Seed Subscription: Vegetable, Arid Climate, Summer 2025

Subscriptions are an excellent way to explore new seed varieties without having to spend time choosing the seeds yourself, and are perfect for busy gardeners, delivering seeds and all the information you need to plant them directly to your letterbox. 

Each season we’ll choose a selection of seed varieties tailored to your climate, and send you the seeds plus a colour information sheet with photos, tips and sowing information - all you need to do is plant!

You are currently viewing a single season of seeds which can be purchased individually. To subscribe to a years worth of seeds click here.

Seeds included in this subscription:

• 

  Basil- Genovese

  Aromatic annual growing to 60cm. Large fragrant green leaves. The best variety for making pesto. Can be grown in containers. Can be used fresh or dried.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 2mm. Germination 5-10 days @ 18-35°C.Annual. Height 60cm, Spacing 30cm. 60-80 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN FEB SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Summer Squash- Green Tint

  Medium sized bush. Pale green, scalloped, button type fruit with excellent flavour and fine texture. Long producing. Stores better than other varieties.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 15mm. Germination 7-10 days @ 21-35°C.Annual. Rows 90cm, Spacing 60cm. 50-70 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN FEB AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Angled Luffa

  Popular Asian vegetable, best in tropical climates. Produces long, green, ridged fruit with sweet, zucchini-like flesh. Can substitute zucchini in warm climates. Mature fruit used as scrubbing sponge.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 15mm. Germination 14-21 days @ 25-30°C.Annual. Rows 75cm, Spacing 50cm. 100 days for fruit (150 days for fully mature fruit).

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN FEB MAR AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Malabar Spinach- Green

  Malabar spinach, a frost-tender perennial vine, is grown as an annual in cooler climates. It has soft stems, succulent leaves, and is a vigorous climber. The leaves resemble true spinach and are used as a substitute in salads and as a leaf vegetable.

  Sow direct, 10mm. Germination 10-21 days @ 24-30°C.Perennial (grown as an annual in cool climates). Spacing 20cm. 60-70 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN FEB AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

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• 

  Garland- Large Round Leaf

  Annual plant growing to 80cm. Large leaves used as salad green or cooked like spinach. Milder flavour than serrated leaf types. Fast-growing, heavy cropping. Also known as "Crown Daisy", "Edible Chrysanthemum", "Chop Suey Greens".

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 6mm. Germination 7-10 days @ 15-22°C.Annual. Height 80cm, Spacing 40cm. 30 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: FEB MAR APR SEP OCT NOV (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Cauliflower- Selection 174

  Creamy white, tightly packed heads that are well protected by the inner leaves. A reliable, Australian-bred variety producing medium sized, heavy heads 15-20cm wide with excellent flavour. Also known as 'Quickheart'.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 7-14 days @ 10-30°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 75cm, Spacing 50cm. 90-110 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Watermelon- Golden Honey

  A rare heirloom variety with sweet, crisp and juicy, golden yellow flesh and black seeds. Round fruits have light green striped skin and grow 25-30cm in diameter. Great in fruit salads or for creating a colourful fruit platter.

  Sow direct, 20mm. Germination 10-14 days @ 27-32°C.Annual. Rows 125cm, Spacing 75cm. 85 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Rockmelon- Ha'Ogen

  A smooth-skinned heirloom variety with fragrant, thick, pale green flesh that has a sweet honey flavour. When ripe, the skin changes from green to pale yellow, is slightly speckled and has green ribs. Fruit can weigh up to 1.5kg and matures in 70-95 days.

  Sow direct, 10mm. Germination 4-10 days @ 20-32°C.Annual. Rows 120cm, Spacing 60cm. 70-95 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Carrot- Samurai Red

  Heirloom Japanese variety with long, tapering, rosy-red roots. Flavour is sweet, and texture is crisp and tender, with colour holding up during cooking. Roots can grow 25-28 cm in length.

  Sow direct, 4mm. Germination 14-20 days @ 10-30°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 25cm, Height 15-20cm, Spacing 5cm. 70 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Corn, Sweet- Anasazi

  Old multi-coloured American heirloom corn. Tall plants grow to 200cm, typically yielding 2 cobs each. Cobs are large and sweet. Kernels start yellow and white, but dry to a mix of yellow, white, blue, and red.

  Sow direct, 20mm. Germination 5-14 days @ 16-35°C.Annual. Rows 75cm, Height 200cm, Spacing 30cm. 90 days.

  Best months in Arid Climates: JAN SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

Tips for gardening in summer:

• Watering: Learn when to water by using your index finger to check soil moisture. Scratch back a little of the surface soil and use your finger to see if soil is moist about 5cm below the surface; if it’s on the dry side, it’s time to water.
• Crop protection: As fruit and veggies develop they may need protection from burrowing insects, fruit fly, birds, possums or bats. Berries, fruit trees and soft fruit like tomatoes are especially at risk. Use insect exclusion netting, bird netting or fruit protection bags to protect crops. Ensure your netting is pegged or tied securely at the bottom to stop pests getting in.
• Pinch for More Flowers: Pinch the main stems of flowering plants to encourage strong growth, a bushier habit and more flowers. Once plants are 20-40cm tall and have several sets of leaves, use sharp, clean snips or secateurs to cut off the top 10cm or so of the main stem of the plant, making the cut just above a set of leaves. Flowers including aster, zinnia, chrysanthemum, calendula, marigold and dahlia will all benefit from pinching.
• Provide shade for sensitive plants: Use shade cloth or even old sheets to protect delicate seedlings and leafy greens from the harsh summer sun, especially during the hottest part of the day.

Pests and diseases to look out for in summer:

• Aphids: Small, sap-sucking insects that congregate on the new shoots or the underside of leaves. They can cause leaves to wilt or become discoloured, and also excrete honeydew which can attract ants and other insect pests. To manage aphids, remove them by spraying with a garden hose, apply a soap or alcohol spray, or encourage predatory insects to your garden.
• Whitefly: A sap-sucking insect related to aphids, whitefly are found in large numbers on the underside of leaves, and will swarm in clouds when disturbed. Plants may have yellowing leaves or may wilt, and growth will be slowed. Whitefly can be removed with a garden hose or sprayed with soap spray. Badly affected plants should be destroyed.
• Slugs and snails: These slimy pests love the humidity of summer nights and can decimate seedlings and tender young plants. They leave tell-tale silvery trails and irregular holes in leaves. To control them, try hand-picking them at night (with a torch) and disposing of them, creating barriers crushed eggshells around vulnerable plants, or using beer traps.
• Fungal diseases: The combination of warm temperatures and summer humidity can form the perfect conditions for fungal diseases to spread. Water plants in the morning at ground level, avoiding wetting foliage wherever possible. Prune off affected foliage, space plants to allow more airflow, and treat fungal outbreaks with homemade or purchased sprays.

Product code: SS_VEG_ARID_SUM_2025