JungleSeeds

Perilla, or sometimes called Shi-So, is a very popular herb in Japan and many other Asian countries. Young leaves and flowering shoots are used for cooking and pickling because of their aromatic flavour. This lovely red leafed form grows best under full sun or partial shading. A lovely plant which you can use to give herbal interest to your border or colour interest to your herb garden as they look a bit like coleus . The leaves have quite a strong aroma and flavour of cinnamon.

Tomatillo a native of Mexico, is a relative of the tomato, eggplant and pepper. As a traditional part of Mexican cooking, tomatillos are found in stews, moles and salsas. They are seldom used whole, and are often pureed. Its texture is firmer than a tomato and it tastes like a tangy lemon. On the outside, the 2” sized vegetable is bright green. On the inside, it’s considerably lighter. Its seeds are fine and edible. Growing tomatillos is like growing tomatoes, only easier. The tomatillos grow inside a papery husk. The husk helps to protect the fruit should a light frost occur. When the fruit has grown to nearly fill its husk, it’s ready to harvest. Make sure they’re picked before the fruit turns yellow, otherwise the fruit’s tangy flavour will be lost.

Cisineros is an incredibly large tomatillo that is easily twice the size of most tomatillos. Apple-green fruits which have a papery husk that splits open as the tomatillos mature and turn yellow-green. Use in the bright green stage for a tart flavour, or allow to ripen further for a sweeter taste. Huge size makes this tomatillo really special. Crops in 75 days from planting

A uniquely coloured tomatillo that is enjoyed for the sweet yet tart flavour it gives Mexican dishes. These small fruit form inside papery husks and begin as pale green, then ripen to a rich, deep purple. Vigorous and productive plants.

This giant cultivated form is native to Brazil but long ago became naturalized in the highlands of Peru and Chile and became identified with the region. Best grown as an annual crop in the UK sown in Feb/Mar but it is perennial by nature and not frost tolerant. Plants grow 2 to 3ft with bell-shaped, nodding yellow flowers forming in the leaf axils. After the flower falls, the calyx expands, forming a straw-colored husk surrounding the fruit, which take 70 to 80 days to mature. The tangy, tasty fruit is a berry with smooth, waxy, orange-yellow skin and juicy pulp containing numerous very small yellowish seeds. The plants need regular watering, in a well drained soil in a hot sunny position planted outside in June, or pot grown in the greenhouse. Do not fertilise as they do best in poor soil. The tasty fruit is often dipped in melted chocolate as a special treat!

Have a go and see how big you can grow a pumpkin. This variety regularly produces 400 lb. pumpkins with a record weight of  over 1000 lbs.! I have even heard that in hot weather the vine can grow 3ft over night! You will need a big warm plot for one of these and some rich manure dug in. Note this variety is much larger than "Hundredweight" that has had a lot of publicity lately.

Perfect for Halloween with the right size, skin colour and quality, but also good for eating. You can expect pumpkins to weigh about 5kg to 7kg. Why not let the kids have a go at growing them for Halloween?

A unique white coloured pumpkin capable of 3kg to 4kg weight and perfect for decoration with its smooth uniform skin. Medium to late maturity and popular with interior design enthusiasts.

Popular as a colourful vegetable addition and a mainstay of prepared leafy salads. Crop useful over a long period and can be used as loose leaves or complete heads.

This very unusual heirloom radish traces its history back to  the 16th Century, unlike other varieties, which are typically a shade of red or white, the Black Spanish Round Radish features stunning black roots with a crispy milky white interior. The roots are a globe shaped, reach 3" to 4" across and feature a crispy white flesh with a pungent, peppery taste, that becomes milder when larger. An excellent winter keeper and may be left in the ground and covered with hay or straw mulch for protection from freezing if sown in the autumn. Can also be sown in spring for a summer crop. Another unusual vegetable seen on one of Jamie Olivers cooking programs recently.

A fast growing oval shaped radish with a white tip. Vigorous and quick to produce a crop

The sesame plant is an erect tropical annual from Africa. It grows to 6ft with oblong or lanceolate hairy leaves and displays pretty white to light rose foxglove like flowers. It belongs to the most nutritious of all seeds and a pretty pot plant for a sunny conservatory position. The seeds, small and flattened, are used for the flavouring of bread. Grow as an annual crop starting off in pots before planting out in a hot sunny position. Harvest when the plants turn brown and dry. Each plant produces 15 to 20 pods and each pod contains about 100 seeds.

A perennial tropical vine from the cucumber family, producing 1-2 ft long brownish fruits, which are yellow inside and eaten raw or used in preserves. The fruit also has a sweet scent like a ripe melon. Grow as a fast growing novelty annual. In tropical regions it will cover and often smother 50ft tall trees and is often grown as an ornamental as well as for fruit. Flowers are aromatic yellow to 2".

