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Parsnip - Hollow Crown - 63RG

Details   The Hollow Crown dates back to the early 1820s. A long tapered white root that has been grown and selected by Rick for over twenty years. If you wish to grow this long rooted parsnip, you will need deep soil that is stone free. If parsnips hit a stone while growing they tend to fork. They grow best in a light, deep rich soil. A generous amount of compost or humus in some other form helps develop a long edible root. Parsnip is notoriously difficult to grow for many gardeners because of parsnip seeds short lifespan, so to help with good germination all our parsnip seed is grown each year meaning seed is no more than 12 months when sold.
Botanical name   Pastinaca sativa
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Contains at least   approx 60
Price per packet   $4.50
Parsnip - Kralcrown - 61RW

Parsnip - Kralcrown - 61RW

Details  

Kraslcrown is the result of a cross pollination carried out by Richard in 2010 between Hollow crown and Kral, hence the name Kralcrown. 


The key to growing parsnips is using fresh seed. Many gardeners say they have no luck growing parsnips which is normally because of using old seed. Parsnip seed only remains viable for two years at room temperature. Sentinels parsnip seed is regrown every year meaning it should give great germination results.


Botanical name   Pastinaca sativa
Contains at least   approx 100
Grower name   Richard Watson
Price per packet   $4.50
salsify - 60RS

salsify - 60RS

Details   Salsify is a common biennial wildflower, native to southeast Europe and north Africa, today in its a plant that's cultivated for its ornamental flower and edible root. The plant grows to around 1.2 m in height.
Salsify is grown similarly to that as other root vegetables such as parsnip and carrots, sow spring time and harvest roots during winter.
Botanical name   Tragopogon porrifolius
Grower name   Rachael Stott
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2024
Storage Info   Seed frozen stored
Contains at least   50
Price per packet   $4.50
Fennel - Sweet/common - 239SPH

Fennel - Sweet/common - 239SPH

Details   Sweet or common fennel is part of the Apiaceae (umbellifers) family, along with carrot, dill, anise, parsley, parsnip, celery and angelica. These plants have umbrella shaped flowers and aromatic flavours and hollow stems. Many are medicinal herbs and attractors of predator insects to the garden. Most of the fennel plant can be used. Fennel has traditionally been used for digestive, endocrine, reproductive, lactation and respiratory systems.
Botanical name   Foeniculum vulgare
Contains at least   50 seeds
Date Of Seed Harvest   Autumn 2023
Grower name   Sara Pepers-Hiltrop
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Price per packet   $4.50

Lobella - 47NS

Details   Lobella, is yellow and hollow very like a capsicum to look at. It is a delicious cooking tomato, which can be stuffed and baked or baked only. It is a low acid tomato and a good cropper. It was bought from a NZ seed company originally but they no longer stock it.
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20
Grower name   Nev and Sue Sinclair
Price per packet   $4.50
Chives - Standard - 31RG

Chives - Standard - 31RG

Details   Perennial growing to 50cm. Grows in slowly spreading clumps. Plant has green, hollow, tubular leaves that have a mild onion flavour; used as a garnish, in sauces, dips, stews, casseroles, salads and soups. Can be grown in containers.
Botanical name   Allium schoenoprasum
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2024
Contains at least   50 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 9 in stock   Order
Valerian - 59SPH

Valerian - 59SPH

Details   Valerian is a medicinal perennial flowering herb, native to Asia and parts of Europe.
It produces umbrella shaped flowers of pure white borne on tall hollow stems with thick fern like foliage. Valerian has been used medicinally for centuries by many different cultures as a sedative and nervous system relaxant. Harvest roots in the winter during dormancy. Grows naturally in damp grasslands but can tolerate a wide range of soils. Flowers in late spring early summer.
Botanical name   Valeriana officinalis
Contains at least   50
Date Of Seed Harvest   2023
Grower name   Sara Pepers-Hilltrop
Storage Info   seed in herb bag
Price per packet   $4.50
Crown Pumpkin - 226CMK

Crown Pumpkin - 226CMK

Details   Crown pumpkin has a bluish/grey skin, with orange flesh. Great for soups, roasts and in baking. Grows well in a drained site
Botanical name   Cucurbits maxima
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   March 2022
Price per packet   $4.50
Only 3 in stock   Order
Crownchestnut - 90aRW

Crownchestnut - 90aRW

Details   A cross between Whangaparoa Crown, Green Chestnut and an unknown very large crown-like pumpkin. This current generation of seed is 6 years into selection and stabilization. It is starting to become quite uniform in both colour, size and taste, though do expect some variation. The idea behind using these three varieties was, green Chestnut had wonderful flavour but thin flesh, Whangaparoa Crown had thick flesh but average to good flavour while the unknown had size. Richard thought combining all three could produce an outstanding new variety. Between 50 -60 plants are grown each year and about 140 fruit harvested. Seed from only the best flavoured, large and thick fleshed fruit are used for breeding over the successive growing seasons.

