Specialist Tuscan Fruit Trees

FT7 Strawberry Quattro Stagioni

Fruits twice a year. Large fruit. @400 seeds. Sow Jul-Aug. £3.29

FT8 Watermelon Charleston Gray Long variety. Juicy and sweet red flesh. Sow Mar -Apr. @180. £2.99

FT9 Watermelon Crimson Sweet

Thick skin with sweet flesh. Round. @40. Sow Mar-Apr. £2.99

FT10 Watermelon Asahi Miyako Japanese hybrid. Early with mid small fruit. @10. Sow mid Mar-Apr. £3.29

FT11 Yellow Watermelon Janosik

Polish variety with yellow flesh for greenhouse. @40. Sow Feb- Apr. £3.29

FT12 Melon Zatta of Padua

Called “Brutto ma Buono”, or Ugly but good. Scalloped, scaley skin, but sweet orange flesh from Padua. Described by Giacomo Castelvetro in 1614 in his book “The Fruits, herbs and vegetables of Italy”. @30 seeds. Sow Feb - Jun. £2.99

Tuscan Olive Trees ‘Olea Europaea Frangivento’ and Lemon ‘Citrus Limone’

Directly from Pistoia, we are really pleased to offer you some cracking olive trees “Olea Europaea Frangivento” which are hardy enough to stay outside in a sheltered UK garden (frangivento means wind break!) due to their provenance, subjected to bitter winters from the surrounding Apennine mountains. The trees are from an 80 year old professional grower and have been fully virus checked. At the moment we offer 3 sizes but we’re happy to quote for larger trees and also Tuscan Citrus. London and home counties but please call if outside this area.

OTS1 5 litre small £22.99 Approx 80cm tall OTM2 Standard £39.99 Approx 1.10m tall Larger trees available on request

LEM1 - Tuscan Lemon trees £56. 1 metre tall.

What to Sow and when

When you pull something up, you should put something in, with the exception of December and January which are very lean months. Yet we are not always the best at sowing outside of Spring. This list should help you make the most of your plot and below a corp rotation chart to help get the best out of your soil.

SPRING (February - May). The classic time for sowing vegetables and other crops.

Vegetables: Asparagus, basil, chard, artichoke, cardoon, carrot, cucumber, gherkin, cutting chicory, chilli, spring onion, beans, broad beans, lettuce, aubergine, melon, peppers, peas, tomato, leek, parsley, radish, rocket, salsify, spinach, celeriac, lambs lettuce, pumpkin, courgette, sweetcorn, squash, strawberry, coriander, fennel, beetroot, celery, chickpea, garlic, lentil, agretti, dandelion, tarragon, lavender, marjoram, rue, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, chervil, rosemary, lemon balm, mushroom spawn.

Flowers: Ageratum, alyssum, aster, bel de nuit, calendula, campanula, celosia, cornflower, carnation, lobelia, morning glory,phila, margherita, nasturtium, forget-me-not, portulaca, salvia, delphinium, statice, marigold, zinnia, aquilegia, gazania, sunflower.

SUMMER (June – August). Often overlooked, there are a wealth of varieties to sow at this time of year including all leaves and all brassicas

Vegetables: Basil, chard, carrot, all brassicas – cauliflower, pac choy, cabbage, savoy, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cima di rapa (broccoli raab), kohl rabi, cavolo nero kale, lettuce, chicory, fennel, beans, endive, escarole, parsley, rocket, turnip, salsify, baby spinach, NZ spinach, beetroot, thyme, chervil, cress, oregano, rhubarb, rosemary, agretti, mushroom spawn. Flowers: pansy, portulaca, forget-me-not, primula, cyclamen, lavender, campanula, aster, ornamental cabbage, dwarf nasturtium, morning glory.

AUTUMN / WINTER (September – November). These are the cold loving varieties and because Franchi are based in the Alps, we have a lot of varieties used to much colder and wetter conditions.

Vegetables: Broad bean, pea, alpine lettuce, artichoke, lamb’s lettuce, radicchio, rocket, parsley, onion, garlic, snow pea, spinach, radish, marjoram, rhubarb, chervil. Flowers: Gypsophila, lupin, daisy, pansy, cyclamen, delphinium.

Chard

Carrot

Cabbage

Cucumber

Chicory Beans

Fennel

Endives

Lettuce

Aubergine

Melons

Peppers

Peas

Tomatoes

Leeks

Parsley

Radish

Spinach

Corn Salad

Courgette