The best vegetable seeds, compared.
Top pick: Mr Fothergill's Broad Bean Aguadulce Best value: Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density – Named Winter Density from a UK supplier, with 500 seeds stated at £3.10, which is under 1p a seed on that claim. Updated October 2026.
Vegetable seeds, for a UK shopper, are packets of a named vegetable variety. They are not seed trays, and they are not certified potato tubers. You tell packets apart by the variety, the sowing month, the stated count and the supplier. In England almost all garden vegetable seed is standard seed, not officially certified like seed potatoes. A sound packet names the species and variety and shows a packing year. The [vegetable seeds buying guide](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-buying-guide) sets out variety, year, supplier, an F1 mark and a title that matches the plant. A vegetable seed packet is seed of a named vegetable variety, sold for a bed, an allotment or a windowsill.
Vegetable seeds, for a UK shopper, are packets of a named vegetable variety. They are not seed trays, and they are not certified potato tubers.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What are you trying to sow?
Mr Fothergill's Aguadulce is listed at £3.49 for 45 seeds, and the title and the unit count agree on that number. The plant type and the style name say broad bean, and the special feature says an autumn and winter sowing variety, for outdoor use. The title and the best-seller rank still say flower seeds, which is the wrong shelf if you searched for beans. The seven stored reviews, inside a 4.6 rating from 43, talk about pods and germination rather than flowers. One November sowing was beginning to pod in May, and another germinated in heavy wet clay with a tray kept in a polytunnel. One reviewer said every seed came up. Several of the seven had not harvested yet, so the crop is not a settled result, and no review in the file reports a short count. On the stated 45 seeds the price is about 8p each, more than the small-seed packets, and a bullet mentions containers without giving a pot diameter. Mice take bean seed sown in the ground. Read the plant type before you treat the title as a flower packet.
Pros
Cons
Best for: An autumn or winter bean sowing if you have read past the flower-seed title and the site can take a hardy bean.
Less suitable: A search that was actually for flowers, or a buyer who needs a finished harvest described in most of the reviews.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this a flower seed or a broad bean?
The title and the best-seller rank say flower seeds. The plant type is broad bean, the style name is Aguadulce Broad Bean, and the reviews describe pods and a crop.
Can it be sown in autumn?
The listing marks it as an autumn and winter sowing variety, for outdoor use. A bullet also says borders, beds and containers. No pot diameter is given.
How many seeds are listed?
45, in both the title and the unit count. The seven reviews do not report a short count.
Across 995 amazon.co.uk reviews, this Mr Fothergill's packet of cauliflower All The Year Round sits at 4.4 and £2.09. The listing says the average packet contains about 200 seeds, for outdoor sowing in full sun, and the unit count matches that 200. Buyers who reached a harvest often mention a sealed inner packet, sowing notes on the sleeve, and curds that held once the plants were up, including a September outdoor sowing and a cold greenhouse. Germination splits the 47 stored review texts: many call it quick or plentiful, and others report little or none, sometimes after cold weather. One buyer counted 109 seeds against the stated average, and one pack was reported as barley rather than cauliflower. Plants that emerge can still be lost to blackfly, slugs or whitefly, and the inner packet is not resealable. The listing gives an expected height of 10 cm and does not answer whether it can be grown in a pot. That file carries the highest score in this comparison, so it is the top pick when you will sow a named white cauliflower more than once and check the date. One sowing is not a year of curds, and the listing does not say the variety is clubroot-resistant.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Outdoor sowings of a named white cauliflower, if you will sow more than once and check the date on the packet.
Less suitable: A pot, because the listing never answers that question, or a buyer who needs every envelope to match the average of 200 seeds.
Specifications
Common questions
How many seeds does the listing claim?
The listing says the average packet contains 200 seeds, and the unit count is 200. One review in the saved listing counted 109.
Is it listed for outdoor sowing?
The amazon.co.uk attributes say outdoor use and full sun. A pot size is not given.
What do the reviews say about germination?
Many of the 47 review texts praise germination. Others report little or no germination, sometimes in cold weather.