Botanical name   Cucurbits maxima
Contains at least   30
Date Of Seed Harvest   seed refreshed yearly
Grower name   Richard-Paul
Price per packet   $4.50
Scarlet Runner - 43RG

Scarlet Runner - 43RG

Details   It's fast growing perennial climbing up to 3 metres in a season. Plants will produce a profusion of pretty red and white flowers, amidst a heavy cover of leaves, in colder climates it pays to cover root crown with mulch so as to stop frost penetrating the soil killing the crown .
Botanical name   Phaseolus coccineus
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2024
Storage Info   frozen stored
Contains at least   30
Price per packet   $4.50
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Asparagus - Pacific Purple - 82RW

Asparagus - Pacific Purple - 82RW

Details   A purple variety that is sweeter and less fibrous than green asparagus. Takes three years for the crowns to grow large enough before harvesting, though a small amount of light picking can be done in the second year. Seed needs 18 to 23deg for germinating, once seedling first shows itself transplant into its own 2L pot and plant out into its permanent about 12 months later, never let the first seedling spear get frosted till fully in leaf.
Botanical name   Asparagus officinalis
Grower name   Richard Watson
Storage Info   seed renewed yearly
Contains at least   30 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 2 in stock   Order
Black Krim - 75SS

Black Krim - 75SS

Details   Black Krim Tomato is an heirloom tomato originating from Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula. "Krim" is the Russian word for Crimea. This tomato is open-pollinated, and bears large flattened globe fruits that are dark reddish-purple to black with green/brown. A very good producing plant.
Propagation: Sow seeds in seed raising mix in Spring, prick out once 2 true leave appear.

Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Grower name   Sarah Smith
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2022
Contains at least   20 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50
Spinach - English - 178RG

Spinach - English - 178RG

Details   Best sown when soil temps are over 10deg. A handy vegetable to grow during spring when few other vegetable grew at that time of the year. This gorgeous green veg is delicious, a good source of folic acid, manganese and vitamins A and C,
Botanical name   Spinacia Oleracea
Contains at least   50
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Price per packet   $4.50
Yellow Pear 143RG

Yellow Pear 143RG

Details   This variety dates back to the 1800s and is a vigorous indeterminate tomato producing generously with an abundance of small yellow pear-shaped tomatoes that are sweet and mild in flavour.
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Price per packet   $4.50
Isle of Skye (Duncan Wilson) - 12RG

Isle of Skye (Duncan Wilson) - 12RG

Details  
A great tomato with history. This tomato is a large fleshy one (up to 600 grams ) ,low in acid with very few seeds. Rick says that out of the 50 plus tomatoes he grows, this is his number one.
It was given to Duncan by an Italian sailor sometime in the 50's and grown by him for many years and eventually was forgotten. Rick attained just a few old seeds of which only two grew and have a good inventory of seeds now.
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   March 2022
Contains at least   20
Price per packet   $4.50
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Apple of Peru - 107RG

Apple of Peru - 107RG

Details   Believed to be native to Peru this plant can grow into a huge plant, from 90 - 250 cm high, with leaves sometimes greater than 30 cm in length. It is an annual. The fruit of the shoofly plant are poisonous, as are the leaves. Grown by gardeners as they are thought to repel white fly. Seed needs stratification either kept in the fridge for two months or sown in autumn where they will germinate in spring, but young seedlings need care against frost damaged.
Botanical name   Nicandra physalodes
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2022
Storage Info   Seed frozen stored
Contains at least   40 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50

Lettuce - Cooptown Italian - 182RG

Details   A heritage variety that was brought into NZ by a returning WW2 soldier and has been grown in and around Cooptown, Banks Peninsula since. A great tasty green leafy lettuce.
Botanical name   Lactuca sativa
Contains at least   50
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Orach - red - 29RG - Red

Orach - red - 29RG - Red

Details   This red spinach is rich in Vitamin C ,vitamin A, iron, calcium,folic acid and antioxidants,commonly grown vegetable during the Middle Ages. Eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach.
Botanical name   Spinacia oleracea
Contains at least   40
Date Of Seed Harvest   March 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 2 in stock   Order
Catnip - 132RG

Catnip - 132RG

Details   A pet cat's best plant, care is needed though as cats have been known to damage even full sized plants.
Botanical name   terpenoid nepetalactone
Contains at least   100
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50

