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Pea
Suttons Early Giant
Probably a strain of the well-known commercial variety Gradus, this pea dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Suttons 1940 catalogue description says, “Still holds its position as one of the ...
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Pea
Table Talk
Our donor was given this by a Yorkshire relative in 1940. He has been growing it ever since. A vigorous, thick-stemmed pea, known to climb 2.4-3m (sturdy supports are essential), with attractive ma...
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Pea
Twelve Acre
Our donor's family have grown this variety for at least three generations, since before 1890, and it has always been associated with Twelve Acre Farm, Eynsham, Oxfordshire. It produces tall, strong...
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Pea
Veitchs Perfection
Thought to have been developed by Veitchs Nurseries of Exeter and Chelsea, this variety is mentioned in Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary (1842 edition). It is a late variety producing vigorous plant...
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Pepper
Soror Sarek
Our donor picked up seeds of this variety in Croatia and passed on a sample to us. The large, heart-shaped, crunchy fruits start off pale jade (white when cooked) changing through pink, orange-red ...
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Radish
White Turnip
The earliest reference we can find for this radish is in Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary of 1842; it also appeared in John Forbes' Catalogue of Vegetable and Flower seeds in 1892. Produces slightly...
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Runner bean
Chapman's Purple
Named after our donor who was given seeds of this variety by a friend in Dorset. She knows very little about the history of the beans; however, they produce purple pods, which darken the longer the...
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Runner bean
Meesha
Donated to HSL in 2000 by Oldrich Misa, who spent 10 years developing this bean during the 1970s. The name 'Meesha' comes from the phonetic transcription of his surname. Produced commercially by As...
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Runner bean
Simm's Corsair
Named after our donor, who sent this variety to us in 2004. Over a period of six years, he had stabilised a cross between Red Knight and White Achievement and this variety is the result. It produce...
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Runner bean
Sunset
The one and only, truly original, pink-flowered runner bean, deleted from the National List in the early 2000s. Whilst not the heaviest cropping or earliest of varieties, Sunset most certainly dese...
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Stem lettuce
Asparagus
Originating in China and cultivated for its stem rather than its leaves. First described by Vilmorin-Andrieux (1885) when introduced to Europe, probably by missionary botanists working in China. Ha...
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Stem Lettuce
Yings
As the name suggests, cultivated for its stem. This variety was collected from an allotment in Coventry and is productive both outside and in the glasshouse. Its stems have a distinctive smoky flav...