It’s zingy colours all the way for the class of 2024
In its 2024 seed range, Suttons’ star of the show has to be black carrots! Black Nebula is the darkest variety available but there are also new chillies, tomatoes, onions and radishes in my pick of the season. Read more about Suttons’ new flowers for next season.
Black carrots – Carrot Black Nebula (Daucus carota)
With a high concentration of health-promoting anthocyanins, Black Nebula is the darkest carrot available, producing long, tapering roots in striking black purple, reaching 15-25cm. Black Nebula makes a colourful addition to the plate. Their colour penetrates to the core and is retained during cooking. With crunchy flesh that has a good earthy flavour, enjoy them steamed, raw or juiced for a nutritious, dark-purple smoothie.
Height and spread: 30cm x 15cm, sow: April to June, harvest: August to November, £2.99 for 300 seeds.
Chilli Pepper Raging Bull F1 (Capsicum chinense)
Raging Bull is a cross between a Biquinho and a Habanero, producing chillies with a sweet and fruity flavour with a hot kick of 100,000 SHU. This very heavy cropping chilli offers masses of bright-red, tear-drop-shaped fruits that are larger than Biquinho but just as prolific.
Height and spread: 60cm, sow: February to April, harvest: July to October. £3.99 for 6 seeds.
Not just black carrots – Tomato Rainbow Drops Mix F1 (Solanum lycopersicum)
Grow a rainbow of delicious red, yellow and orange fruit that cascades from hanging baskets. Rainbow Drops Mix is a trio of colourful and sweet-tasting cherry tomatoes. Plants bear most of their fruit above the leaves, so tomatoes are very easy to harvest. Each sweet cherry tomato weighs 8-12g and has a Brix sweetness rating of 8. They are quick to form new fruit after the first picking, so you’ll be harvesting all summer.
Height and spread: 30cm x 40-50cm, sow: February to April, harvest: July to October, £3.49 for 6 seeds.
Onion Redrover F1 (Allium cepa)
Redrover produces red onions that are uniform in shape and size and store well. Less fiery than brown-skinned onions, Redrover has a mild, sweeter taste and crunchy texture. Ideal for eating fresh in salads and sandwiches, or as an ingredient. With a high tolerance to sprouting, onions won’t start growing in storage. Harvest in August and Redrover will store in a net, in a frost-free place, until the end of May/June – with some lasting until early August.
Height and spread: 35cm x 20cm, sow: March to April, harvest: August to September, £2.99 for 150 seeds.
Radish Royal Purple (Raphanus sativus)
Ready to harvest in just 33 days from sowing, Royal Purple is perfect for beginner veg growers. Royal Purple produces perfectly formed plump, round radishes measuring up to 5cm across, with mild, sweet flesh and a satisfying crunch.
Height and spread: 20cm x 10cm, sow: March to August, harvest: May to September, £2.49 for 200 seeds.
For more details on the new varieties, visit www.suttons.co.uk.
