Our new Twitter competition, but you can enter otherwise please see below:

In the coming weeks we will be sending some of our seeds absolutely free to some lucky gardeners. Only one entry per person please. Every week we will pick a winner at random. Competition starts today as 22nd of August, and finishes on the 10th of October. Winners will be picked every Monday: the first winner on the  30th of August and the last one on the 11th of October. The price is 15 packets of seeds, picked at random by us, so please do not email us your wishes. You will be notified by email or by DirectMessage through Twitter, then you can send us your address where the seeds to be sent.

Please note we can send seeds only within the EU, so sorry for our Twitter followers outside the EU.

In order to enter through Twitter, make sure you include @seedparade or #seedparade in your tweet with, so we can track your entry. If you wish to follow us here is our Twitter account @seedparade. If you new to twitter you can sign up here and read about hashtags here. Alternatively you can enter on this page leaving a comment stating your favourite tomato variety, make sure you type in your email address correctly.

Free seeds for schools:

We offer free vegetable seeds to schools; please send an email to support at seedparade.co.uk; please write seeds for schools in the subject line of the email; stating what you are after and letting us know the address of the school, we will be able to send the free seeds only to the school address! Depending on popularity we will try our best to help every kid, primary schools are our main priority.

The tomato season is upon us and it is time to think about next years crop as well, not just enjoying the well deserved harvest. You can save your tomato seeds with a little work very easily. Open pollinated and heirloom varieties are most suitable to save the seeds, as the hybrid ones could not come true the next season, as being a hybrid they have been produced by crossing 2 different parent plants.

Getting the best seeds:

Choose the healthiest plants and the healthiest fruits to save the seeds from. Leave the fruits to ripen fully on the plant. The easiest to get your tomato seeds out to cut the tomato across the equator and scoop the seeds out into a small jar, bowl. The seeds protected by the jelly like liquid, this is what you have to get rid of nicely.

Smelly business:

What happens in nature is that the ripe tomato drops on the floor, the fruit rots while the seeds inside go through a fermentation process. This is what you have to speed up a little. Got rid of the flesh, great, now you can ferment the seeds a bit!

Poor a little water over the seeds, make sure you have the jelly bit as well, this will help the fermentation. Cover the jar with a paper towel, or plastic, if you use plastic make sure you make some wholes on it. Place the jar in a windowsill and leave it for 4-5 days. Preferably somewhere out of your way as during the process mould will form and the mixture will be quite smelly.

Separating the tomato seeds:

To get the seeds out of the horrible fermented liquid add lots of water to it and stir it well, often you will be able to remove the top of the mix before adding the water as it will become very mouldy and the seeds will sink on to the bottom of the jar. Let the tomato seeds sink to the bottom again after stirring the mix, and then pour the seed liquid mixture through a sieve and wash the seeds under running water.

Dry the tomato seeds on a plate on your windowsill, or anywhere dry. Make sure you don’t force the drying process by exposing the seeds to some heat. The seeds should be viable for quite a long time, 5-7 years. Store them in a cool and dry place.

Enjoy your tomato seed saving experience and have a great harvest over the weekend!

Growing beans is quite easy and rewards are fantastic. Being part of a vegetarian diet, beans are getting more popular year after year. You can grow runners, borlotto beans or french beans very easily even in smaller gardens, or the dwarf ones in pots on your patio or balcony. These beans need very similar conditions, while growing broad beans is completely a different matter.

Sowing:

For an earliest crop sow your bean seeds indoors at a minimum temperature of 15 Celsius, about three weeks before the last expected frost in your area. An ordinary all purpose compost is suitable for the beans, cover the seeds with as much compost as the the longest side of the seed. With other words sow the seeds as deep as big the seed is, this rule can be applied to any seeds in general.

If you growing lots of beans and do not have the space for sowing them indoors, sow the seeds outside when the temperature reaches around 15 Celsius during the day. If the seeds sown too early outside they can start rotting in the cold, wet soil. Normally late May or early June is the best time to sow outside, 15-20 cm apart. Germination takes 7-14 days, depends on variety and temperature of course.

