Vegetable Seeds

Avalanche snow pea produces 13.5cm (5.25″) pods that are sweet and tender. Plants are a semi-leafless, afila type that produce tendrils that can be used for a garnish and loads of double pods for an abundant harvest. Plant two to three rows close together and plants will intertwine, providing support for each other. Expect a height of 90cm (36″).

Matures in 60 days.

Among the largest available snow peas, these 10-13 cm (4-5″) long pods are produced on 1.2m (4′) tall plants that require a trellis. The large white flowers of this heirloom variety are pretty enough to use as cut flowers. Mammoth Melting Sugar snow pea seeds produce pods that are sweet and tender. Plants are high yielding, early, uniform, and productive. This variety is more productive in cool weather, so it’s perfect for early spring planting.

Matures in 70 days.

Sweet, stringless pods are borne on 80cm (30″) semi-leafless vines that do not require support. The pods are about 9cm (3 1/2″) long and average 2 pods per node. Sow Sugar Lace II seeds for giant harvests of very sweet snap peas. This variety is resistant to powdery mildew and pea enation mosaic virus, so it handles the cool weather at the end of the season better than others. Try planting as late as early August for harvests into October. It’s also a nice one for early spring planting – you can direct sow as early as mid-February on the coast.

Matures in 68 days.

Green Arrow shelling peas are excellent for fresh eating, freezing, canning, or cooking. Heavy yields of dark green pods up to 11cm (4.5″) long contain 9 -11 peas each, born in pairs at the top of the compact bush plants. A reliable, adaptable variety for gardeners and market growers.

Green Arrow shelling pea seeds were first bred in England as a main season pea crop and are listed in some UK sources as Green Shaft.

Matures in 70 days.

This delicious snap pea was developed for the West Coast. Cascadia produces short vines that grow to only 60cm (24″) tall. The dark green pods are 9cm (3.5″) long and are crunchy, juicy, and sweet. Cascadia peas are resistant to the enation virus and powdery mildew, so they are good candidates for later sowings and fall harvest here on the coast. Sow as late as July and early August, and you may get a crop as late as October. Winner of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Matures in 68 days.

Extra early, incredibly sweet snap peas on short, 60cm (2′) vines that don’t require trellising. Sugar Ann is an excellent choice for small garden spaces. The bushy plants produce plump, 6cm (2.5″) pods that are sweet and crunchy. This AAS Winner also received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. It has been a stand-by snap pea for West Coast Seeds for decades. If you’re short on space, this is the pea for you – they can even be grown in large containers. A much-loved variety that we now offer as both conventional and organic seed.

Matures in 56 days

This improved version of Sugar Snap produces the sweetest dark green snap peas with an excellent crunch. Super Sugar Snap’s 10cm (4″) long, plump pods grow in pairs on 1.5-2m (5-6′) tall vines. The most renown snap pea for its incomparable flavour and high yields. The vigorous climbing vines must be trellised. Although Super Sugar Snap is not resistant to the enation virus, it is typically trouble free, providing easy-to-harvest peas in June and July.

Matures in 68 days.

This early heirloom shelling pea forms stocky, semi-dwarf bushes from 30-45 cm (12-18″) tall and is well suited to growing in containers or the vegetable bed. Each of Little Marvel’s 8-10 cm (3-4″) pods contains 6-9 medium green, sugary peas. This is a winner of the RHS Award for Garden Merit. Can be grown in spring and cut back in time to plant a summer crop, leaving the soil enriched with nitrogen.

Little Marvel shelling pea seeds were first introduced as Sutton’s Little Marvel in 1900. It is an old, dependable variety with an extended season, fine quality, and heavy yields.

Matures in 62 days.

Pairs of 8cm (3″) long pods containing seven to nine peas each are borne atop bushy plants that grow to 75cm (30″) tall. Bolero’s tender peas are sweet and perfect for fresh eating or freezing. Since Bolero is not enation resistant, it is best grown for early spring planting in coastal regions so that it matures before the pea enation virus generally shows up in mid- to late summer.

Matures in 68 days.

Widely regarded as one of the best snow peas for flavour, quality, and productivity. Flat 10cm (4”) pods grow on 80cm (32”) tall plants. Developed at Oregon State University back in the 1980s, Oregon Sugar Pod II snow pea seeds have been a reliable go-to variety for coastal gardeners ever since. Expect heavy yields of tasty, smooth, light-green stringless pods. An excellent disease package makes them a good choice for late season plantings. Excellent grown for tender pea shoots as well. Available as conventional and organic seed.

Matures in 60 days.

Curved like a sabre, the long pods of this bushy, mid-season shelling pea contain 8-10 peas each. The plants grow to only 60cm (24”) tall and are very heat tolerant. A good choice for home and market gardeners. The firm pods are suitable for machine shelling. Sabre is not enation-resistant, so it’s best to plant seeds in early spring. By late summer, the pea enation virus is common in coastal gardens, spread by aphids.

Matures in 68 days.

Exceptional flavour is well worth the 2-2.5m (6-8′) tall trellis these need. Alderman shelling pea seeds produce huge pods with eight or nine peas each over a long harvest window. The pods are easy to pick and shell. Check a few to see if they are filled before picking the whole crop. Alderman is an old heirloom variety, selected from the Duke of Albany pea strain. This noble pea has been grown in country gardens since 1891 and is known in many seed catalogues as Tall Telephone, Improved Telephone, or Rondo o Alderman. This variety is not enation resistant, so it’s a great choice for earlier planting in February and March on the coast. Away from the coast, enation is not as serious a problem. Alderman is an excellent choice for canning and quick freezing or just picking out of the pod right in the garden.

Matures in 75 days.

