I recently placed my first order with New Gippsland Seeds, and was really pleased with the parcel that arrived!
This seed company has been in business for nearly ninety years, and their catalogue was full of plants that we’ve been trying to track down for ages. I don’t know if any of these will grow in our backyard, but it’s nice to be able to experiment.
The photos below are taken from Wikipedia and other sources (all credited), as we obviously haven’t grown these plants yet, but I wanted to show you what we’re hoping for. I’ve included pics of the seed packets too, so you can see the details of each plant.
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Hamburg Turnip Rooted Parsley
(photo credit: Wikipedia)These seeds are actually for our neighbour June, who has been on a long search for the parsley grown as a root vegetable that she grew up eating in Hungary. I’ve never seen anything like it – apparently it’s quite different from the overgrown continental parsley roots that we occasionally pull out of the garden beds.
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Burdock
(photo credit: newasiancuisine.com)
Another vegetable that I’ve never tried, and this time the seeds are for my mum and Maude, both of whom love this stick like root. It’s quite commonly used in Asian soup recipes (there’s more information here). Pete’s not sure where we can grow these in the backyard (as they need quite a while to grow, and that doesn’t fit into the chook rotation schedule), so I might be passing the seeds on to Maude.
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Celeriac
Ever since I bought a magnificently fresh example of this root vegetable at Eveleigh Markets, I’ve been pestering Pete to add it to our garden. It was absolutely delicious mashed with potato!
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Mini White Cauliflower
I’m the only one in the house who will eat cauliflower, so it made sense to try this mini variety. I love the notion that each head would be enough for a single meal, but this was quite expensive seed, as there were only 15 seeds in the packet (as opposed to 100 to 200 for standard cauliflower)…
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Snake Beans
(photo credit: Wikipedia)My all-time favourite bean! I adore them fried simply with garlic and oyster sauce. We’ve never tried growing them before…
We also bought a packet of mixed dwarf beans to try…
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Super Gem and Somerwood Peas
Super Gem was the variety I was trying to buy last year, when the lovely Lynn sent me Willow peas to plant instead. It’s surprisingly difficult to buy powdery mildew resistant pea seed, but both the Super Gem and Somerwood packaging clearly state that’s what they are. Pete was astonished at the quantity of seed we received – there were 350 peas in each $3.50 packet!
I would love garden beds filled with peas, perennial leeks and self-sown broccoli – we could happily fill our daily vegetable quota on just those three varieties alone! We’ll have to wait though, as it’s too late in the season now to plant peas…
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I’m pretty excited to have new things to plant in the garden – hopefully they’ll all grow well!
If you’re a fan of seed catalogues (as we’ve become in recent years), you might enjoy reading this extensive one from New Gippsland Seeds. If you’re printing it out though, make sure you have your reading glasses, as the font is pretty small!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Dandelion & Burdock is one of my favourite soft drinks.
Peter, thank you – I’ve always thought of Burdock as an Asian root, but of course I should have remembered from all the David Attenborough and River Cottage episodes that I’ve watched that it’s a mainstay in the UK! I’ve now passed the seeds to Maude – she has much deeper beds than we do (hers are raised), and the burdock needs a very deep soil to grow in.
What fun, such promise in those packets, I love seed catalogues too. We grew kohlrabi this year and some zebra beans that were very productive. I made a carpaccio of kohlrabi, apple, carrot and sheepskin cheese last night. Brian is a big dandelion and burdock fan too. Looking forward to seeing your seeds grow :)
Jo, our yard is awash with purple kohlrabi at the moment – we love it and opted to grow it instead of cabbage this year. Young kohlrabi julienned and fried is tender and very sweet, and the chooks eat all the leaves. We’ve just bought seeds for white kohlrabi as well!
did I really write sheepskin? Can’t blame the auto spell checker for that one… sheespmilk I meant (doh)
What a lovely and compelling array of seeds. I will enjoy reading about their journey in your garden. Everyone was won over to cauiflower, once I began roasting it with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Hi Deb, thanks for stopping by! If the caulis grow, I’ll try them roasted. Personally, I adore them fried in oyster sauce and garlic!
So interesting. I’ve brought a whole stash of packets back from the UK – mainly herbs but also some salad you can grow inside (sometimes it’s too hot outside!) A reminder to plant soon…as soon as it cools down a little more. Can’t wait to see how your garden grows.
Sally, it must take some cleverness to grow in such a hot climate! I’ll be sure to take photos as things (hopefully) grow..
Oh how very exciting Celia! Looking forward to seeing how they all do.
I have just taken out all my seeds for my herbs to be planted tomorrow – nothing exciting or new in my collection, just all the usual.
Have a super week.
