February

Quick to grow and beautiful to look at, Radish 'Rainbow Mixed' is a visually stunning selection of coloured-skinned radishes. A very exciting sight to see when picked and an excellent choice for salads and gourmet dishes.

Radish 'Long White Icicle' is a uniform strain which forms long, pure snow-white roots. The white flesh is crisp and mild and less pungent than that of the round varieties, they have a spice that warms the tongue, but doesn’t bite back. Very easy to grow and ready for harvest only 25 days after planting,

Radish ‘China Rose’ is a traditional winter hardy variety that produces long, tapering roots with attractive rosy pink skins and crisp, pure white flesh. Its cylindrical roots grow 15 to 20cm long and add flavour to winter salads. The leaves can also be added to salads and stir fries.

The globe shaped roots of Radish ‘Cherry Belle’ have appealing bright red skins, smooth white flesh and a crisp, crunchy texture. This fast maturing variety is reliable and versatile, producing early crops of sweet and succulent, mildly flavoured radish.

The Black Spanish radish is a unique variety with a inky black, thick skin that resembles that of a rhinoceros. But that craggy, tough exterior is what protects the tender, spicy, crisp, pure-white flesh. They are reliable, last forever in the garden and in storage, and are one of the easiest things you will ever grow.

This attractive plant will be equally at home in the flower border or keeping company with the sage and thyme in your herb garden. Delightfully aromatic, the floral-peppermint scent is subtly different from other mints. Mountain mint is a great nectar plant, its honey is much sought after.

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.

Imagine, You’re reading the paper and suddenly your eye is drawn to a picture of this giant orange thing about the size of a truck with a guy half its size standing next to it grinning like a lunatic. “I’d like to grow one of those,” you think.

The Cape Gooseberry is a useful small crop for the home garden. The fruit is expensive to purchase as it is labour intensive in commercial plantings. Very easy to grow from seed, it can overwinter outdoors in mild areas or when grown in favoured positions such as the foot of a sunny wall.

Sometimes referred to as Perilla 'Britton' and called ‘Hojiso’ in Japan, this less typical form of Perilla has beautiful bi-coloured leaves. The serrated, red-veined leaves are green on top and deep purple-red underneath.

Shiso ‘Aoshiso’ leaves make for exquisite decoration. It is finely sliced with ginger and added to salads, sautéed vegetables, sashimi, tempura and sushi. Available either red or green, the red having more of an anise flavour and slightly less spicy than the green variety, which tastes more like cinnamon.

Sweet Pepper ‘Marconi Red’ is an Italian bred variety. Maturing a little later than regular bell peppers, they produce much sweeter and tastier fruits. This variety is often used for roasting and frying but also tastes wonderful when eaten fresh. It grows very well in unheated greenhouses or in pots on a sunny patio.

Incredibly sweet and beautiful, Sweet Pepper 'Golden Marconi’ have a wonderful taste and feature sweet skin, medium thick flesh and a mild and juicy flavour. The vigorous, productive plants produce long and slender fruits that are tapered to a blunt end. The fruits look elegantly beautiful on the plant.

'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.

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'.

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.