The veg you've never heard of and should grow this year

Telegraph

12-04-2025

Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill aren't just green-fingered: they are pink, purple, red, yellow and orange as well. As the founders of heirloom seed company She Grows Veg, they specialise in a wildly wonderful range of unusual vegetables.
Hutchings and Cotterill are passionate about introducing the British gardener to a world beyond commercial hybrid seeds, and thanks to them the humble veg patch has taken on exotic new dimensions. At the Chelsea Flower Show last year they won a gold medal for their beautiful arrangements of vegetables in the form of Renaissance paintings.
'We are opening people's eyes to the amazing Willy Wonka-style of vegetables that are out there,' says Cotterill, 47. 'And these varieties have been around a lot longer than what you see on the supermarket shelves, which have been bred for uniformity.'
The friends and business partners met while on a garden design course at Beth Chatto Gardens in Essex eight years ago. Hutchings, 43, previously worked in fashion, but had started growing unusual vegetables and uploading pictures of them to her Instagram feed. Each time she would receive messages from gardeners wanting to know where she found them. In 2023 she joined forces with Cotterill, who left her career in marketing, to bring She Grows Veg to a wider growing community in the UK.
The appeal isn't just novelty and appearance. They say the more unusual and colourful varieties also taste better and have a greater range of polyphenols (compounds in plants known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties).
'There is a perception that the more colourful veg is harder to grow, but that's not true. A black carrot is the same as an orange carrot,' says Cotterill.
In an effort to dispel that myth, at Chelsea this year their theme will be 'Grow the Rainbow'.
'We're being told to eat the rainbow. We want people to go a step further and grow it. It's better for their wellbeing and the environment,' says Cotterill.
Here are their top picks for what to sow this year.
Mangelwurzel Mammoth Red
A viral growing sensation on social media, this forgotten heirloom vegetable looks rather like Harry Potter's mandrakes. 'It was very popular in Victorian times because it is such an unbelievably reliable plant,' says Hutchings. Halfway between a sugar beet and a beetroot, this easy to grow, giant veg is delicious mashed, roasted or pickled.
Sow from February to July. When sowing, direct plant seed at a depth of 3cm in shallow drills in full sun. Leave 20cm between plants.
Harvest from May to November. Sweeter and less earthy than a beetroot, it will sit for a long time in the field. 'It is from the same family as chard so you get a long period of leaf cropping,' says Hutchings.
One of her favourite ways to eat it is in a mangelwurzel tarte tatin. 'But you can also make chutneys with it. And if you get it really large, it's fantastic for fermenting. We have a wine recipe on our website.'
Storage tomatoes
Something that is popular in Italy but is yet to catch on in the UK is the storage tomato. 'We're working hard to change that,' says Cotterill.
Storage tomatoes have a slight genetic difference from tomatoes we're used to growing, which means they have a very weak ability to self-ripen. Sow from April to May, and when the fruits are at full size in September to October, remove from the bush and hang them up. They will slowly ripen over winter and store for between two and six months. Keep them in cool, preferably dark conditions.
'You see them hanging from the rafters in Italian homes. It means you could be eating home-grown tomatoes on Christmas Day,' says Hutchings. 'You have to check them weekly for signs of spoil and discard ones that have. They are more resistant to spoiling though. And as they age they naturally dehydrate, leaving you with a crop of dried tomatoes akin to 'sun dried' if left long enough.'
Use for cooking or eat fresh.
French Bean 1500 Year Old Cave Bean
This has the taste of a French green bean, but with a great story. These beautiful beans are said to be bred from a handful of ancient dried beans found in sealed ceramic jars in an Anasazi (an ancient Native American culture) cave-dwelling site.
'Miraculously, the beans germinated, resulting in this ancient and perfectly preserved variety of drying bean,' says Hutchings.
Sow from April to June for harvesting from July to October. Sow close together, as little as 7cm apart, at a depth of 5cm. Plants should be efficient climbers, so will require little training.
'When eaten fresh they are stringless and delicious. If you let them mature on the plant until they are semi-dry, then they are great drying beans,' says Hutchings. 'They're good to have over winter, when usually there's just a lot of leafy greens.'
Add to casseroles and soups. 'They have incredible health benefits in terms of fibre,' says Cotterill.
Plantain
You may recognise scrappy, hardy broadleaf plantain from dog walks. She Grows Veg stock two ornamental varieties, Plantain Purple Perversion and Plantain Variegata. 'They're considered future foods if our climate becomes more extreme,' says Hutchings.