An annual hybrid berry developed as a cross from Huckleberry but with a much sweeter flavour and larger up to 1/2" diameter. Grow like a tomato in rows planted outside after all frosts have passed. The berries are produced very early even on 6" plants but take a while to ripen. The green berries are slightly poisonous and should only be harvested when black and non shiny. Eaten raw there is next to no flavour but when cooked it develops into a taste superior to blueberries. Best for pies, jam and jellies.

Cool, short summers don't suit most soya beans - they need heat, water and humidity to do well. But this new, hardier variety 'Black Jet' is one of the best to grow in the UK in a poor summer. The black beans can be eaten raw with drinks and have a deliciously creamy, pistachio-like taste. To cook the beans boil the pods in unsalted or salted water for 10 minutes and then shell the beans inside, simply by squeezing beans out of the pods, for eating. The cooked or uncooked pods can be stored in the freezer for later uses and cooked with meat or mixed with other vegetables for various dishes. Grows to 2ft with white flowers.

This edible soybean, called Edamame, is grown mainly to harvest the young green-shelled beans for vegetable uses, but not for the matured soybean crops. Plants grow best in warm climates but poorly in cold conditions so a warm position will be needed. Harvesting is like peas, all at the same time, so a staggered sowing can be an advantage. Expect only 2 to 3 beans per pod. To cook Edamame, boil the pods in unsalted or salted water for 10 minutes and then shell the beans inside, simply by squeezing beans out of the pods, for eating. This is the Japanese way to enjoy Edamame and excellent for snacks and appetizers. The cooked or uncooked pods can be stored in the freezer for later uses and cooked with meat or mixed with other vegetables for various dishes.

Seed raised Strawberries have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly as these are mainly runner free. Temptation has large, luscious, fruit produced early in the season on first year, virtually runner free plants. They crop almost continuously from mid-summer through to the first frosts. An ideal Patio or hanging basket plant. For the earliest crops an autumn sowing is advisable, but a marketable crop can be grown from a mid-winter sowing.

An unusual bicoloured white/yellow main season variety with high quality cobs of an excellent sweet flavour. Attractive, 8 1/2" ears with 16 rows of kernels bursting with flavour. Great for freezing. 5'-6' plants. Good cool soil germination and quick 71 days to Maturity.

Main season variety with high quality long cobs of an excellent sweet flavour. 16 to 18 rows per cob and these are high yielding plants and considered one of the worlds best gourmet sweet corns.

An unusual sweet corn developed by the Hopi Indians renowned for its sweet and distinctive blue cornmeal. Excellent for eating fresh while the kernels are tender just as they start to turn from white to blue, but used dry for blue corn chips, blue flour etc. Also used for decoration. Bushy 5 foot plants produce 7 inch ears and are quite nutritious. What upsets me most is that they are really delicious but all of our own trial crops have to be turned into seed for resale and my wife won't let me eat them!!

A huge edible American sweetcorn variety to 16ft tall with massive 2ft cobs. Grows really fast which the kids will love and easy to germinate. Start off in pots in the warm then plant out after any frost danger has passed. Although very strong plants they may need staking in a windy position.

A rainbow mix of hybrid vigorous sweet bell peppers in ivory, yellow, orange, red, lilac, purple, and chocolate. Each colour has its own distinctive flavour! Uniform harvest time and superb disease resistance.

A unique lavender coloured sweet pepper that eventually matures to a bright crimson. The large 3-4 lobed fruits are 4.5" by 3.5" and what a fantastic colour to add to your salad plate!

It is possible to grow sweet potatoes in the UK given a very warm dry sunny position and somewhere under heated glass to give them a start, providing that you do not expect any sort of bumper harvest! More for fun and interest but I would welcome feedback on your success. We enclose a leaflet with each order as each sweet potato can provide numerous plants or "slips" if you follow our instructions. (Please note that we automatically add an additional £1 P&P to your seed order if it includes this item to allow for the extra shipping weight.)

Picture shows a typical village sweet potato patch in a tropical location.

Strictly a vegetable but with colour and form that looks striking in a mixed Tropical Border. Bright Lights includes a stunning colour range of Gold, Red, Pink and White. Excellent as a lettuce substitute if you pick the emerging young leaves, with the benefit of a crop source that lasts all summer and into the winter.

Strictly a vegetable but with colour and form that looks striking in a mixed Tropical Border. We now offer both the Red form and the Yellow after finding an improved seed source. These plants are sometimes used for tropical effect within Wisley’s summer bedding.

A bright yellow form of this versatile vegetable but with colour and form that looks striking in a mixed Tropical Border.

The best part of this large, crack-free tomato is its absolutely superb flavour. Bright red, firm, meaty fruits often weighing 1/2kg or more, and smooth, blemish-resistant skins. If you fancy trying to grow beefsteak tomatoes you have to try this one first.