Celery
Celery has long been considered a difficult crop to grow, largely because traditional varieties need a lot of work and attention. Fortunately modern plant breeding has led to many easier, self-blanching varieties that don't need earthing up to produce tender white stems. Celery needs to be kept moist and prefers moisture-retentive, well-drained soil in a sunny spot.
Chicory
Chicory is an acquired taste. Many people find the leaves bitter, but it's easy to look after and has a long growing season. Chicory can be eaten raw or cooked and is a delicious alternative to add to roasts, stir-fries or as a vegetable side dish. For the best flavour, eat soon after picking. Like rhubarb, chicory can be ‘forced’ by moving mature roots to a warm, dark place in order to coax them into rapid and early growth.
Endive
Endive is a compact, lettuce-like plant, available in an attractive range of colours and shapes, from bright green and frilly, to rounded and red. Blanching the leaves by covering for 2 weeks before harvesting can reduce their bitter flavour. Blanch only a few plants at a time, as they deteriorate rapidly afterwards, especially in warm or rainy weather, so need to be used promptly.
Fennel
Florence fennel is an attractive plant that forms a white ‘bulb’ at ground level made up of the overlapping, swollen bases of the leaf stalks, with a sweet, mild aniseed flavour. Fennel grows best in warm, damp summers and is well worth the effort if you can give it the right conditions. The key to success is to provide regular water, never letting the soil dry out, so plants keep growing strongly.
Lettuce
Probably one of the most regularly eaten vegetables, Lettuce is easy to grow at home. It's much cheaper to grow your own lettuce than buy bags of lettuce from the shops, and the variety of lettuces you can grow versus shop-bought lettuce is greater, too. Lettuces come in a wide variety of shapes, colours and textures. By growing a few varieties you'll have all the ingredients you need for a delicious, colourful salad all year round.
Mizuna
Mizuna is a Japanese green with a mildly spicy flavour, perfect for eating raw or lightly cooked. The plants take up little space and are ideal in containers as well as in the ground. Sow repeatedly for generous harvests across most of the year. They are easy to grow from seed most of the year, in sun or light shade and moisture-retentive soil
Pak Choi
Pak choi is easy to grow, but can be prone to bolting in hot weather so it’s a good idea to grow it in partial shade and keep it well watered. Pak choi is hardier than many other leafy crops, so late sowings will crop in autumn and even winter, if given a little protection with a cloche or some fleece.
Rocket
Fast and easy to grow, Rocket has a distinctive, peppery flavour that adds a punchy kick to salads. When harvesting pick a few leaves from several plants. If you take lots of leaves from one plant, growth will be weakened. Both the leaves and the flowers of the rocket plant are edible – the flowers make lovely decorations for salads and other dishes.
Spinach
Spinach can be grown all year round if you choose the right varieties and works well in containers too. It tastes delicious when wilted in the pan or as young fresh leaves in a salad. Sow spinach successionally every few weeks to ensure a continuous crop.
Swiss Chard
A delicious alternative to spinach, Swiss chard is easy to grow. In the UK it's usually referred to as chard, but it's also known as leaf beet. With its ornamental leaves and often colourful stems, it looks just as good in containers and borders as the vegetable plot. Swiss chard is hardy and can be overwintered for early pickings in spring.
Tatsoi
Tatsoi, a resilient leafy green which is exceptionally hardy, capable of enduring temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius, and has been observed to thrive and be harvested even beneath a blanket of snow! This versatile substitute for spinach yields ample fresh greens during the winter season and, indeed, over a large portion of the year.
Leay greens to grow from seed
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Celery Leaf
Regular price £1.15 GBPRegular price -
Celery, Golden Self Blanching
Regular price £1.65 GBPRegular price -
Chicory, Rossa di Treviso precoce
Regular price £1.15 GBPRegular price -
Endive, Fine de Louviers
Regular price £1.15 GBPRegular price
