Byline: PIPPA GREENWOOD
THE top nutritional performers can transform your diet - and possibly your life. And you'll save money, as well as having fun, if you grow them yourself. Check out my favourites for 2007.
Stripy aubergines
AUBERGINES are a pretty plant and the striped, fruited varieties taste as good as they look. The Calliope (pounds 1.99, 10 seeds) from Thompson and Morgan produces purple fruit with cream streaks. It's an F1 hybrid which means it's created by crossing two pure plant lines to give an especially vigorous and reliable variety. These compact, spineless plants will produce a heavy crop of 'baby' fruits from July to autumn plus they're perfect for container-growing.
Hardy cabbage
IF club root disease is a problem in your garden then try Suttons' new cabbage Klaxy (pounds 3.50, 40 seeds). It's a medium-sized, autumn-maturing type, which stands well in the ground (so keeps well) and is packed full of vitamins C and A.
Sweet corn
SWEETCORN 'Landmark' is an F1 supersweet variety with good flavour, which should survive cold snaps. It costs pounds 1.69 for 35 seeds from D T Brown.
Best of beans
MR Fothergill's has launched Fandango, a new and exclusive dwarf bean with rounded, fleshy pods that grow to around 7in (18cm) long. It's very weather-tolerant too and has good disease-resistance. Sow in April to get crops from June onwards. It costs pounds 2.69 for 100 seeds.
Super-strong broccoli
A CUSTOMER trial revealed that Samson broccoli from Marshalls Seeds produces good-sized heads with a great flavour and also has good resistance to downy mildew. What more could you want? One packet costs pounds 1.95.
Unbeatable beetroot
BEETROOT has now joined the ever-lengthening list of superfoods, so why not grow the new and exclusive Thompson and Morgan variety 'Alto'. It's cylindrical with particularly sweet flesh from easy-to-prepare roots that grow partly above the soil. You'll get 300 seeds for pounds 1.69
Colour-coded carrots
NEW from Mr Fothergill's is the F1 carrot Nutri-Red, which starts out pink-red but turns an intense orange-red when cooked. It's also said to be high in lycopene, a natural plant substance that helps ward off cancer. Particularly crunchy with a good flavour, it costs pounds 1.70 for 350 seeds.
Top tomatoes
IF you have a heated greenhouse or a sheltered spot in the garden, try F1 tomato Sweet Olive from Suttons. The oliveshaped, deep-red fruits - pounds 2.68 for eight seeds - are full of flavour and produced in quantity. No heating? Try Favourita, a cherry tomato producing lots of fruit on its long trusses. Sow in March and you should be harvesting from August to September. It costs pounds 1.95 for 10 seeds from DT Brown.
Orange squash
BUTTERNUT squash is easy to grow and usually produces lots of fruit. Although it crops in summer and early autumn, the tough-skinned, orange-fleshed fruits store brilliantly and taste great roasted or in soups and casseroles. Thompson and Morgan's new Harrier F1 hybrid harvests from just 95 days and produces fruits weighing nearly 2lb (800g) each. Ten seeds cost pounds 1.99.
WHERE TO BUY
Thompson and Morgan 01473 688821 or www.thompson-morgan.com
D.T. Brown 0845 166 2275 or www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk
Marshalls 01480 44 33 90 or www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk
Mr Fothergill's 0845 1662511 or www.mr-fothergills.co.uk
Suttons 0870 220 0606 or www.suttons-seeds.co.uk
Pippa has presented her own series, Growing Science, on Radio 4 for three years, is a regular panellist on the station's Gardeners' Question Time. She's also written many books including Pippa Greenwood's Gardening Year (Headline, pounds 16.99).
Send your questions, comments and tips to Pippa at pippagreenwood@mirror.co.uk or write to Your Life, Daily Mirror, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP.
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