Nepeta cataria (Bag) – Franchi Sementi

Endive Cuor d'Oro - Golden Heart. Early. Nice sized head, loose leaves. Dark green with golden center. Good cooked in salads and soups. If you want a really white center, blanch the heart by covering with bucket or tying up top 10 days or so before harvesting. 10 and 30 gram packet. Approximately 900 seeds per gram.

*Heritage Variety*
Endive Cuor dOro: Similar to Pancalieri but with a tighter head and a larger golden heart once blanched. Sow from June to end of August and harvest until the end of December, although they will usually overwinter in our mild UK climate. 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 June to the end of August
Harvest: from September to the end of December.
Approximate seeds quantity: @4800
Suitable for winter cultivation


Partnership plant: Tomato, Leek.

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

Italian Classic Basil. This sweet Genovese basil is our most popular variety. It is the same strain that made pesto famous worldwide. (Our Italian supplier, Franchi Seeds, calls it Italian Classic rather than Genovese because the region of Genoa got an Indicazione Geografica Protetta (IGP) trademark that limits the use of the name Genovese to basil grown in a certain area of Liguria; however, the seed is grown elsewhere in Italy and so cannot have the name Genovese within Italy. )

Whatever this basil is called, it's the best. This is the classic basil used for sauces, pesto, pizza, and just about everything else. Leaves are soft and fragrant with a delicious taste.

The seed count in a pack is enormous -- about 4,800 seeds. Why so much seed? Because in Italy, people like to pick basil very young, so they seed it repeatedly and just pull the entire plants when they are about 5-6 inches tall. In the U.S., most people grow a few plants and pick from them all summer long, so a packet of seeds lasts a long time. Basil seed, if kept cool and dry (but not in the refrigerator) will remain viable for up to 5 years. Try one of our seed storage tins for keeping extra seed.

Basil has approximately 600-650 seeds per gram.

FUSARIUM FREE - TESTED.

*Heritage Variety*
Basil Classico Italiano - This is the classic style basil which is also used for making 'pesto' but has a million other uses in the kitchen. The ideal windowsill herb too.
This is a mid-early variety producing vigorus plants. Easy to grow and perfect for containers.

Approximate seeds quantity: @4000 seeds.
To be sow from March to July directly on the ground and inside the rest of the year.

Misticanza Quattro Stagioni — Mesclun Four Seasons. Mesclun mix of lettuce, endive, radicchio & chicory. 14 varieties including Verona, Pan Zucchero, Four Seasons lettuce, Romaines, cutting lettuces. For salads or braising. Cut when 3-4 inches tall. Make succession plantings every 2-3 weeks for continuous harvests. 8 gram packet, approximately 4500 seeds. Approximately 600-1200 seeds per gram.