Sow from March to May for an almost year-round harvest. The plants enjoy full sun to part shade. 'It's a perennial, so once you sow it, you've got it forever,' says Cotterill. 'Some people grow them as garden plants, but both varieties are edible.' Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach in the kitchen. 'They're great in soups, stews, curries and salads alike,' says Cotterill.
Chicory Rose of Venice
'We have the most amazing supplier in Italy whose life's passion is preserving rare chicory varieties,' says Hutchings.
This one in particular looks rather splendid. While growing it will be green, but once the frost hits in autumn it turns pink. 'It has the benefit of coming into its most beautiful stage of being at the point where everything else is dying. It's absolutely stunning and guaranteed to wow when it hits the dinner table,' says Cotterill.
Sow from April to July, 1cm deep, and keep moist. Harvest from December to February. It's a perennial, so roots left in the ground when it's harvested will regrow.
Enjoy fresh in salads if you like the bitter taste of chicory. 'Or you can griddle it with sea salt and olive oil,' suggests Hutchings. 'They also make fantastic cooking leaves, so putting it in something like a risotto helps to remove the bitterness as well.'
Dahlia Bishop's Children
You probably already grow dahlias in your garden, but do you eat them? It might be time to give them a try. After all, they were originally imported from their native Mexico not as an ornamental plant but as a root vegetable.
'When we planted them and they grew these spectacular flowers, everyone forgot what was going on below,' says Hutchings.
There's no need to buy tubers. 'Dahlias are easy and cheap to grow from seed,' she says.
Sow from February to April, germinate at 20–30C on the surface of damp peat-free compost and just cover to a depth of around 5mm. Grow on in cooler, well-lit conditions for 10–15 days before planting out after all risk of frost, 30cm apart.
'When you dig it up you can take off some of the large tubers to eat. They are like a new potato but more fragrant,' says Hutchings, 'and you would approach cooking them in the same way.'
Over winter the rest of the cluster of tubers and replant in spring. Then you've got a perennial root crop.
'They make a fantastic rosti,' says Cotterill. 'You don't have to peel them, they're very thin-skinned. Just rub off the worst of the soil.'
Edible Beef & Onion Tree
A tree with leaves which, when they are tender and fairly young, taste exactly like beef and onion crisps. 'Honestly, you would not believe it. It's quite extraordinary,' says Cotterill.
Otherwise known as the Chinese Mahogany tree, this deciduous, often multi-stemmed variety has pretty, salmon-red leaves that turn green in summer, and white flowers.
Sow at any time of the year in a propagator or warm place. If planted in the ground, the tree can reach a height of 8 to 12 metres in 10 to 20 years.
'It's very satisfying growing things like trees from seed,' says Hutchings. 'It's a pretty tree as well. It has its place in an ornamental garden too.'
Enjoy the leaves from April to June, eaten raw in salads or cooked in stir-fries. They can also be dried and used as a seasoning.
'They are widely eaten across Asia,' says Cotterill.
Carrot Manpukuji
Another viral superstar, these giant carrots are fit for a giant bunny. Originating from Japan, they grow up to 1.5 metres in length under the right conditions. Developed 400 years ago in Japan's Edo period, the Manpukuji nearly became extinct in recent times but was saved by heirloom seed enthusiasts.
Sow from April to July in open ground or in a deep container such as a bin.
'Like a normal carrot, they like a 50/50 mix of compost and sand; that's important if you're to get the length,' says Hutchings.
Thin seedlings to 2–4cm apart, then to 10cm (5cm for baby carrots) to prevent crowding and deter carrot fly. Harvest from August to November.
'They remain sweet and tender even at large sizes,' says Hutchings. 'We love them salt-baked. Or you can chop them up and use them like a normal carrot. One will feed the whole family. The great thing about root vegetables is that you can leave them in the ground until you're ready to harvest them, so you can be eating your own carrots all winter.'
Hyacinth Bean Ruby Moon
More commonly grown as an ornamental plant, this perennial climbing plant is also known as Lablab. It produces fragrant flowers much like a bean, followed by striking vivid purple pods.
Sow from March to May, 1.5mm deep, and grow in full sun. Plants hate to be root-bound so be prompt with potting up. It is also a voracious climber that will need propping up.
'The ultimate 'edimental' to grow in your borders, they're a fantastic choice if you've got something like an arch that you want to cover,' says Hutchings.
Harvest from July to October. The beans can be slow to swell inside the pods, so harvest when you can feel the swollen bean inside. 'You have to cook them as they have a certain amount of oxalic acid in them. Treat them like runner beans,' says Hutchings. 'They can be used as a drying bean as well and are superb when cooked in curries.'