Growing:

Runner beans and climbing french beans and borlotto beans need support. The usual choice is a wigwam especially in a smaller garden or allotment plot. Plant out the the bean plants when there is no frost expected in your area, one plant to each supporting cane. They will grow up on the poles nicely. If you grow a larger amount of beans than a twin row of canes are the perfect solution, as on the picture above. The climbing varieties are much more productive than the dwarf ones. Prepare your soil before planting out, dig a deep trench and put  in some fresh grass cuttings, shredded newspaper, then cover these and plant the beans on the top. This will provide some warmth and feed the plants as well.

Dwarf beans can be grown in larger pots, containers in your patio, or in rows about 15 cm apart.

Broad beans are ready to harvest now from an autumn sowing. These great long pods are from the Broad Bean Aquadulce, which is a very hardy variety, the standard for overwintering.

One great thing is about broad beans that they are ready to harvest in late May, when there is hardly any other veg available to pick, from an October sowing, and it is really satisfying to sow the broad bean seeds outside in the autumn. An other main reason is for the autumn sowing is to avoid the damage caused by black flies. These insects love to feed on the top of the broad beans and on the joints of the flowers, but with overwintering the plants you can easily avoid this, as the plants will flower and the pods will be ready sooner than the black flies can do any damage to the crop.
The advice is to pinch out the growing tips of the plants as soon as they are in full flower, this will help to avoid black fly attack and the plants will put their energy towards producing tastier and bigger pods rather than vertical growth.

Sowing:

Sow the broad bean seeds outside in the open ground in October-November for an early crop, under cloches in January or March-April. Alternatively the seeds can be sown inside in February and later transplanted out when the seedlings about 30 cm tall. Harden off the seedlings properly by keeping them outside during the day and putting them back inside for the night. Do this for 4-6  days before planting them outside to their final position. This is very important with the broad beans as the cold spells in March can easily damage the young, inside grown plants.
Sow the seeds in double rows 5 cm deep, 20-25 cm between the rows and leave 70-80 cm between the double rows. Plant them in blocks, this way the plants will protect each other from wind.

Growing:

Once the seeds sown the broad beans need no or little attention. Make sure they have enough water when in flower and keep them weed free. The only thing what you should do is to pinch out the growing tips when the plants are in full flower.
After harvesting the pods make sure you leave the roots in the soil as they contain plenty of precious nitrogen.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a culinary herb from the family Lamiaceae. Originally native to India where it is cultivated for thousands of years. Basil grows wild now in the Mediterranean and used mainly in Italian cuisine, salads, sandwiches. The Italian tomato dishes being so popular here in the UK it is a must to grow some basil together with your tomatoes.

Sowing the basil seeds

If you want to grow the herbs on your windowsill the best time is to sow is March. If you planning to transplant the plants outside later on or if you will grow the basil in an unheated greenhouse then wait until late April.
Sow the basil seeds into small, about 7 cm, pots or a seed tray or into bigger pots if you do not want to transplant them later on; 0.5cm deep. Keep the compost moist by watering from underneath, so the tiny seeds and seedlings will not be disturbed. Keep them at a temperature of 15 Celsius and above.

Transplanting the basil seedlings

When the plants are large enough to handle, 3-4 inches tall, you can prick them out carefully and transplant them into bigger pots, or why not try to grow them in a nice windowbox. Creating a herb windowbox will add a nice scent and a useful feature to your patio area.

Growing basil successfully require plenty of sunshine and warmth. If you plant the basil outside make sure that you choose the sunniest location in your garden. The plants like a bit of dry condition and lots of sunshine. This will help to bring out the best flavour possible from your basil plants.
Growing them around the tomato plants is a common practice by many gardener. Leave about 10cm between the plants, so they have plenty of space to mature.

If the basil plants wilted from lack of water they will recover fairly quickly when watered properly. Make sure that the leaves do not get much water as water on the leaves can encourage fungal diseases to appear on the plants.

