What’s included in our descriptions?
For each included variety, we’ve written a detailed introduction summarising it’s key characteristics, as well featuring some additional advice, anecdotes and recommendations that we think will help gardeners get more out of growing! Choosing between varieties becomes far easier when the characteristics of each are carefully described, and the differences identified. Beetroots - for example - display a clear gradient in the balance between sweet and earthy tones. White varieties are the sweetest, followed by candy striped beetroot, red beetroots and yellow varieties (which are most earthy). All our descriptions are entirely unique, written by us specifically for this purpose, and not simply recycling tired seed-distributor summaries!
All our descriptions feature the following:
• Name of variety – Including synonyms or alternate aliases.
• Award of Garden Merit – Confirming whether or not (and when) this variety has received an RHS AGM.
• Origin – Whether the variety is a hybrid (F1) or heritage (Heirloom) variety. Attempts have also been made to identify the country and region of origin, and/or breeder.
• Description – Descriptions of the plant’s size, habit, form and spread at different stages of growth. Other characteristics such as leaves, pods, root and flowers are also identified and described.
• Cooking method – Most appropriate methods of cooking, and identification of any changes to colour/texture from the process.
• Growing – Earliest sowing month is identified, and number of days to germination/ total weeks to harvest are also given.
• Productivity – Expected size of the plant’s edible parts at the time of harvesting (or before maturity in some cases).
• Recipe – For each variety we’ve also suggested a recipe, usually based off of a unique merit it possesses.
• Comparison – The advantages of one variety over another also featured in the database is given.
• Alternatives – Potential alternatives in the event our suggestion cannot be obtained.
What other information do we provide?
In addition to our descriptions, each of our crop profiles also features a further fifteen identified values (explained in the following), to help make choosing your variety a quick and simple process!
• Reliability – Ranked as either “excellent”, “good” or “moderate”, this refers to how well a send germinates under unfavourable conditions (i.e. unseasonably cold or warm).
• Successional Sowing – Ranked as either “well suited”, “suited” or “unsuited”, this refers to how accommodating the crop/variety is to being left to stand without loss of quality, or whether the crop must be harvested promptly to rotate and introduce something new.
• Mixed Cropping – Ranked as either “well suited”, “suited” or “unsuited”, this refers to how compatible a crop/variety is to growing in combination with others. This will consider habit, form, nutritional demands and time taken to harvest – amongst other factors – and greatly assists with crop planning.
• Number of rows utilised – As our planters are all a standard size, each possesses an identical inner, middle and outer row. This allows users to control quantities, as well as pair crops that are suitable for mixed cropping.
• Number of plants (all rows) – The total number of individual plants present in a container at the time of harvesting. Number of plants per row can also be calculated using this.
• Number of days between sowing and germination – This figure represents the expected time elapsed between sowing and germination, and has been seasonally adjusted, wherever necessary.
• Number of weeks to harvest – This includes the number of days between sowing and germination, and accounts for the total weeks elapsed between sowing and harvest. We recommend pairing crops with comparable times together in a planter.
• Harvesting period – This is the number of weeks we suggest that a crop-variety should be picked for, but is only a recommendation. For instance, a whole container growing line-lettuce (when picked regularly) may last up to 12 weeks, and so needn’t necessarily be replaced after only 4!
• Produce unit – This is the most common unit by which the crop/variety is sold. For example, by weight, leaf or in packs.
• Cost per unit of produce – The value of the above in British Pounds Sterling (£). The price estimates are based from the closest comparable supermarket equivalent - for example, a pack of organic spinach (200 grams). While we have attempted to value crops grown at home fairly, there is in fact no real equivalency between these and those available from resellers because the mineral and nutritional value of freshly picked and prepared crops will be considerably greater than those which are stored, transported, displayed for sale and refrigerated before use!
• Value – This is an estimate of the total value of the crop, based on the total number of units produced over the harvest period. The value for those crops for which home-growing permits the whole of the plant to be consumed will be an under-estimate, and this includes (most notably) radish and beetroot leaves!
• Earnings per week – Calculated by divided crop value by the total number of weeks a crop occupies a planter within the growing season (1st March to 30th September).
• Value rating – This is a conversion of the earnings per week into a simple scoring: <£0.40 = 1, £0.40-£0.80 = 2, £0.81-£1.20 = 3, £1.21-£1.60 = 4 and > £1.60 = 5.
• Performance rating – Based off of a number of criteria, including:
• How readily the crop can be bought from re-sellers; Sarah Raven coined the great term “unbuyables” to describe these!
• Suitability of the crop/variety for growing in a container.
• Whether there is a clear difference in quality between home-grown and store-bought.
• Whether home-growing provides access to other parts of the crop, not normally available (fresh radish tops, for example).
• Overall score – A combination of the above, to aid the user in making overall comparisons.