Whether you want to grow flowers, veggies or herbs from seed, a new range of curated seed packs takes the guesswork out of what and when to sow season by season.
It’s true that growing from seed is rewarding and affordable but for beginners, and even experienced gardeners, there can be uncertainty about sowing times, especially as it varies from area to area and from variety to variety. Some, like beetroot and carrots germinate better in cool soil while others like peppers and chillies need warmer soil to germinate.
To simplify everything, Kirchhoffs and RAW seeds have put together Variety Packs that contain seasonal selections of easy to grow vegetables, herbs and garden flowers. All are heirloom, non-GMO varieties.
Each Variety Pack contains 5 seasonal packets, each with tried and tested varieties with the sowing time clearly indicated. All you need to do is find the right spot (full sun/ at least 6hrs sun a day) and prepare a level bed by digging in compost (lots) and raking out sticks and stones.
The RAW Variety Pack contains seed packs of veggies and herbs, starting with their spring selection:
- Lettuce Gourmet Salad Blend consists of five loose leaf varieties, ranging from green to red, with textures from oak leaf to tightly ruffled. Fast growing.
- Lettuce Mesclun Mix is a blend of lettuce and herbs: Giant Red mustard, Lettuce Oakleaf and Silvia and Rocket (also known as Arugula). Use in salads for texture and flavour.
- Basil Culinary Blend is a mix of Genovese (the pesto basil), Corsican, Lemon and Cinnamon basil. Great for salads, pasta and pizza. Best companion for tomatoes
- Eggplant Fingerlings are finger-shaped fruits in a mix of purple, green and white coloured skin with tender, non-bitter flesh. Best harvested young.
- Spinach Bloomsdale produces a bountiful supply of large glossy green leaves that are richly flavoured.
The spring choice of Kirchhoffs Vegetable Pack is a reflection of gardener’s favourites from over 130 years of supplying seed to those with green and not-so-green fingers.
- Tomato ‘Floradade’ is the ideal tomato for hot humid climates. It produces firm, flavourful, bright red tomatoes. The plant has good disease resistance.
- Capsicum Green pepper ‘California Wonder’ is a long crop that needs to be sown in early spring, It is a large, fleshy pepper with a mild flavour. Can be grown in containers.
- Carrot ‘Cape Market’ is an heirloom variety that was developed for South African conditions. It is a sweet, medium to large carrot with a cylindrical shape.
- Lettuce ‘Great Lakes’ is a classic Iceberg lettuce that develops well-formed large heads of crisp, dark green leaves.
- Onion ‘Red Creole’ is a medium sized onion with flattened pale red
The Kirchhoffs Herb Variety Pack has a popular spring mix of annual and perennial herbs that home chefs can’t do without.
- Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is known as Sweet Basil and is the most widely grown. The leaves have a sweet, floral yet delicate flavour, with slightly minty notes, an anise-like aroma and clove-like undertones. Use leaves fresh or dried
- Coriander (Coriandrum Sativum) is also known as Cilantro and has strongly flavoured leaves and edible seeds. It produces best when sown in spring and autumn,
- Rocket (Eruca Vesicaria) is a Mediterranean herb used in salads, sandwiches and as a garnish. The young leaves have a peppery flavour and are best eaten fresh.
- Origanum (Oregano Vulgare) is an aromatic herb most often used dried, especially in Italian cuisine. It also Oregano combines well with spicy foods.
- Fennel Bronze (Foeniculum vulgare) is a perennial herb and the leaves have a mild anise-like flavour. The bulbs are eaten as a vegetable, both raw and cooked and the seed is used as an aromatic spice.
The Kirchhoffs Flower Variety Pack has a sunny selection of spring flowers that are the stalwarts of every flower garden- marigolds, nasturtium, cosmos and sunflowers.
- Sunflower ‘Tall Yellow’ can grow up to 1.7 m with large golden flowers with a dark centre. The head orientation is very flat and close to stem with good sized 15cm blooms
- Colour patch ‘Summer Dwarf’ is a specially formulated mix of easy to grow dwarf varieties especially suited to hot summer conditions. Different varieties bloom at differing times to create a long lasting colour effect.
- Marigold ‘Lemon Drop’ is a dwarf marigold with canary yellow double flowers. Sow densely with a good show. They thrive in hot conditions.
- Nasturtium ‘Double Gem’ offers double and semi-double flowers in a mix of bright colours ranging from gold and primrose to deepest maroon and deep rose shades. The plants are compact, and the blooms and leaves are edible.
- Cosmos ‘Sensation’ has large flowers in shades of pure white to purplish – pink with yellow cent It tolerates poor soil and hot, humid weather and the seed head attract birds. For more information visit www.rawliving.co.za and www.kirchhoffs.co.za
Article and images by Alice Coetzee.