Pea - Southland Sno - 151RG

Details   Heirloom pea originating from Southland.  This pea grows a multi coloured flower and grows to about a meter tall. It does need support to grow up. Pick the whole seed pod before the seeds form and use in salads and stir fries.
Botanical name   Pisum sativum
Contains at least   40
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2021
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   frozen stored
Price per packet   $4.50
Russian Red - 45RG

Russian Red - 45RG

Details   A reliable mid size cool-climate type with good flavour,
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50

Purau Sweet Cherry - 99RG

Details   A productive tasty, very sweet, cherry, red tomato, early to produce fruit. Vigorous grower. Has been a favorite of Ricks for over 30 years.
Botanical name   Lycopersicon esculentum
Contains at least   20
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50

Giant Alderman - 57RG

Details   A tall climber that can get as high as 3m, has large pods and peas, The Alderman pea variety is known to date back to 1893 and was a common site in Victorian kitchen gardens. Its long-cropping time made it ideal for using fresh and any excess crops were dried, stored and used later in the year for soups, stews and other dishes. The Americans have their own version of the Alderman variety which they call the Tall Telephone in honour of Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone.
Botanical name   Pisum sativum
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2022
Storage Info   Seed long term stored in freezer
Contains at least   40
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 6 in stock   Order

Romaine Climber - 98RG

Details   A heritage bean of unknown origin. Good healthy climber with long green stringless pods. A heavy cropper with good taste as a fresh bean and also an exceptional dried bean.
Botanical name   Phaseolus vulgaris
Contains at least   approx 30
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 4 in stock   Order
Kale - Red Russian - 51RG

Kale - Red Russian - 51RG

Details   Red Russian kale leaves are tender, sweet and mild when picked young.  The red tinged leaves are a bluish blush making them quite attractive.  The leaves are flat with toothed edges.  Usually grows to about half a metre tall but can reach up to 1m tall with a long stalk if left in the ground with enough time to grow.
Botanical name   Brassica oleracea var. sabellica
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2019
Storage Info   Seed long term stored in freezer
Contains at least   50 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50
Edible Chrysanthemum - 90RG

Edible Chrysanthemum - 90RG

Details   All chrysanthemum flowers are edible, but the flavour varies widely from plant to plant, from sweet to tangy to bitter or peppery. It may take some experimentation to find flavours you like. The mild flavour lends itself well to stir-fries, added to salads also
Botanical name   Chrysanthemum coronarium
Contains at least   approx 30
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Oregon Spring - 97RG

Oregon Spring - 97RG

Details   Semi-Indeterminate - An early ripening tomato that produces mid to large size fruit,
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2023
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 4 in stock   Order

Purau large red - 30RG

Details   A very tasty large beefsteak type, good cropper.
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Out of stock

Purau Gardens

Rick Gender's Purau Gardens is located in Purau by the Lyttleton Harbour. Well known as an historic early market garden for Christchurch with a great climate and rich volcanic soil. No chemicals or fertilisers are required for the production of fantastic fruit and vegetables and its relative isolation makes this a great area for specialist seed production and development.

Teasel - 7RG

Teasel - 7RG

Details   Teasel - spiky flower heads were used for carding wool in the old days, also regarded as having some of the best bee attractant flowers. Finches love to eat the seeds.
Botanical name   Dipsacus fullonum
Contains at least   30 seeds
Date Of Seed Harvest   2023
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 5 in stock   Order
Miners Lettuce - 163RG

Miners Lettuce - 163RG

Details   Miners lettuce has small heart-shaped leaves that have a mild but succulent taste. Rich in calcium and vitamin C, miners lettuce is ideal to add to salads. Scatter seed in out of the way corners where it can then maintain itself.
Botanical name   Claytonia perfoliata
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2020
Storage Info   frozen stored
Contains at least   40 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50

Leek - Purau - 91RG

Details   Bred at Purau Gardens for many years and had adapted well to the coastal climate, this strain of leek may well suit warmer areas of NZ. Its a cross between three well known NZ varieties including Musselburgh. Suggested growing method is to aim for a long length white stem of up to 40cm, sow seed late winter/ early spring close enough together aiming for a spacing of 2cm apart, by mid summer the plants should be up to 30cm tall, dig them up trying not to damage the roots too much and place in a bucket with enough water in it to cover the roots. The soil these plants go into needs to be deeply dug over then using a rake or shovel handle poke it down into the soil as deep as 40cm, wriggle it around to make a shaft to which a leek plant is dropped down, then pour a small amount of water down, its just then a matter of insuring that the growth tip can grow up and out of the shaft
Botanical name   Allium porrum
Contains at least   50
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2021
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Lovage - 165RG

