Heritage Varieties

Well adapted and very widely planted. ‘Red Creole’ is a medium maturing, open-pollinated short day red onion. It has a clear, spicy-sweet flavour of medium heat and develops a sweet, mellow flavour when caramelised. Drought tolerant, disease resistant and especially hardy, it is considered by many to be the ideal onion.

Bunching onion 'Kyoto Market' is an early, vigorous and heavy yielding bunching onion that does not bulb but forms long white stalks with long green foliage. suitable for later crops and for overwintering. This perennial variety splits into bunches as it grows, simply divide the clump to multiply your onion patch.

'Hollow Crown' is one of the oldest varieties of parsnip, with probably still the best flavour of all, with a depth and richness unmatched by most other varieties. It has been grown since at least the 1850's and is still very popular among gardeners in the know.

‘Blauwschokker’ produce good yields of succulent, bright green peas with an abundance of red and violet flowers are followed by deep purple pods. Dual purpose it is delicious when harvested young as mangetout or can be left to mature to shell the delicious green peas.

Although not widely available commercially, the vintage, sugar pod type pea 'Carouby de Maussane' has been enjoying a small-scale renaissance among heritage vegetable enthusiasts. Not only is the flavour superior, but the vines are covered with beautiful lavender and purple flowers.

One of the most well known of the New Mexico peppers, the Anaheim is a slightly sweet pepper with just a little pop, they are great for people who typically don’t like spicy foods. Versatile, family friendly and big enough to be stuffed, if you are bored of the bell pepper, try moving up this small notch.

Pepperoncini peppers originally hail from Europe, specifically Italy and Greece, often served in salads and on antipasti platters. They barely nudge the pepper scale and have a slightly sweet 'tang’ especially when pickled. Mild, tasty and crunchy, they bring many foods to life.

The 'Scotch Bonnet' was the first Caribbean Hot Pepper to be known by a specific name in the export market. Most commonly found in hot Caribbean dishes, use sparingly, fresh or dried to recipes. Also great for pickling, garnishes, sauces and jerk rubs, it develops a rich, multi-sided, tropical-fruity flavour.

Californian Wonder is the widely adapted standard variety, a favorite with gardeners and for commercial production. It consistently produces large yields of blocky, four-lobed thick-walled fruit that is mild and sweet, tender and flavourful. Perfect for salads, to stir-fries, grilling or stuffing.

Think of the Cubanelle like a sweeter, more flavourful bell pepper, and you’ll understand why they are so popular. While stuffing is a possibility, fried with a little olive oil, the Cubanelles mild sweet taste really comes to life. It is perhaps best thought of as providing 'taste' rather than 'heat'.

'Golden Californian Wonder' is the widely adapted standard variety, a favorite with gardeners and widely used for commercial production. The plant does well in both cool and warm weather. It consistently produces large yields of blocky, four-lobed thick-walled fruit that is mild and sweet, tender and flavourful.

Looking exactly like fairy tale pumpkins in children’s storybooks, Musquée de Provence is a gorgeous French pumpkin that is one of the only pumpkins that is eaten raw. Sweet with a light crunch and typical nutty taste, the very fine-grained flesh is considered by many to be superior to any other.