Just Seed's Winter Density lettuce is an economy pack stated as 500 seeds, priced at £3.10, with the country of origin given as the United Kingdom. Across 31 reviews the rating is 4.3, and the 11 stored texts mostly praise germination, healthy seedlings and quick dispatch. The listing's planting period says winter, and the expected height is 25 cm. One reviewer estimated about 100 seeds rather than 500. Another received seed dated to expire in the same month, and about half of that pack grew. An October greenhouse sowing was still at the two-leaf stage in November, which is slow growth rather than an empty tray. The material field says Organic, and a bullet prints Organic Registration AP23164 and Defra Registered 7291. Those are company numbers on the listing, not a certification mark quoted from the packet itself. On the seller's stated count of 500, the price is under 1p a seed, which is the best-value case in this set if the envelope is actually full. RHS places Winter Density in September or October. It is not the summer lettuce.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A winter lettuce sowing where you want a named variety from a UK supplier and you can read the date on the packet.
Less suitable: A buyer who needs a certified-organic logo on that envelope, or a summer lettuce.
Specifications
Common questions
How many seeds does the pack claim?
500. One reviewer estimated about 100.
Does the listing say the seed is organic?
The material field says Organic, and a bullet prints Organic Registration AP23164 and Defra Registered 7291. A certification mark on the packet is not quoted in the saved listing.
When does the listing say to plant it?
The planting-period attribute says winter. Expected height is 25 cm. Indoor use and full sun are asked on the page and not answered in the stored attributes.
This listing sells Black Cherry tomato seed under the brand Generic, with Nika seeds named as the manufacturer, at £2.99. The title says 40 seeds and the unit-count field says 50, so the page disagrees with itself. Of 28 reviews, seven texts are stored: one found a labelled bag and consistent-looking seed, and others reported plenty of seedlings or about half emerged after three weeks. One plant was called strong before any fruit had set. Another reviewer found no planting instructions, a small plastic bag that clung with static, and no way to tell from the packaging that the contents were tomato seed. A further count was 34 seeds plus a husk. The material line mixes in flower-seed wording about cutting and large flowers, while a bullet says indeterminate growth to 250 cm and the attribute says outdoor only. On a title count of 40 the price is about 7.5p a seed, and on the unit count of 50 it is about 6p. It suits a trial if you already grow a cordon. It is a weak first packet, because the sowing month is not printed and one reviewer could not identify the seed.
Pros
Cons
Best for: A trial sowing if you already know how to grow a cordon tomato and can spare seed that may not match the title count.
Less suitable: A first tomato crop, or anyone who wants a seed-house packet with a sowing month printed on it.
Specifications
Common questions
How many seeds are listed?
The title says 40 seeds. The unit-count field says 50. One reviewer counted 34 seeds plus a husk.
Does the listing say it can be grown indoors?
The attribute says outdoor. An indoor question is on the page, with no answer stored. The bullet says indeterminate growth to 250 cm.
How are the seeds packed?
The material line says ziplock labelled bags. One reviewer found no planting instructions and a small bag that was hard to empty.
At £8.99 this is the dearest packet in the set, and the three stored reviews all say it was the wrong thing. The title offers 100 mixed potato vegetable seeds. The plant-type field says seeds, no variety is named, and the unit-count field says 1.0 while the piece count says 100. Reviewers describe a packet of seed with tiny pegs, a picture that did not match what arrived, and they tell other buyers not to expect seed potatoes. None of those three texts reports a crop or a germination result. The listing claims indoor and outdoor use, full sun and year-round planting, which is a sentence on the page rather than a harvest in the reviews. Eight ratings at 3.3 is a thin sample. Certified seed potatoes in England are tubers under a separate scheme, and this listing does not claim that scheme. Botanical potato seed is not a named ware variety. Buy it only if you already know that, and skip it if you wanted a certified tuber.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Only a buyer who already knows botanical potato seed is not a seed potato, and who accepts an unnamed mix.
Less suitable: Anyone expecting certified seed potatoes, a named variety, or a crop report from these reviews.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this a packet of seed potatoes?
The title says 100 mixed potato vegetable seeds. The three reviews say the contents were seeds, not seed potatoes, and that the picture was misleading.
Which varieties are named?
None. Colour is given as mixed. The unit-count field says 1.0 while the piece count says 100.
Where does the listing say it can be grown?