Lovage - 165RG

Details   Lovage is a tall perennial plant that belongs to the same family as carrots, parsley, and dill. A very aromatic herb that's most often used for medicinal purposes. All parts of the plant can be used.
Botanical name   Levisticum officinale
Contains at least   30
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed frozen stored
Price per packet   $4.50
Marmande - 58RG

Marmande - 58RG

Details   A French Heirloom very popular in Northern Italy with great pest and disease resistance. Fast growing producing early season fruit . Harvest 12-14 weeks from sow
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50

Brandywine Red tomato - 160RG

Details   Brandywine Red grows vigorous vines with large globe shaped rosy-red fruit, can get up to half a Kg in weight. This American heirloom beefsteak variety is one of the most popular grown in the US.
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Contains at least   20 seeds
Date Of Seed Harvest   March 2023
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Matricaria chamomilla - 144RG

Matricaria chamomilla - 144RG

Details   Chamomilla has a branched, erect and smooth stem, which grows to a height of 15–60 cm The flowers bloom in early to midsummer, and have a strong, aromatic smell.
Botanical name   Asteraceae. M. chamomilla
Contains at least   40
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Out of stock
Ailsa Craig - 14RG

Ailsa Craig - 14RG

Details   An old variety, very popular in the UK originating from Scotland in 1908. Named after the island.Ailsa Craig near the mouth of the Clyde river. A vigorous grower with good disease resistance, medium size and good flavour.
Botanical name   Solanum lycopersicum
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Contains at least   20
Price per packet   $4.50
Blue Hopi - Maize - 74RG

Blue Hopi - Maize - 74RG

Details  
Hopi maize is also known as Yoeme Blue, Tarahumara Maiz Azul, and Rio Grande Blue, ground it's used to make blue tortilla chips, tortillas, corn soup and cornbread. Hopi Blue grows 1.7m tall
Can be eaten as sweet corn when picked young.
Botanical name   Zea mays
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   March 2023
Contains at least   50
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Out of stock
St Mary's Thistle - 146RG

St Mary's Thistle - 146RG

Details   St Mary’s Thistle is a highly regarded liver protectant that also restores the liver’s ability to detoxify harmful substances. Can be grown as a decorative plant but can be regarded as a pest,
Botanical name   Silybum marianum
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Price per packet   $5.50
Watch Out of stock
Onion - Walsh - 37RG

Onion - Walsh - 37RG

Details   The true bunching onion is a perennial that does not form a bulb. Bunching onions are strong and enduring once established, they can supply a sharp and delicious punch of flavour to your cooking, year after year.
Botanical name   Allium fistulosum
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Date Of Seed Harvest   Jan 2019
Storage Info   Seed long term stored in freezer
Contains at least   50 seeds
Price per packet   $4.50

Black From Tula - 179RG

Details   A rare Russian heirloom known to set fruit in hot weather. Black From Tula is one of the largest black tomatoes that grows a flattened fruit which has a rich, salty, smoky flavour.
Botanical name   Solanaceae Lycopersicon lycopersicum
Contains at least   20 seeds
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2022
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stored in freezer
Price per packet   $4.50
Out of stock
Red Seeded broad - 150RG

Red Seeded broad - 150RG

Details   Rick received this bean from the Southern Seed Exchange many years ago and has become his favorite Broad bean for his own personal supply.
Botanical name   Vicia Faba
Contains at least   30
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   Seed stock refreshed yearly
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 3 in stock   Order
Globe Artichoke - 89RG

Globe Artichoke - 89RG

Details   The immature flower is eaten as a vegetable. The medicinal properties of Globe Artichoke have been known for many years. The leaves were very popular between the 16th and 19th centuries when they were used to stimulate bile flow and for a variety of digestive disorders.
Botanical name   Cynara scolymus
Contains at least   20
Date Of Seed Harvest   Feb 2020
Grower name   Rick Ginders
Storage Info   frozen stored
Price per packet   $4.50
Watch Only 6 in stock   Order
Details   Purau Gardens is a 7 acre block of prime volcanic silt loam situated at the bottom of the Purau Valley in Lyttleton Harbour. The land was purchased by Ric and Aileen Ginders in 2005 and had been a campground for many years. Prior to that it was a market garden supplying early tomatoes, strawberries and other produce to Christchurch. Historic records show that this area has a long history of early vegetable production due to the area having a unique microclimate and very fertile soil. This also makes it a great area for specialist seed production  as it is relatively isolated. I am dedicated to producing good quality seed that thrives in our country and is a joy to grow and welcome any feedback.