This time I am going to grow three different varieties. They are "Red Spear" from Plants of Distinction, "Rudolph" from Thompson and Morgan, and "Early Purple" from Marshalls.
The pack of "Early Purple" was kindly provided to me free of charge by Marshalls, as a review item. The "Rudolph" was one of those which was offered free if you bought any two other packets of seeds from Thompson and Morgan, and the "Red Spear" ones were the remainder of a pack left from 2013. The latter, being quite old, may not germinate as well as the others, so I will sow a few more of them just in case.
One point of feedback I would like to make straight away is that I do not like the fact that the Marshalls PSB seeds were provided loose inside their paper packet, and not sealed in an inner foil pack like most others are. I think this will mean that they will not keep fresh so well - and they are more difficult to handle / store once opened.
As well as the PSB, I am also going to try growing this Savoy Cabbage "Mila" - another review item from Marshalls. It looks ideal for my requirements - a compact variety well-suited to small gardens, and one which crops in the late Winter when not much else is available.
I have sowed several of each type in some smallish pots, and I will transplant them to separate pots when they have two proper leaves. By that time I should be able to judge which are the best specimens.
There is not much to see at present, just some pots with compost in them, but here's the evidence anyway...