Time to Think About Seed Orders

It feels ridiculously early to be thinking about seeds when it’s barely light at 4pm and the garden’s looking sad, but January’s actually the perfect time to sort your seed order. If you wait until spring, all the interesting varieties will be gone and you’ll be stuck with whatever’s left.

We’re taking advance orders now for vegetable seeds, especially heritage tomatoes and the more unusual varieties that always sell out fast. You don’t have to pay upfront – just let us know what you want and we’ll put them aside for you. Then you can collect and pay when you’re ready to start sowing.

Tomatoes are always the first to go. Everyone wants the same ones – Gardener’s Delight, Sungold, Moneymaker. Those are fine, and we’ll have plenty of them, but the heritage varieties are where things get interesting. We’re getting in Black Krim this year, which produces huge dark tomatoes with a rich, complex flavour. Absolutely brilliant for slicing. There’s also Green Zebra, which stays stripy and green even when ripe. It looks odd but tastes sharp and fresh – lovely in salads. And we’re trying Tigerella for the first time, a red and yellow striped variety that crops heavily and doesn’t seem to get blight as easily as some.

For something completely different, there’s Black Cherry – small dark fruits on long trusses. They’re sweet and look impressive. If you like growing tomatoes in pots, Tumbling Tom varieties are your friend. They cascade over the edge and produce loads of small fruits without needing any pinching out or complicated training.

It’s not just tomatoes though. We’re also ordering unusual beans this year. Purple climbing beans (they go green when you cook them, but they’re easier to spot when you’re picking), yellow French beans, and borlotti beans with their beautiful pink-speckled pods. There’s Cherokee Trail of Tears, a black bean with a sad history but excellent flavour. And if you want something really unusual, we can get yard-long beans – they’re not actually a yard long, but they’re impressive.

Peas are another one to order early. Mangetout varieties like Oregon Sugar Pod are always popular, but have you tried Purple Podded peas? The pods are deep purple and the plants are hardier than green peas. Or there’s Carouby de Maussane, a mangetout with huge flat pods that taste wonderful.

Old-fashioned lettuce varieties like Marvel of Four Seasons, with its red-tinged leaves, or Merveille de Quatre Saisons (same thing, French name) are much more interesting than iceberg. And they don’t bolt at the first sign of warm weather. For cut-and-come-again salads, we’re getting in several mixed packets with mustards, rocket and various oriental leaves.

The reason to order in January is simple – seed companies run out. Once their stock’s gone, that’s it until next year. Popular varieties disappear by March, and unusual ones are often gone even earlier. There’s nothing more annoying than finally deciding you want to grow something, only to discover every supplier’s sold out.

Come in and have a look at the seed catalogue, or tell us what you’re after. We’ll check what’s available and get it ordered. Even if you’re not planning to sow until March or April, getting the seeds now means you won’t miss out. They’ll keep perfectly well in a cool, dry place – many people store them in a biscuit tin in the shed.

And if you’re new to growing from seed, don’t be put off. Most vegetables are easy. Just ask at the till and we’ll point you towards the foolproof ones to start with.