Harvesting

You can start using the basil leaves quite early, gently pinch the biggest leaves when the plants are about 15cm tall. Do not cut the whole stem as this will stop the plant growing. When the plants grow to 20-30cm tall you can pinch out the growing tip to encourage the plants to grow more bushy. Remove any flowers as they appear, this will help the plants to concentrate their energy on growing more delicious leaves.

The different blend of essentials oils (most important is the eugenol in the sweet basil) are responsible for the different taste of the many basil varieties. The most common Mediterranean variety is the Sweet Genovese.

Most of us enjoy the basil in tomato based Italian dishes. Add the fresh leaves only at the last moment as the cooking will destroy the flavour of the basil. The dried basil looses most of its flavour too, if you want to store basil leaves your best choice is freezing. Just place a bunch of leaves into a small plastic bag and pop it into the freezer.
If you have a sunny windowsill or a heated greenhouse you can enjoy this lovely culinary plant, called by many as the king of herbs, from March to October.



Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis), often called English or garden marigold is most probably native to southern Europe, although its long cultivation history can shade this statement. Commonly grown in every Mediterranean countries and here in the UK too, for centuries.

Marigolds grown as hardy annual flower and can easily self sown so don’t be surprised to have the plants appear the next year. The leaves are oblong, 5-10 cm long, slightly waved or toothed and have tiny hairs.

Cultivated as a flower in many garden, but can be a really useful herb. The seeds can be sown directly outdoors in May, or propagated in the greenhouse from April. The beautiful seedlings alone worth growing these wonderful plants.

The leaves and the petals are edible and used widely in cosmetics, medicines. Pot marigold is a well known and really versatile herb in herbal medicine. It is, above all, a remedy for skin problems and is applied externally to bites and stings. The cosmetic industry uses the extracts in different cosmetics, because the content of saponins and essential oils. The flowers and the leaves are antiseptic. The flowers are used fresh or dried. For drying the petals is best to harvest the flowers when they are fully open. The edible yellow dye in the petals is a saffron substitute and used to colour and flavour rice and soups. The leaves can be used in salads when young.

Pot Marigolds are pungently scented and attract hoverflies (aphid eaters) to your garden. Commonly grown as a companion plant with tomatoes and the marigold will repel the white flies which cause problems in many greenhouses.

Sweetcorn is a popular vegetable to grow in every allotment, garden in the UK.  The supersweet and sugar enhanced F1 varieties are the most popular for their really sweet taste and ease of growing them even for a beginner. The cobs are much tastier than the supermarket ones, as the sugar turns to starch rather quickly after picking.

Sowing the sweetcorn seeds:

The best time is to start sowing the sweetcorn is middle of April.  Sow the seeds inside in small, about 7cm pots or in those larger seed cells 2cm deep, 1 or 2 seeds per pot. Using ordinary compost is fine. Sweetcorn seeds ideally need a temperature of 15 Celsius and above to germinate successfully.

The seeds can be sown directly outside from middle of May, but be prepared to loose some plants this way as mice and birds can find the seeds easily in the soil. Raising the sweetcorn inside is much recommended and it’s really worth the extra work.

Transplanting:

Before transplanting the seedlings outside make sure that you acclimatize them to the outdoor conditions. This is easily done by leaving the plants outside for the day and putting them back inside for the night. Do this for 3-5 days before planting out in middle of May.

Sweetcorn needs a well dug, rich soil. Dig in plenty of home made compost or well rotted manure a month before planting out.  Grow the plants in blocks, leaving 40-50 cm between the plants. This will help with the pollination, it is done by the wind in the sweetcorn’s case, and the plants protect each other from the wind too.  If you have only limited space you can grow smaller veggies between the plants, like dwarf beans, lettuce.  Water the plants in dry spells, especially when flowering.

Harvesting:

Test the kernels before picking your sweetcorn, if the juice is sort of creamy and the kernels are soft then the cob is ready to be picked. Normally they ready when the silk is turned brown and just starting to shrivel.

