Some Seeds to Trial

A few days ago I was contacted by Marshalls, the vegetable and fruit company, to ask if I would like to try some of their new seed varieties (for free), and write about them on my blog. This is something I occasionally do, though I am careful not to establish too close a relationship with any business. I want my blog to be MY blog, a personal thing, and not have it devoted to advertising and sponsorship like so many blogs you see. On this occasion I consented to try some of Marshalls' seeds, and they have arrived now.

Some of the seeds are not ones that I expect to grow, simply because I don't have space for them - like pumpkins and squashes, which do trail and spread out a lot. Likewise, the tomato seeds that I received are for indoor growing, and of course I don't have a greenhouse, so those probably won't get to be sown.
However I am particularly pleased to receive seeds for Brokali Endeavour, which is sown in May, June or July, for harvesting from December to March. Regular readers will know that I have been consciously attempting to expand the range of vegetables that deliver their crop during Winter, and this Brokali will therefore be a very welcome addition. You know that PSB is one of my favorite vegetables, and I am always impatient to start harvesting it. Maybe the new Brokali will keep me happy until the PSB comes on-stream!

Although I have said I probably won't grow it, maybe if you have young children or grandchildren you would like to explore Pumpkin Knucklehead, described by Marshalls themselves as "frightfully ugly". It is a pumpkin that appears to be particularly suitable for carving (though apparently also good to eat). It has a good shape for this - taller than it is wide, so it should make a good lantern - and the fruits are covered with knobbly "warts", so you will be able to make something really grotesque for Halloween!

This next packet is probably destined for my younger daughter, Fiona, who is very keen on courgettes:

It is Griller Mix - a mix of three types of courgette, producing fruits that are yellow, green and gray. Marshalls' website says "Each of these courgettes has been selected for their rich taste, firm texture, ease of growing, low spine count and tolerance to diseases". If I have interpreted the product description correctly, you get 5 seeds of each of the 3 varieties. By the way, Marshalls are currently offering this pack free with all vegetable seed orders.
My thanks to Marshalls for this generous sample. I shall of course report how I get on with any of these seeds that I decide to grow...