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Broccoli seeds: which crop the packet is

Updated: 21 October 2026

You searched broccoli seeds and amazon.co.uk returned spears, an autumn head, raab, kai lan, a tray, and jar bags. Garden packets here run from about £1.40 to £4.09, and sprouting bags from about £20.98 to £47.98. The listings are in the [broccoli seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/broccoli-seeds). Heads against spears are on [calabrese vs sprouting broccoli](/hub/herb-seeds/broccoli-seeds/sub/broccoli-seeds-calabrese-vs-sprouting). A jar this week is [broccoli sprouting seeds at home](/hub/herb-seeds/broccoli-seeds/sub/broccoli-seeds-sprouting-at-home). Peter F. used the amazon.co.uk listings. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched broccoli seeds and amazon.co.uk returned spears, an autumn head, raab, kai lan, a tray, and jar bags. Garden packets here run from about £1.40 to £4.09, and sprouting bags from about £20.98 to £47.98.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple
7.6/10about £4.09
View offer
Natures Root Natures Root sprouting seed, 2 × 250 g

Rank 2

Natures Root Natures Root sprouting seed, 2 × 250 g
8.8/10about £20.98
View offer
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Green Calabrese

Best value

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Green Calabrese
6.8/10about £2.39
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What these broccoli seeds actually are
  2. 2.Match the packet to the harvest you want
  3. 3.Quantity, F1 seed, and the word organic
  4. 4.What to ignore on the listing

What these broccoli seeds actually are

Calabrese is the large green head. In this set that is Green Calabrese (250 seeds, about £2.39), Covina (about 50 seeds, about £3.49), and Batlle Verde Calabrese (8 g, about £1.40). Purple sprouting is repeated spears: Early Purple, 500 seeds at about £4.09 with a February to May cut, and Claret F1, 25 seeds at about £1.95. The RHS keeps them on separate guides. Raab is neither plant. Mr Fothergill's Raab, about 500 seeds at about £4.09, is Brassica rapa for shoots, leaves, and buds in about 60 days. Just Seed Kailan Kichi at about £1.55 is kai lan, Chinese broccoli, a stem-and-bud crop. Unwins microgreens at about £2.08 is a tray you cut just before serving. Natures Root and Rainbow Heirloom are gram bags for jars. A 25-seed pack will not feed a weekly jar.

Match the packet to the harvest you want

Early Purple says sow March to May and cut February to May, at 60 cm each way. Claret F1 is the same spear idea, and the listing prints no sowing month. Green Calabrese uses March to May and a September to November head. Covina runs later: indoors February to April or outdoors March to June, then a June to November head and side shoots. Raab is February to September, 1.5 cm, thin to 25 cm, repeated every two to three weeks. Kai lan has no sowing month. Unwins microgreens are a year-round tray. The jar bags run from about £20.98 to about £47.98. A cheaper packet is not a saving when the harvest does not match. Who should skip a listing is on the best broccoli seeds page.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Early Purple
7.6/10about £4.09
View offer

Quantity, F1 seed, and the word organic

Covina's about 50 seeds is a short row. Early Purple's 500 seeds is more than three plants at 60 cm. Claret's 25 seeds are F1, so saved seed will not come true. Green Calabrese states 250 pieces. Batlle states 8 g and also 1,500 pieces, while one review says about 300 seeds arrived. Just Seed's title says 300 and another field says 150. Plan the row from the packet in your hand. Organic on a title is a claim until the bag shows the control body. Natures Root says organic and non-GMO, and this file does not show the mark. Rainbow's non-GMO line is not certified organic. Just Seed cites Defra registration 7291 and organic registration AP23164. The listing still does not show the dark yellow supplier label the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 expect on vegetable seed in England.

What to ignore on the listing

Early Purple is 4.6 from 23, and both UK texts stop before a harvest. Green Calabrese is 4.2 from 19. Natures Root is 4.5 from 1,640 with a UK jar sample, and the 1 kg listing repeats that run. Rainbow is 4.6 from 3,298, with written reviews here from the United States and Mexico. Batlle is 4.1 from 527 with no UK texts. Covina and Raab have no rating line. Claret and the Unwins collection are each 5.0 from one rating and no text, and the collection does not name its varieties. A sulforaphane line is a claim, not a measurement.

Common questions

Are calabrese and broccoli the same seed?
In the shops, broccoli usually means the green head, and that plant is calabrese. Sprouting broccoli gives repeated spears. Here, Green Calabrese, Covina, and Batlle are heading packets. Early Purple and Claret F1 are spear packets. Read the variety name before you compare the price.
How many broccoli seeds does a household need?
A few heading plants is a small packet, not a kilogram. Covina's about 50 seeds can plant a modest row. Early Purple's 500 seeds is more than most plots need at 60 cm. A weekly jar needs grams, which is why sprouting bags start at about £20.98.
Is broccoli raab ordinary broccoli?
No. Mr Fothergill's Raab is Brassica rapa, for shoots, leaves, and buds in about 60 days at 25 cm. It will not form a supermarket dome, and it is not purple sprouting. Buy it when that leaf-and-bud crop is what you want.
What is Chinese broccoli seed?
Just Seed Kailan Kichi is kai lan, Chinese broccoli, at about £1.55. You eat the stems and young buds. One UK reviewer said they were not the thick supermarket kai lan they knew. The listing disagrees with itself, 300 seeds against 150.
Should I buy a gram bag or a 25-seed packet?
Buy grams for a jar or a weekly tray. Buy a counted packet for calabrese or purple sprouting in the ground. Claret F1 at about £1.95 is 25 hybrid seeds for a few plants. A 1 kg sprouting bag is the wrong thing to space at 60 cm.
Does organic on the title mean the packet is certified?
Not by itself. Organic and non-GMO in a title are claims until the control body is on the pack. Rainbow's non-GMO line is not an organic certificate. Just Seed prints registration numbers, and you still confirm them on the foil.

Related pages

How to sow broccoli seeds

Broccoli seeds

Best broccoli seeds for a jar, head, or winter spears

Calabrese vs sprouting broccoli: same year or winter

Broccoli sprouting seeds: jar rinse, drain, and cook

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these twelve listings are from the category snapshot. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS: grow your own broccoli (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS: grow your own calabrese (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS: cabbage root fly (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS: club root (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. RHS: Brassica rapa Ruvo Group (broccoli raab) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. FSA: protecting consumers from STEC (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. NI Direct: sprouted seeds safety advice (retrieved 21 October 2026)