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy! We’ve just planted basil as well – all the other herbs seems to be perennial or self-seeding! Hope you have a wonderful week too! :)
Oooh, how exciting. Even though I’ve grown nothing in my garden this year, I did manage some things a couple of years ago, but I’m sorry to admit that my favourite part of it all was browsing through the seed catalogues and deciding what I wanted to order! Yours look really interesting! I really must follow your example and try much harder with my garden next year. My problem is that I’m a fair weather gardener (hate the cold) and there isn’t much fair weather round here!!!
Can’t wait to see the fruits of your seeds and labour!
C, I agree, seed catalogues are like fabric shops for quilters – just oodles of promise, and I’m sure we all buy more than we ever sew/sow! :)
We’ve just planted the bean seeds – 10 from the assorted dwarf beans, and 10 of the snake beans. The celeriac is being started indoors in jiffy pots, as is the cauliflower!
Happy growing :)
Thanks Cindy! :)
What a great variety, you should have fun with those. I’ve been after Spaghetti Squash seeds, so I’ll check out the catalogue too.
Yesterday I got some punnets of purple asparagus, I just wish it wasn’t 2 years until harvesting :(
Becca, just found it – on the bottom left of page 6 of the catalogue:
1608 – Vegetable Spaghetti: The Marrow like
fruit produces long spaghetti like strands when cut
which makes an excellent low calorie spaghetti
substitute. Packets only: 15 seeds: $3.50.
Our asparagus are growing well, but I have no idea how many years until we can harvest them!
Asparagus, you can harvest for a week at year three, and then longer each year after that.. I have 500 plants in year 4 next spring! What a fabulous collection of seeds , I love those really long beans, makes me think that i have been too pedestrian with my choices, so i shall see how yours go and then make a few changes to my gardens next year.. thank you for showing us.. c
Cecilia, 500 plants is amazing! We have seven.. :)
I adore snake beans, have since I was little. My mum used to cook them every week for me whenever they were in season!
Lots of lovely things to emerge in your garden down the track Celia!
Fingers crossed, Brydie! :)
i’m looking forward to seeing what lovely vegetables your seeds produce..you must have a large vegetable garden to accommodate so many great varieties..at the moment i really only have room for the summer basics..beans, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumber..but they give me great joy nevertheless..
i’m was excited to find that ‘new gippsland seeds’ has two varieties of dandelion seeds listed in their catalogue..the beauty of dandelion is that it is a ‘cut and come again’ green so it’s not very labour intensive..so thanks for the link celia..
Jane, last year we dug up our entire back lawn and converted it to seven large round garden beds. It’s nice not to have to mow it anymore, and the kids are too big for backyard cricket these days.. :)
Hope you have as much fun with the catalogue as I did!
contrary to popular gardening styles i have my vegetables out the front of my house and it’s amazing how many people comment on it as they are passing..even cool looking young men stop and say how good it looks..the lovely comments demonstrate to me how ingrained a productive garden is in our psyche..
Celia, How does your garden grow? Because mine doesn’t!
I’ll keep trying but nice to see that a backyard veggie garden can happen ;)
Lien, I honestly think it has to do with the chooks! They do all the digging and rotorvating and manuring for us! We’re reasonably new at the gardening thing, but everyone tells me it has to do with water and soil quality, and if you have both of those right, most things will grow…
Red seeded snake beans!!! They’re so hard to get. Mine are saved seed from years, and I’d love to introduce some new genes. What a good find. Thanks!
Linda, there’s a real treasure trove in that catalogue – I found a few varieties of virus free tomatoes as well. I didn’t order them since we have so many toms growing indoors at the moment, but it’s nice to know they’re available. I’d love to know if you find anything else unusual in there that you think is worth trying!
I love seed catalogues and have gotten quite carried away in years past, buying up big and sowing madly. Unfortunately I’ve rarely managed to actually grow anything at all from seed, so have now accepted my limitations.
Good luck with this very interesting looking haul!
Thanks Amanda! After our first year we’ve figured out that some things grow really well in our backyard (basil, broccoli, kohlrabi, beets, eggplant) and other things really struggle (cabbages, capsicums, zucchini). Hopefully we can keep refining our mix until we get one we’re really happy with. In the meantime, it’s nice to experiment! :)
I have had success with snake beans here on the Central Coast but find that it is necessary to plant later in the season when it is truly warm (unlike yesterday when it was 12C and we had 100mls of rain!). They are much more heat tolerant that french beans.
I usually buy seeds from Eden seeds so I will have to check New Gippsland Seed out.
Bronwyn
Bronwyn, thank you! We might have put the snake beans in too soon, but I’ve still got quite a few left so we can try again if this batch don’t work. Snake beans are very popular in tropical Asian countries, so I’m not surprised they’re more heat tolerant! I haven’t had much luck with Eden Seeds, the few we’ve bought from them haven’t germinated!
