking! With extra dietary fibre in a sweet potato compared to a normal potato, many of us are adding more and more sweet potato into our diets, and it's so easy to do. From typical mashing, boiling or baking, to chips, soups, curries and stews, there are so many wonderful dishes that are so easy to make - so why not grow your own? Grow in hot conditions, preferably in a greenhouse or conservatory. Perfect for growing in pots, they'll grow to a maximum of approx. 30cm tall and with regular watering, the vigorous plants will develop large tubers in the summer and will be ready for harvest from September through to October. The tubers can even be harvested in the autumn and stored until you want to use them. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready to plant.
One of the most versatile vegetables, sweet potatoes have become exceedingly popular over the last decade thanks to their delicious flavour, ease of cooking and all the new and unique ways to create a storm in the kitchen - with a healthier, vitamin rich twist on a normal white potato and lovely white flesh wrapped in purple skin. With extra dietary fibre in a sweet potato compared to a normal potato, many of us are adding more and more sweet potato into our diets, and it's so easy to do. From typical mashing, boiling or baking, to chips, soups, curries and stews, there are so many wonderful dishes that are so easy to make - so why not grow your own? Grow in hot conditions, preferably in a greenhouse or conservatory. Perfect for growing in pots, they'll grow to a maximum of approx. 30cm tall and with regular watering, the vigorous plants will develop large tubers in the summer and will be ready for harvest from September through to October. The tubers can even be harvested in the autumn and stored until you want to use them. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready to plant.
An amazing twist on the traditional sweet pepper 'Sweet Bells' will produce delicious snack sized peppers that are wonderfully sweet and crunchy and can be eaten straight from the plant! The peppers are green initially, before ripening to a gorgeous, glossy rich red colour and they have thick walls which gives them a wonderfully firm crunch when eaten fresh. They're also ideal in salads and for stuffing and grilling, and a great source of vitamins A and C as well as potassium and iron - a perfect, healthy snack. A versatile plant, it can be grown on the patio or in the vegetable garden or greenhouse, and it makes a spectacular looking houseplant in a sunny, warm spot. Position it in full sun to get the biggest, sweetest crops of scrumptious miniature peppers, producing flowers and fruit month after month. Supplied as 6 plug plants, ready for growing on or planting after the risk of frost has passed, reaching 90cm (3ft) tall.
Kale is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, and 'Reflex' is an incredibly hardy ultra-hardy variety will provide you with armfuls of highly nutritious, tasty leaves from September through to the following February. A British culinary favourite since the mid-19th century, curly kale has had a resurgence in popularity in recent years. This dwarf variety has attractive, dark green, densely frilled leaves that have an extremely sweet taste with no bitterness. It's highly nutritious too, being rich in vitamins and antioxidants. A versatile ingredient in the kitchen, it is superb when steamed or stir-fried to retain nutrients and texture and the young leaves make a tasty raw addition to salads, it keeps very well in the freezer too! Vigorous and sturdy, 'Reflex' will tolerate exposed positions and most soil types and does exceptionally well in poor soils where other vegetables might struggle, although is equally happy in well-drained, fertile soils. This is a vegetable that positively thrives over winter in Britain, so is a good cut-and-come-again option for continuous harvesting over a long season. Leaves are especially sweet and tasty when picked young from the plant. If left to flower, the yellow blooms will attract wildlife to your garden, being a great source of nectar and pollen. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out. Grows to 90cm high and 60cm spread.
One of the most attractive brassicas you can grow, purple sprouting broccoli 'Red Fire' will crop in early spring when there is little else growing in the vegetable garden, producing densely packed clusters of deep purple buds above thick, tender stems and rich green leaves that are just as good to eat. 'Red Fire' makes a colourful and tasty ingredient whether prepared raw for salads or dips, or steamed, boiled or stir-fried. It makes great soup, too - an ideal way of using up any leftover stems and leaves. Excess crops will freeze well, so you can enjoy this versatile veg throughout the year, long after its season has finished. Although grown for its tasty purple spears, all parts of the plant are highly nutritious - a great source of fibre and protein, as well as vitamins and minerals. The leaves hold the highest levels of antioxidants and vitamins, and the stalks contain the most fibre - far too good to waste! Easy to grow, broccoli will thrive in an open, sunny position in fertile, well draining, moisture-retentive soil. Ideally, dig in some well-rotted manure into the growing site in the autumn before sowing. There is no need to dig over the soil too much immediately before planting as undisturbed soil offers a firm roothold for brassicas and will help them establish quickly and well. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to an excellent crop. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out, reaching a mature height of up to 90cm (3ft).
Growing your own veg is the most satisfying way of bringing top-quality, super healthy food to your plate - at a fraction of the cost of supermarket produce. Brussels sprouts are highly nutritious, too, being an excellent source of vitamins A, B and C - and with freshness you can't beat when picked straight from your garden. Considered to be one of the very best early Brussels Sprouts there is, 'Maximus' will be ready to pick from September all the way into December. The buttons are tight and smooth, and remain that way for month after month when left on the plant until you need them. Easy to grow and reliable, this heavy cropping, long-harvesting variety has good resistance to mildew too! 'Maximus' will thrive in a sunny or semi-shaded position in well-cultivated, fertile, moist but well-draining soil. Fully deserving its coveted RHS Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure that this is a proven garden performer, guaranteed to be suitable for UK gardeners at every level of experience. You can therefore plant this in the garden with confidence and look forward to a wonderful harvest. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out, growing to 75cm.
A superb early season cabbage, 'Farao' produces tasty green heads over several months of the year. Cropping from May, it is best picked when young and tender. The juicy dark green leaves have a wonderful sweet and peppery flavour, whether used raw in salads and coleslaw or traditionally steamed, boiled or braised. Hearty and healthy, they are packed full of vitamin C and antioxidants. These hardy cabbages will thrive in a sunny position in well-cultivated, moisture-retentive soil with good drainage, although are best not planted in soil that has been manured in the preceding 12 months. Supplied as 12 plug plants, ready to grow on or plant out. Grows to 30cm in height and spread.
A superb selection of the best brassicas for you to grow in your own garden to give you a delicious harvest of fresh and healthy greens including broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. All easy to grow, and little beats the satisfaction of growing your own tasty, succulent vegetables. You'll receive 4 plug plants of each, ready to pot on or plant out: Broccoli 'Marathon' an outstanding broccoli that will produce a reliable crop of densely packed heads from late summer right through autumn, with fine grained clusters of deep bluish-green buds of up to 15cm (6in) diameter on thick yet tender stems above rich green leaves that are just as good to eat. Great raw for salads or dips, or steamed, boiled or stir-fried. Reaching 90cm x 60cm. Cauliflower 'Clapton' awarded an RHS Award of Garden Merit, this is a versatile cauliflower variety maturing from late summer to early autumn with large, solid white heads that have an excellent flavour. 'Clapton' is vigorous and robust and the first cauliflower to be resistant to clubroot, a major breakthrough. Growing to 45cm x 60cm. Cabbage 'Caraflex' a superb pointed cabbage with leaves packed full of goodness, with those closest to the heart being particularly nutritious. Ready to harvest from June, 'Caralex' produces small, tender, crunchy heads with a mild flavour that's much sweeter than most cabbages and has earned it the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Growing to a height and spread of 30cm.