Eschscholzia californica (Bag) – Franchi Sementi

Endive Riccia Romanesco da Taglio. A cut and come again endive from Rome. Thin serrated dark green leaves with classic endive taste and texture. Space at 4" between plants, 8" between rows. 40-45 days. Plant grows in a small upright bunch which is easy to harvest. You can also just broadcast seed it trying to get seeds every inch or two and cut it when it gets three/four inches high. Simple to grow and good resistance to bolting. Best for spring and fall but will work at any time throughout the growing season. Perfect for that Roman salad you remember. Can also be cooked. 60 or so days for full size. 10 gram pack. Approximately 900 seeds per gram.

*Heritage Variety*
L40 - Endive Romanesco da Taglio: Roman cutting endive with thin, jagged upright leaves that grow in small bunches. This is a very easy variety to grow and use and it has a long sowing season. Dont be tempted to sow them in the spring along with your other lettuces, you wont get very good results. Its an endive, not a lettuce, even if it looks more like a lettuce. They need heat initially to germinate and start their journey, and then cold to develop. Most varieties are very hardy and will tolerate sub-zero. There are several varieties of escarole and endive; the open-headed ones should be tied up about seven to ten days before harvest to blanch the heart and make them tender. Or you can just stick a bucket on top and, when you harvest that head, move the bucket to the next one. Be lazy – use an elastic band. Be even lazier and plant them closer than the standard 20 cm apart, so they all bunch up and blanch themselves.

Sow: from April to October
Harvest May to mid December.
Approximate seeds quantity: @5600 seeds.


Partnership plant: Tomato, Leek.

What to sow after: Cauliflower & Cabbage, Cucumber, Bean,
Aubergine, Melon, Pepper, Pea, Tomato, Radish, Courgette.

"Long Purple." 8-inch-long, rustic, deep purple eggplant. Grown all over Italy. Classic rich eggplant taste. Good producer, reliable. 70 days. 3 gram packet, approximately 600 seeds. Approximately 200-250 per gram.

*Heritage variety*

V3 - This is the classic Italian eggplant typically used in Emilia Romagna to make 'Parmigiana' with tomatoes and parmesan cheese. This is a mid-early variety, very productive. It produces long, dark and slightly curved aubergine of medium dimensions with very few seeds inside.

Approximate seeds quantity:@660
Sow: from February - mid May

Carrot Touchon. An old French variety of superb quality and flavor ready in 65 days. 8 gram pack. 3,000 seeds. Approximately 400-1200 seeds per gram.

Carrot Touchon – this is an old French variety of superb quality and flavour.
Ready in 65 days, this plant produces roots about 17cm long, crunchy and tender.
Easy to grow and vigourous.

Approximate seeds quantity:@4000
Sow: from Spring/Summer

Partnership plant: Chard, Chicory, Lettuce, Pea, Tomato,
Leek, Radish, Spinach.

What to sow after: Cucumber, Chicory, Bean, Endive, Lettuce,
Melon, Pea, Radish, Courgette.

Cicoria Rossa Italiana. Some call this Red Dandelion, but it is a true chicory. Requires a rich, well-tilled soil. Mid-early, upright plant with a large, closely wrapped head. Intense gree, serrated leaves are tall, with large red ribs. Said to be an excellent forcing variety. Take the well-developed plants out in the fall, bunch the leaves and remove secondary roots. Then put in a cooler, closed tub or dark basement and cover lightly with soil. Be the first to let us know about this! 10 gram packet. Approximately 600-900 seeds per gram.

Mid Late variety that produce an upright plant with large wrapped head.
The leaves are tall, with an intense green colour and the ribs are large and red. 10gr

SOW: from March to August
HARVEST: from July to October

Partnership plant: Carrot, Bean, Fennel, Lettuce, Pepper,
Tomato.

What to sow after: Cauliflower, Cabbage, Cucumber, Bean,
Aubergine, Melon, Pepper, Pea, Tomato, Radish, Courgette.