How exciting Celia! I can’t wait to see them all succeed. I’ve never even heard of that type of parsley before. Seems like a very efficient plant though if you can eat both parts of it.
Claire, the parsley was how I found this company in the first place. June’s been looking for these seeds for thirty years, so I was so excited to see them on Gardening Australia that I had to go searching for them!
I was wondering about that after making a hungarian recipe with Parsley Root and it was the one thing that didn’t really help the dish (too fibrous and chewy). So that explains it!!!
Have had limited success with snake beans in Sydney, but it’s definitely worth a try. I must try the powdery mildew free peas…
Thanks for the new seed seller website!!! Haven’t tried them before :-)
Growing up my mum always made cream of celeriac soup. I also like it mashed with a bit of mustard for flavour. So fun to see your seeds and plants as we head into autumn here.
Em, I’m keen to grow celeriac, but I’m not sure how it will grow in our yard. But it’s such a delicious vegetable!
I granted you the “Versatile Blogger Award”
Have Fun
paul
Thanks Paul! :)
We’ve just planted out carrots, tomatoes, baby cucumber & basil. Big pots of perennial basil by my back door, I just love the fragrance as you brush by it.
I was so excited to see your post this morning I had been chasing down some seeds, so instead of painting I think I will browse the seed catalogue.
Enjoy planting Celia, and I look forward to watching your garden grow …. Suz
Suz, I’ve never heard of perennial basil before! Thanks for the headsup! :)
Some of those I have never seen!
Cin, a few are new to me too! I’ve only just read about them!
Ooh, snake beans are on my garden planting list this year too! Green beans work in a Thai curry but snake beans are best!
That parsley root looks interesting though I would be at a loss as to how to use it in a meal!
Shelley, I’ll ask June, I think she uses it like a turnip or swede. Snake beans really are the best!
What an amazing assortment of seeds, Celia! I’m looking forward to seeing how they all grow. Burdock needs a lot of room as the leaves are so big.
I love to read and look at the pictures in seed catalogues. Some are very interesting. I receive several and then have an awfully hard time with figuring out my orders!
I’m cleaning out the garden, so your garden will be my inspiration during the long winter months here.
Manuela, I’ve passed on the burdock seed to Maude, so hopefully she can get some growing. Will be sure to take photos – of both those that work and those that don’t! :)
Hi Celia,
It is a bit late in the month to send you an IMK but I have finally finished the first page of my blog! Thanks for the inspiration. I have found your posts so informative and enjoyable.
Christine
Christine, congratulations on the new blog! It looks wonderful!
I’m so impressed with your seed choice, Celia!
I’ve never heard of snake beans, but I’d sure like to try them.
The root parsley is perfect for soups- better than parsnips- much more flavorful!
And celeriac is one of my most favorite vegetables!
I’m looking forward to see your gardens grow!
Heidi, snake beans are my all-time hands down favourite! I hope the celeriac grows, it’s such a beautiful veg!
I am planning a trip to the nursery this week for my peas and beans and some other vegies, thanks to your inspiring posts :)
Oooh, that sounds like fun, Tandy! Enjoy! :)
All very exciting! We are just about to plant spring bulbs but can’t exactly eat those. I’ll have to try and find you some princess bean seeds – but suppose I would never be able to get them into Australia. Just found it –
Winged Bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L. ) approx.250-280g/1000 seeds
Other names: Asparagus pea, Goa bean, Four-angled bean, Manila bean, Princess bean, dragon bean.
I’ve never heard of princess beans before, Anna, thank you for the headsup…
OH I do love snake beans! I think it may be a tad cold to grow them here though! I have just planted zucchini for the first time so that’s exciting! I’m hoping to be thoroughly sick of all things zucchini by the end of summer :)
Sigh..Kat, I wish we could grow zucchinis! We’ll probably try again this year. Last year we got pretty flowers and absolutely no fruit!
Oh if only I could spend a day in your kitchen, it’s just so inspiring. :) Love the goodies you find and use. Thanks lovely. I’m off to order me some seeds. :)
Have fun, Anna! It would be lovely to spend a day in your kitchen, you create some amazing stuff! :)
I always comment how envious I am of having a place to grow your own. Have fun and can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Gosh this has bought tomato memories back. We spent a couple of weeks wwoofing at a farm growing heritage seeds for http://www.diggers.com.au/ – I’m pretty sure it was near or in East Gippsland. We were there in tomato season and there was every conceivable shape, size and colour of tomato there – simply amazing. We ate tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and supper.
Hello Celia,
Must try the parsley looks fascinating, bought seeds from New Gippsland ages ago but now use Digger`s. Have you seen their catalogue? They have a farm near Seymour and gardens with comprehensive shops at Dromana and Blackwood.
Our bread is ever improving we bought a Schnitzer Grano 200 mill definitely a worthwhile purchase, such sweet smelling flour.
Happy holidaying.