Cook your cobs as soon as possible to avoid the sugar turning starch. Hmm… best on a hot barbeque straight on the plot!

Sowing the leek seeds:

The seeds can be sown inside in the winter if you want crops in the autumn, however it is most common to sow in early spring indoors or later on directly outside. Sow the seed in a seed tray or in seed cells about 1cm deep in fine seed compost, it will help to separate the seedlings later on without damaging the fine roots. Outdoor sowings can be done in a well prepared seedbed if you wish to transplant the plants or directly to their permanent position. If you sow the seeds directly it will take the hassle out of transplanting the fragile seedlings later on, which is preferred by many gardeners. Germination can take 2-3 weeks. After the seedlings appear start thinning them out, leaving about 5cm between the plants. Later on, if sown in a permanent bed, thin the plants to 20-25cm apart.

Transplanting:

A more traditional way is to transplant the seedlings from an earlier indoor sowing, into a well prepared bed. This is normally done in June, when the seedlings 17-23 cm tall. Make 12-15 cm deep holes, slightly trim the leaves (this is to compensate for any root damage during transplanting) and place the seedlings gently into the whole, setting each plant so that its leaves lie along the row not across it. That way you will be able to hoe between the rows more easily without damaging the leaves. Do not fill the holes with soil, just gently water the plants in regularly. Water the seedlings well in the first few days and when there is a dry spell.

Our sweet peas are proving to be very popular. Especially the heirloom mix varieties like our best ever selling  highly scented heirloom mixture of sweet pea. This mixture of peas are specially selected for their perfumed blooms. You can enjoy them in your allotment, garden or even on your patio area. Yes indeed, it is possible to grow them near your house and the strong stems make a great cutting flower too.

Most gardeners sow the sweet peas in March, unless you are a really serious sweet pea lover and sown them in the autumn, but the spring being so late it is not late to sow them at all this month. After a couple of weeks the seedlings should look like these above and by the beginning of May, you will be able to transplant the sweet pea seedlings outside to their final position. So why not give it a go and make your garden nicely perfumed over the summer months.

Lobelia seeds are very tiny, rather dust-like, but do not be scared, it is easy to sow and grow them. Actually one of the easiest annual flower and the rewards of the shiny flowers are really worth the try to grow these beauties in your garden. If you have hanging baskets around your house or shed, then in those you can grow the trailing varieties, like our cascade mix. The bush varieties mostly used in borders, smaller garden tubs or why not try your favourite biscuit’s tin to grow lobelia in.

Sowing:

Sprinkle the lobelia seeds on the surface of a good seed compost and do not cover the seeds with anything, the lobelia seeds need light to germinate. Gently firm the compost down after you sprinkled the seeds. Keep the seed trays, pots at a temperature of 18-24 Celsius. The germination can take 14-20 days. Sow the seeds from February onwards, generally about 7 weeks before you want to transplant the seedlings. Placing the seeds into a polythene bag can aid germination by keeping the seeds warm and moist. Water the lobelia seeds always from the bottom, so the water will not disturb the tiny seeds.

Transplanting:

When the seedling are large enough to handle transplant them into medium sized pots, tubs, baskets  in bunches of 5-10, it is really not an easy task to transplant all the little plants individually and there is no need to do that. Many gardeners just sow the seeds into the tubs they want to grow the flowers in and later just thin the seedlings as it is necessary. Gradually acclimatize the plants to outdoor conditions before planting them outside after all the risk of frost has passed in your area. Be careful not to brake the plants, but do not worry too much as you will have more than enough as we offer a large number of seeds at low price. Lobelias like a moist, rich soil, and a shady location.

Dumping off is a common disease of the lobelia seedlings. It is a fungal disease and it rots the stems by the soil surface. To avoid this problem you can improve the circulation in the greenhouse, make sure you water the plants from the bottom, do not wet the foliage and avoid temperature fluctuation as much as possible.