Exceptional flavour is well worth the 2-2.5m (6-8′) tall trellis these need. Alderman shelling pea seeds produce huge pods with eight or nine peas each over a long harvest window. The pods are easy to pick and shell. Check a few to see if they are filled before picking the whole crop. Alderman is an old heirloom variety, selected from the Duke of Albany pea strain. This noble pea has been grown in country gardens since 1891 and is known in many seed catalogues as Tall Telephone, Improved Telephone, or Rondo o Alderman. This variety is not enation resistant, so it’s a great choice for earlier planting in February and March on the coast. Away from the coast, enation is not as serious a problem. Alderman is an excellent choice for canning and quick freezing or just picking out of the pod right in the garden.

Matures in 75 days.

Grow this striking, red-stalked bunching onion at any time of the year, but for the richest red colour, plant it in late summer to early fall so it is exposed to a bit of cold weather before harvest. If hard frost is expected, just mulch around the stems with straw. If whiter stalks are desired, simply hill soil up around them. Red Beard can reach 60cm (24″) tall, with the red portion up to 30cm (12″) tall. The flavour is very mild, and the dark green leaves are tender.,

Matures in 65 days.

Ramrod is a white-bulbing Lisbon type scallion (or bunching onion) with sturdy, erect leaves. Make successive sowings from spring to Autumn. September-sown seedlings are very cold-hardy and can overwinter well for early spring harvests. A high-performance, boldly flavoured scallion bred for English gardens, but perfect for the coast. To increase the blanched white lower portion, simply sow or transplant into a shallow trench and hill soil up around the stems as they grow.

Matures in 65 days

The ultimate in a red-skinned storage onion. Sow Redwing storage onion seeds early to accommodate for its long days to maturity. The large, globe shaped bulbs are firm and uniform at 7-10cm (3-4″) across, with deep red, glossy skins and strong tops.

In late summer, when the onions have formed nice bulbs, harvest them as needed. At full maturity, the tops of the onions will fall over, signaling the end of growth and the time to harvest. If no rain or frost in forecast, knock each onion over the rest of the way. This will begin the drying process. Leave the onions like that for two or three days.

At the first sign of rain bring the whole onion plants indoors and lay them out in a dry area away from direct sunlight. Leave them to cure for two to four weeks until stems and necks have completely dried down. During this time, the papery skins covering each bulb will dry and contract. Use scissors to trim off the roots and cut at about 2cm (1″) up the stem for each bulb. Store them in a cool, dark place in mesh bags or trays with breathing holes. A well cured storage onion can retain its desirable flavour and aroma for as long as 12 months.

Eiffel produces an upright growing, white Lisbon type scallion with little or no bulbing at the root end, even in the heat of summer. This variety grows straight, with mild, appealing flavour and good uniformity. Its stiff upright leaves shed the rain, so it is less susceptible to the diseases that can occur in damp weather. Sow short rows of Eiffel scallion seeds every two weeks from April to the end of September, and you’ll have scallions all year long. Provide a cloche row cover over winter for the best results.

Matures in 65 days.

Long day pink onion from the producer of our favorites Redwing and Patterson. Blush’s jumbo size globes have excellent storage potential. Coppery pink skin surrounds a white interior with some light purple rings. A very attractive onion that is easy to grow.

Komatsuna Red mustard seeds tolerate heat well and can be planted from spring to fall. The seeds do not need warm soil to germinate, so they can be planted in late winter for spring harvests as well. Try some in containers on the balcony. The leaves are round, flat and purple on top with green undersides and green stems. They are good in salads, sandwiches, and stir-fries. Use as a baby leaf in salad blends, or try them as microgreens. Komatsuna remains unfamiliar to many Western gardeners, but it is a West Coast Seeds staff favourite. Plants are fast-growing, productive, tasty, and very easy to grow.

Matures in 21 days (baby), 40 days (full size).

Brassica rapa var. chinensis. Jade Spring choi sum seeds produce a short season, fast-growing hybrid variety of Yu Tsai Sum (or Choi Sum) that produces raw stems with the texture of lightly steamed asparagus, with a sweet, mild taste. Stems will be 5mm – 1cm thick if grown and watered well. Early spring plantings may bolt. The incredible flavour will have you eating it raw, straight out of the garden, before it can be cut for stir-fries, salads, or soups. The plants in our trials have been consistently uniform and show few signs of damage from pests or disease.

Matures in 35-45 days.

Brassica rapa var. rosularis. Tah Tsai pac choi seeds are a beautiful, easy-to-grow delight, the small, glossy, spoon-shaped, dark-green leaves with white stems grow in a perfect flat rosette. It adds rich colour, mild flavour, and nutrition to salads and stir-fries. Size depends on spacing so thin to 15-30cm (6-12″) apart. It can be sown spring through fall. This plant is sometimes listed as tatsoi. Tah Tsai pac choi seeds are suitable for growing in containers, or growing for baby greens, or even microgreens. Grown as a baby leaf vegetable, this plant produces succulent, tasty leaves that enliven salad mixes.

Matures in 40-50 days.

Brassica oleraceae var. chinensis. At only 15-20cm (6-8″) tall, this petite green has vivid white, succulent petioles and dark green, nearly round leaves. Dwarf White Stemmed pac choi have a mild, sweet flavour that works well in salads and stir-fries. Try adding thinly sliced pac choi to any noodle dish, or any vegetable soup recipe. Thin plants to 30cm (12″) so that they can grow to full size. Dwarf White Stemmed pac choi seeds may be grown from early spring to late fall, and the seeds do not require warm soil for germination. This variety forms nice, tight, urn-shaped heads with broad leaves.

Matures in 50 days