Where To Buy Organic Vegetable Plants

(False saffron) Important source of good quality cooking oil, and yellow or red dyes. Thistlelike flowerheads colour silk, wool, rouge and are used as a saffron substitute in rice dishes.

An heirloom seed that produces a pear-shaped golden-yellow fruit, resistant to splitting and cracking.

(Onion green; Bunching onion) Attractive green stalks look like they have been dipped in wine! Bulbs are stained a deep purple. Colour persists at any temperature or age. Royal Horticultural Society Award Winner in 2010.

Spread 18in (45cm). Consists of tall deep-purple flower spikes and mint-like leaves. Bees love the vibrant coloured flowers! Leaf infusion makes an uplifting tea. Cousin of anise-hyssop, has a familiar, sweet anise scent and flavour.

Each pod contains 5-7 flat oblong beans for fresh or dry use. An English heirloom grown since at least the 1800s. Also the leaves can be cooked like spinach, and the young pods, 5-7cm/2-3in long, can be eaten like snap beans.

(Shamrock squash; Triangle squash) An old Australian variety with a deeply lobed shape like a shamrock. The fruits get up to 4kg/10lb in size and store well, keeping their flavour through the winter.

Beautiful yellow-orange beefsteak tomato with a tangerine shape, meaty flesh and a sweet tart flavour. Introduced to the American market by Burpee in the 1930s. Indeterminate vines.

An heirloom variety believed to be over a hundred years old, a legacy of the Cherokee Indians. Sometimes has green “shoulders.” Indeterminate. Resembling a beefsteak tomato in size and shape, with dramatic, dusky pink-purple fruit.

(White Bell) Sweet bell pepper with 3 or 4 lobes and crisp, medium-thick flesh. They are great used in mixed colours in stirfries, salads and fresh veggie trays. Fruits mature from a beautiful translucent white to pale yellow to scarlet red, and are delicious...

Sugar snap peas are also known as “mangetout” peas, meaning that both the pod and the peas can be eaten. Sugar Snap is an exceptional variety that produces sweet, succulent pods that can be allowed to mature to produce peas.

(Ye kui) Edible plant with traditional use as a medicinal herb. The leaves are tender and make a very nice alternative to lettuce in salads. The seeds too are edible; when green and immature they have a nice nutty taste and can be cooked or eaten raw...

(Chinese mustard; Indian mustard) A splash in the salad bowl and in the garden! Brilliant maroon leaves with light green midribs are both delicious and strikingly ornamental. Spicy leaves are excellent in mixed salads or alone, and they are delicious...

White skinned pumpkin with dark orange flesh, suitable for jack-o-lanterns and pies! Great halloween novelty, as outer skin can be painted on mature fruits of 30cm/8-10”, weighing about 10-16lbs/5kg.

Thick, succulent light green edible pods with a distinct, sweet flavour. Grows to 120-150cm/4-5ft, so some staking is required... Excellent for stir frys, steaming, freezing and fresh in salads.

A large leaf basil has high oil content and hence a stronger aroma and flavour than other varieties. Excellent for pesto and other typical basil uses. Suited for greenhouse and field production.

Heirloom variety of rose-coloured with white radish with crisp, tender mildly pungent flavour that is wonderful in salads, sliced thin on buttered bread, as a garnish or appetizer.

If you like heat and flavour... This is a good one! Mushroom shaped, thin walled, green to bright yellow, fiery hot taste similar to Habanero types. 5cm/2” fruits are good pickled or dried for seasoning.

Globe shaped root of deep scarlet and pure-white tips. Holds its crisp, mild flavour long after maturing, never becoming hollow at the heart. Delicious when steamed slightly and served drizzled with plain or herb and garlic seasoned butter.

Leaves are fine to medium in thickness and dark blue-green in colour. Highly resistant to diseases and is tolerant of thrips and leaf tip burn. It is uniform, upright, and very vigorous.

Pickling cucumber developed at Cornell University with white skin and black spines, 8-12cm/3-5" long. Good flavour and resistant to powdery mildew.

Its glossy leaves are painted with veins of creamy white which, according to tradition, originated from the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant. Important tonic herb for the liver.

Bright red fruit of over 2.5cm/1” in diameter are unusually sweet and flavourful with a high vitamin C content. Great for snacking, salads and low sugar preserves. Plants grow tall, so staking is recommended as the vine bears fruit in long clusters...

(Wild arugula) Wild relative of the ever popular roquette or arugula salad green. Described as spicy and pungent, this has become very popular in Europe, particularly in Germany and northern Italy.

A loose type with a striking bronze burgundy oak-shaped leaves. Stays bitter-free and is heat tolerant. Very popular for all season use. For baby leaf use in 28 days or full-size use in 51-58 days.

No heirloom tomato garden is complete without the addition of one green tomato, and this is the one. Delicious eaten fresh by itself or added to salads. Unmistakable green tomato flavour in a striking jewel-green fruit.