Solanum melongena Beautiful, tasty fruit to grow indoors or outside A fast growing, early variety for reliable crops of attractive, glossy white fruit. Can be grown in a greenhouse or on a sunny, sheltered patio. Approx 10 seeds.

Ocimum basilicum. Half Hardy Annual. Organically grown basil seed. Produces large, delicious leaves with the classic sweet basil taste. Great with pasta and tomato dishes or added to salads. Height: 30cm Approx 300 seeds.

Classic Italian basil, but organic. Approx 3200 seeds.

Beta vulgaris Organically grown seed, easy to grow deep red roots Organically grown beetroot seed for delicious deep red, globe-shaped roots. Use as a hot vegetable or pickled. Young baby leaves are also tasty and can be used in salads.Approx 20 seeds. Approx 275 seeds.

Round heirloom and very traditional variety. Organic Seed. Approx 8g seeds

Broad Bean Aguadulce Supersimonia: The name means 'super sweet water' and refers to the juiciness and sweetness of this variety, which is probably the best of all - restaurant quality. The pods are about 25-28 cm in length and each one will contain six to eight light green broad beans of good size

Brassica oleracea Botrytis A great tasting full flavoured traditional Italian variety which is fast maturing so well suited to the UK climate. Produces a central head followed by smaller side shoots. Early maturing. Approx 50 seeds.

Brassica oleracea Gemmifera An extremely hardy and high yielding variety Produces great numbers of firm sprouts with exceptional flavour and texture. The tall stems are highly productive and stand up well to frosts. Approx 20 seeds.

Brassica oleracea Capitata Fast growing, long standing, mid-size heads A mid-size white cabbage with dense heads and an excellent, traditional flavour. Resists disease and bolting, to hold its quality until harvested. Approx 30 seeds.

A mid/late maturing variety, mid length with good flavour and reliability

A Nantese carrot from Chioggia, near Venice. A very reliable, good flavoursome carrot. Approx 6g

Daucus carota Organically grown carrot seed gives deep coloured roots with good texture and a small core. Ideal for successional sowings through summer. Approx 1500 seeds.

Coriandrum sativum Hardy Annual. A popular aromatic herb. Organically grown coriander seed. Quick and easy to grow for lots of delicious leaves, perfect for salads and as a garnish or in authentic tasting stir-fries and curries. Height: 60cm Approx 100 seeds.

One of my favourite varieties along with the Romanesco. It's got a really creamy consistency and is great for making Zucchini Trifolati.

This is a black-skinned variety (actually the skin is such a dark green that it just looks black), hence its name 'Black of Milan'. We are used to seeing these 'black' types in Britain, but in Italy they are not used so much outside Milan.

A British-style cucumber with few spines and of mid length. Mid/early maturing, this is a very reliable variety to grow and a good eater

A good all-round borlotti bean. This variety is very reliable and each pod will contain about seven beans. Borlotti Beans In the UK we most often see borlotti beans in cans or dried, so when we grow them, we want to dry them.

These small, white, kidney-shaped beans are very similar to the French flageolet beans that are used in cassoulet. This is also made in the parts of Italy that border France and Switzerland, but with cannellini beans instead. They are super quality beans and indispensable in winter dishes.

Stringless green French bean 'Slenderette'. This variety is tender and tasty, easy to grow and dwarf.French beans are easy to grow.

Pancalieri is near Turin. This is a classic 'frisee' type of endive with serrated, tough leaves. They have a pleasant bitterness about them, which is tempered by using a nice sweet balsamic vinegar. They can be sown from June to end of September and harvested outside until the end of December.

One of the best for eating in salads as it has a large, blonde heart and is therefore very tender. They can be sown from June to end of September and harvested outside until the end of December, although they will usually overwinter in our mild UK climate.

Valeriana d'Olanda: A Dutch variety with larger leaves than the Cambrai. I very much like this one; if the Cambrai is restaurant quality, then this is garden quality, which is fine. The larger, fatter leaf gives it a meatier bite, but the colour is a less attractive lighter green than the Cambrai.

Carentan is a superb French leek, which is a late, medium-sized variety. It is resistant to low temperatures. Sow leeks 1 cm deep from March to May, allowing 5 cm between each plant. They are good winter-harvesting plants, only needing an air temperature of 10C for growth, once planted.

Lettuce Bionda Ricciolina: Very early maturing, this cutting lettuce produces beautiful soft lime-green leaves, held up by a crunchy rib at the back. The leaves are ruffled and can be sown from mid January to end of October. 'Cut and come again' variety.

Lettuce Salad Bowl: An early, reliable and very popular lettuce which is 'cut and come again'. Easy to grow. Sow from March to September. Grows quickly and adds colour to the salad bowl. Lettuces can have a very long sowing season and you can harvest them until the first hard frosts outside.