Recommended products for November: the best Smarties.bio varieties for winter growing cycles
November brings an exciting addition to the Smarties.bio range: XS317 AGRETTI SEEDS are available again.
Alongside this welcome return, this month's selection also includes professional varieties of wild rocket and corn salad, developed to meet the needs of autumn and winter growing cycles. Match and Strike from the Rocket range, together with XS114 and Trofeo XS389 from the Corn Salad range, complete Smarties.bio's November selection.
Herbs and Aromatic Plants range: XS317 AGRETTI SEEDS: the return of Barba di Frate, a traditional Mediterranean vegetable
Also known as Barba di Frate or Roscano, Agretti are a traditional Mediterranean vegetable, particularly appreciated for their distinctive, thin, tube-shaped leaves. They are an extremely easy crop to grow, making them an interesting choice both for professional growers and for gardening enthusiasts who want to try growing a wholesome vegetable with valuable nutritional properties.
Some of the features that make agretti an interesting crop include:
- Extremely easy to grow: they can be either direct-sown or transplanted, allowing growers to adapt cultivation practices to their needs. For transplanting, we recommend growing them in small bunches by sowing around ten seeds in each plug cell.
- Distinctive leaves: thin, tubular and easy to recognise.
- Versatile in the kitchen: they can be prepared just like spinach, making a tasty and nutritious side dish. Their versatility also makes them suitable for a wide range of recipes, from simple dishes to savoury pies and omelettes.
XS317 AGRETTI SEEDS are therefore a crop worth rediscovering, combining tradition, ease of cultivation and excellent eating quality.
They are available again on our website: discover the return of this traditional vegetable to the Smarties.bio range!
Rocket range: MATCH WILD ROCKET SEED, the all-season variety for productivity and uniformity
Match is an all-season wild rocket variety developed to deliver excellent performance in both summer and winter growing conditions. Consistent in summer and particularly vigorous in winter, it stands out for its impressive, very rapid growth.
Its main strengths include:
- very rapid growth and high productivity;
- excellent uniformity and leaf lobing;
- resistance to Fusarium and high tolerance to Bremia;
- excellent yields and well-defined leaf lobing from the very first cut.
Match is available as organic seed, in a bare-seed version and as a 32-seed multi-seed pellet.
Rocket range: STRIKE WILD ROCKET SEEDS, the specialist for cold-season growing
Strike is one of the key varieties in the Smarties.bio range for autumn and winter production. Selected to maintain high performance even at lower temperatures, it ensures uniform, high-quality crops.
Its main characteristics are:
- thick, heavy leaves with pronounced lobes;
- intense, uniform green colour;
- high yields from the very first cut.
Thanks to its leaf quality and ability to maintain consistent production standards, Strike is a reliable choice for cold-season growing. It is available both as organic seed and as a 32-seed multi-seed pellet.
Corn Salad range: XS114 CORN SALAD SEEDS, reliable performance throughout the season
XS114 is a winter corn salad variety selected to deliver high performance in autumn and winter growing cycles, maintaining quality and uniformity even in low temperatures and with limited light availability.
Its main advantages include:
- upright, rosette-shaped growth habit;
- firm, crisp leaves;
- excellent retention of its small, dark cotyledons, even after harvesting.
Thanks to these characteristics, XS114 is a reliable choice for growers looking for consistent production and quality throughout the winter season.
Corn Salad range: XS389 TROFEO CORN SALAD SEEDS, earliness and performance
Trofeo XS389 is an early, productive variety, characterised by excellent adaptability and stability throughout the year. It performs particularly well in winter growing cycles, thanks to its rapid growth and excellent yields.
Its main strengths are:
- semi-upright leaf habit;
- very broad, tender and tasty oval-shaped leaves;
- intense, dark and bright green colour;
- very rapid growth and excellent yields in winter growing cycles;
- small cotyledons with excellent colour retention, even at low temperatures.
Trofeo XS389 stands out for its balance of earliness, productivity and quality, making it an interesting choice for professional growers.
Smarties.bio Books – Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable
Alongside the latest additions to our seed range, this month we are also introducing a new title in our Smarties.bio Books collection.
Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable is now available. The book was written by Lane Selman and Margarett Waterbury, with photographs by Shawn Linehan.
For Smarties.bio, this book is more than just a story about one of the Veneto region's iconic vegetables. It is part of an ongoing exchange and collaboration with Lane Selman, the book's co-author and founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, a network that brings together farmers, plant breeders, researchers and chefs.
Our relationship with Lane has also grown through the Progetto Gusto Italiano, an initiative created to promote Italian vegetable varieties and introduce our chicories to an international audience, building a dialogue between the seed industry, agricultural production and food culture.
This shared vision is precisely what makes the book so meaningful to Smarties.bio: telling the story of biodiversity means valuing not only the varieties themselves, but also the people, places and knowledge that help keep it alive.
Radicchio: A Celebration of the Beloved Italian Vegetable is available in the Reading with Smarties.bio collection, exclusively in English.
Discover the book and explore the story behind the project in our dedicated article.
Planning today to reap the rewards tomorrow
Every season brings new opportunities. From rediscovering traditional vegetables such as agretti to choosing varieties selected for winter growing cycles, Smarties.bio continues to offer solutions designed to meet the different needs of professional growers and gardening enthusiasts.
For further information about our range, the Smarties.bio team is available to help you choose the varieties best suited to your needs.
November is underway: it's time to sow strategically. 🌱