Seeds on Trial

The three we are covering this month is Thompson and Morgan which was visited by a colleague and Moles Seeds in Colchester and Mr Fothergills near Newmarket.

So what are the Trials for? Tracy Collicott of Fothergills, told me that although they are important to show the press, they are not only for that reason. 'We quality score every growing variety for uniformity, number of colours, true to type and so we build up data over a period'. She added 'the lab is also important in quality control and to check germination - we wouldn't hesitate to pull a line if it wasn't up to our standards!' So I suppose that the truly beautiful display that is how Seed Trials appear to the layman is, in fact, a living laboratory!

Moles Seeds is a flat ground open to the elements down a small lane that connects the A130 with Stanway and Colchester called, appealingly, Turkey Cock Lane. It is, they say, the largest independent Trial site in Europe. At the time I visited we had experienced a drought and I was keen to see how the seeds, both the new innovations and the more established varieties, had coped with the harsh conditions.Moles Seeds told me that their Trials had been grown largely without watering apart from being watered in well in planting. As well as selling to the amateur, they have a considerable business in amenity seeds so many of these have to survive in harsh town and city environments with irregular watering - and still make a good display!

But I had to begin in the impressive Tomato Tunnel.

I had travelled some distance and I was very hungry and hot. The succulent looking fruits and no one else in the Tunnel proved too much of a temptation to me. I reasoned that it was my duty to taste the tomatoes for you, the reader and so I got stuck in. Imagine my horror when I realised that I could be seen stuffing my face as hard as I could from the greenhouse being used for refreshments by the rest of the press! But I can share with you that the tomato Summer Sweet, a plum, lives up to its name and Juliet is absolutely delicious. Golden Sweet is small, orange and very sweet but Nectar had to be the sweetest and had masses of fruit so I shall be looking to try some of them next year. Incidentally, the tomatoes were all grown in grow bags which looked very straightforward. Peter Wyatt, Area Sales for the West Country crept up behind me when I had my mouth full but I did manage to ask him what they were looking for in a new introduction. 'Good length of truss, even spread of good sized fruits and taste of course, to name a few points'. The old favourite Moneymaker, although still in the catalogue, is becoming outclassed by some of the up and coming varieties so it is worth trying some of the newer ones along with the proven friends. I really like the plum tomatoes too.

Moving on the to the herb bed, I had never before realised that Basils could be so interesting and I see I have marked them in my catalogue as 'must have'. The Cinnamon Basil does smell of cinnamon and the organic lime Basil is a smell so lovely that you must experience it for yourself. The lemon too I loved. But the look of the Basils was stunning with Green and Purple Ruffles, Red Dark Opal and Bush Basil. Near to these were the Parsleys which again are different to anything I expected. I'd like to try Gigante D'Italia/Hilmar, I've never seen anything like that before.

Bedding Plants are there to flower!

I had to look at the Bedding Plants where I met Stuart Donders. He repeated that the seeds had received no water (except when being watered in) and that there was no shelter on a clay soil. He also told me that bedding plants have been developed to just keep on flowering and I'd never thought about this before but it's true. I have some Petunias which I 'rescued' from a garden centre and they have flowered continuously all year.

The range and colour of the Petunias on show and what I would call Busy Lizzies was incredibly impressive as were the African and French marigolds. Ideal for smallholders to sell on as bedding plants or to make up hanging baskets.

Moles have a number of beds of cut flowers, some modern such as the fashion for sunflowers and some very traditional varieties such as Delphinium and even Antirrhinum which I haven't seen for ages. I really do want to expand my cut flowers next year to sell because, apart from anything else, I enjoy doing them. There was plenty more to see but I suggest you get a copy of Moles Seed catalogue for yourself and have a look. They are very helpful too if you want to ask questions.

So to Mr Fothergills.

The following week saw me at Mr Fothergills Trials which were verdant indeed. These had been well watered and it was really interesting to see the contrast and to see what seeds can do if you have the time and energy to really care for them in your garden at home. DT Brown and Johnsons new introductions also featured in this Trial.

Mr Fothergills had put together some suggested 'gardens' - plots measuring 12 foot square including a Back Yard 'veggie' plot which showed how to plant up a selection of vegetables which will not only feed a small family but also look attractive in the corner of a small garden. This included Kelsae onions, Chard Bright Lights, Basil (more of this later), Lettuce and leaves, the Courgette Endurances, Beetroot and even Mint. It really showed what you could do with even quite a small amount of land.

I resisted the lovely beds of flowers on display though the Sweet Peas looked exceptionally well and were still flowering well even at this time of the year. I decided to concentrate on the vegetables and the first one to catch my eye was the Carrot Harlequin Mix which is a new introduction. It was growing very vigorously and would make an ideal talking point for anyone's table. The Onions had also done very well with the huge Kelsae - one of which I later went on to win by guessing its weight correctly - and the attractive Red Baron. This time the tomatoes were grown outside which is what is so good about visiting these Trials. All the companies have a slightly different emphasis and go about things in their own way which gives the keen gardener plenty of opportunity to observe and learn. The Tomato Sun gold was doing very well and Nectar was doing equally well outside, though these grounds are more sheltered. All the tomatoes looked very well - apparently raised beds suit them very well too. Pot tomatoes which are container grown, were on display and there were several varieties including those in hanging baskets. If growing tomatoes this way they do need a lot of feeding. Courgettes, Squashes, Marrows and Pumpkins all looked well too with the eye-catching Courgette Golden Zucchini and the Squash Sunburst. Outside Melons too were doing very well and were a good size.

Salad Bowl Choice.

It was a good year for lettuces in our garden and the ones on trial were following that trend and came in hugely assorted colours, leaf types and even sizes. The choice in the salad bowl now is vastly increased from a few years ago and so easy to grow in the soil or in the container - which were also on show. Other leaves too such as Beetroot Bulls Blood, Romana Rossa and Radish Leaf were also interesting. Jessica Hawks who is Mail Order Manager told me 'We try and sell to amateur to the enthusiast. We have products for all garden sizes but we want to encourage the small gardener to try easy to grow vegetables such as salad leaves - from garden to table. You can choose your own salad leaves, so easy to do and no need to buy prepared. £2.00 will buy you seeds that would fill many, many supermarket packets!' Fothergills followed on their 'grow your own' theme by providing a lunch from the 'Taste of Suffolk' partners, locally sourced and grown food. The wine from Shawsgate Vineyard proved that England can and does grow good winemaking grapes and the Suffolk Cheese which comes from a herd of pedigree Guernseys and is creamy and delicious. Also from Suffolk were smoked fish from local fisheries, Essfoods dressings (one by the interesting name of Suffok Mud), organic meat from Longwood farm, Powters sausages made in Newmarket and of course Apple Juice, this one from Aspalls. It goes to show the range each county has of food from that region.

Again, catalogues are available by mail order or you can find Johnsons seeds in many shops and garden centres. The companies are happy to help you choose varieties and can answer technical questions - they just want your garden to be as productive and enjoyable as it can be.

Moles Seeds 01206 213213 sales@molesseeds.co.uk www.molesseeds.co.uk Mr Fothergill's Seeds Ltd 01638 552512 mailorder@mr-fothergills.co.uk www.mr-fothergills.co.uk D T Brown 0845 1662275 info@dtbrownseeds.co.uk