Some of you may have seen me at RHS Chelsea or Hampton court flower shows or the Abergavenny Food Festival know me or have used Franchi seeds, 7 generations still the same family since 1783 and horticulturally excellent, we specialise in ethical, Slow Food endangered, heritage and regional varieties with provenance and lost flavours. We supply many chefs and restaurants with our historical brand as well as the best garden centres and deli’s across the UK including our new Vintage 1928 veg seed range launched last year from our 1928 seed catalogue.
I am a multiple RHS medal winner, author of ‘from seed to plate’ a public speaker on biodiversity and I write for the RHS monthly, Slow Food UK person of the year in 2019 I grew up the Italian way in London – in the garden, in the kitchen and at the table, foraging for mushrooms, helping mamma in the kitchen and thanks to both my parents, passionate about traditional regional foods and growing my own heritage veg varieties. I hope you enjoy my piece below and the special offer for a limited time to get you sowing, growing and eating proper heritage veg varieties with lost flavours rather than mass produced corporate varieties!
Inspired by memories of my vegetable chats with Antonio Carluccio.
March and April are the biggest sowing months of the year, everything from Med Veg like tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and melons, to staples like carrots, beans, spinach and more. But for the last few seasons we have seen massive swings in temperature – 2024 saw the wettest spring, 2025 showed the driest spring and the hottest year ever recorded and this year in Harrow we have had 40 days of precipitation. This year people delayed buying and sowing but now that their allotments are drying out, things are starting to move.
So what better than a special offer to start things moving along from the oldest family run seed brand in the world, Franchi are historically important and still going! Sowing in March and April is important to provide a rolling supply of fresh veg for your family in uncertain times and the foundation for a rolling supply of fresh veg to feed your family that can be eaten fresh or preserved, especially in times of conflict and uncertainty.
I was thinking about varieties and my many catchups with my friend Antonio Carluccio came to mind to inspire me. I’ve picked some varieties we used to talk about together. Antonio was passionate about vegetables, their provenance, seasonality, pairing them with other ingredients to come up with sublime traditional or innovative dishes in his superb book called ‘Vegetables’ which I was honoured to have collaborated in a small way on some of the varieties. I remember so many ‘trips around Italy in vegetables’ with Antonio and he used to love when I came round, I would bring my accordion with me and we’d have a singalong (whilst he was meant to be working!)
Lettuce Biscia Rossa – ‘Red Snake' – An Italian heritage variety typical of the style of other Alpine lettuce varieties. You’ve all been watching the Winter Olympics from Lombardy in Italy, well its still chucking it down with snow in Northern Italy and these lettuces can be forced, sown from Feb protected and eaten in 50-55 days after sowing They can be and can be sown as late as the end of September. These rustic varieties may not look supermarket sexy, but they have lost flavours and cannot be compared with icebergs and mass-produced varieties found so often on our plates and in our sandwiches!
Sunflowers – What, has Paolo gone mad? Well no actually because it is so important to have insects in the garden for the birds and pollen for the bees so Sunflowers are a great, beautiful to look at and child friendly. Plus you can roast any sunflower seeds you get or leave them for the birds and squirrels of course. Without our little friends, we would not be able to grow veg so always have some flowers.
Dwarf yellow French Beans Rocquencourt – These beans are stringless and being waxy, they hold on to a vinaigrette really well, so make fantastic bean salads. Simplicity was key and I remember a meal where Antonio prepared a bean salad – the fresh beans were boiled till tender, then dressed whilst warm to make a lovely summer side dish, ideal for a picnic too. Never ever make a vinaigrette over the beans directly – you should always do it in a cup or you will have it too vinegary or too oily or too salty! There is a lovely saying in Piemonte – “the good cook tastes 7 times” and how many times watching master chef have you heard the judges saying “cracking dish, but under seasoned” Tender and buttery, these beans are also great boiled until tender and served as a side accompaniment for any meal.
Red Onion Tropea Tonda – In their series ‘Mediterranean Adventure’, the Hairy Bikers called the Tropea onion ‘one of the best onions in the world. Red onions originated in Italy and the round Tropea onion is very sweet, a high sugar content comes from the perfect Calabrian growing conditions, the soil, the sun, perfection. Antonio used to say you could almost eat them like an apple! Because of their higher sugar content, they caramelize beautifully and they are sweet when raw so great in a salad too. Sow spring for autumn and autumn protected for spring….. one onion per small pot or grow them and when you get the chive like shoots, pop them in the ground outside.
Tomato Rio Grande – this semi plum tomato is juicy enough to eat, meaty enough to cook, ideal for passata and sauces but just as at home in a salad. Antonio loved a good tomato, but each type would have a different use in the kitchen and only years of growing up in Italy cooking with mamma would prepare you for these culinary challenges! If you have room for only 1 variety this year, then this has to be the one as it is not only so versatile, but it is also a bush variety making it suitable for grow bags (3 per bag) on a sunny balcony, 1 in a pot on a garden patio, or indeed in the veg plot or allotment. It has thin skin and few seeds inside, is meaty and sweet and in August you should just stop watering it, the plant will die back and you will get the sweetest reddest tomatoes.
Runner Bean Prizewinner – Runner beans are really not grown much at all in Italy yet in the UK they are a family favourite. Pods are 25-30cm in length and 2-3cm wide making them a meaty variety. Runner beans have a bit of an old fashioned reputation, promoted on the plate by TV cooks of the 70’s. But like all things these days, Vintage is making a come back and much newer and tastier recipes are to be found in a single google search! Sow in the spring, enjoy in the summer.
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These 6 varieties would cost £19.94 including £2.99 P&P but can by yours for £15.94 delivered, a saving of £4