Indoor and outdoor, full sun, year-round planting, well-draining soil. That is the listing claim. The reviews do not report a crop.
Five amazon.co.uk listings are on this page. The editorial score uses four parts that add to 100 before deductions: stars up to 40, review volume up to 20, listing clarity up to 25, and price against a usable packet up to 15. Short counts, failed germination and a title that names the wrong crop are deductions, not a fifth weight. There was no germination test. A star rating is not a laboratory result.
Stars
40%amazon.co.uk stars, scaled so five stars is 40 points. The figure is the listing line, not a germination trial.
Review volume
20%800 or more reviews score 20. A file of 30 to 99 scores 10, 15 to 29 scores 6, and fewer than 15 scores 3.
Listing clarity
25%A named variety, a supplier you can trace, count fields that agree, and a title that matches the plant. Up to 25 points.
Price against a usable packet
15%About £2 to £3.50 for a named packet scores higher than £8.99 for an unnamed mix. Up to 15 points.
Shoppers in this set are choosing a named vegetable packet for an allotment, a bed or a windowsill, or they have landed on a mixed potato-seed listing by mistake. The named packets are £2.09 to £3.49. The £8.99 mix is the dear item and is not a certified tuber. Cauliflower needs more than one sowing. Winter lettuce and a hardy bean belong to autumn. A tomato is a tender cordon, not a brassica. Trays, compost and modules are a different purchase from the packet.
A vegetable seed packet is seed of a named vegetable variety, sold for a bed, an allotment or a windowsill. It is not a seed tray, and it is not a certified potato tuber. On the five amazon.co.uk listings kept here, you tell packets apart by the variety, the sowing month, the stated count and the supplier. Named packets run from £2.09 to £3.49. The mixed potato-seed packet at £8.99 sits outside that band.
A vegetable-seed search also returns trays and compost. This page is packets only. A tray does not name a variety, a packing year or a supplier.
All The Year Round still needs succession. The listing's year-round blooming line is not a promise of curds every month from one sowing, and it is not a clubroot claim.
Aguadulce is a broad bean whose title says flower seeds. The Evanuha picture led reviewers to expect seed potatoes. Read the plant type. Botanical potato seed is not a certified tuber.
The first check is whether the variety and the crop match the month you can actually sow. All The Year Round cauliflower needs succession. The listing calls the blooming period year round, and buyers have reported a September outdoor sowing and a cold greenhouse, but one sowing is not a year of curds. The packet is not described as clubroot-resistant, and clubroot builds up where brassicas repeat. Winter Density is a September or October lettuce on the RHS page for that crop.
The listing and the packet should name the same plant. A title that says flower seeds, or a line about cut flowers, is a stop sign unless the variety line clearly says broad bean or tomato. Aguadulce fails the title and still passes the plant-type line, which is why it stays in the table with that fault showing. Black Cherry names the variety on the title, then mixes flower-seed wording into the material line, and one reviewer could not tell the contents were tomato seed.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a named variety from a supplier you can write to, and you will sow cauliflower more than once. Mr Fothergill's All The Year Round is £2.09, with 4.4 from 995 reviews and a stated average of about 200 seeds. Germination failures and one count of 109 are in the file, so you check the date on the packet.
You want labelled tomato seed, sown from about mid-March under cover or early April for outdoors. The only tomato here is Black Cherry under the brand Generic, at £2.99. One reviewer found no instructions and could not tell the seed from the bag, so this is a trial if you already grow a cordon, not a first packet.
On a mild or sheltered site you want an Aguadulce-type bean and a winter lettuce. Mr Fothergill's Aguadulce is marked as an autumn and winter sowing variety, £3.49 for 45 seeds, once you have read past the flower-seed title. Winter Density is the lettuce beside it, for September or October.
Mr Fothergill's cauliflower All The Year Round is the top pick: the highest score in this set, 4.4 from 995 reviews, a named variety at £2.09, with germination failures and one short count still on the record. Just Seed Winter Density is the best value when the seller's count of 500 seeds at £3.10 is what you are paying for, and you read the date on the packet. Aguadulce is the autumn bean once the title is read as a broad bean. Black Cherry disagrees with itself on seed count. The Evanuha mix is not a certified seed potato.
Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density
Named Winter Density from a UK supplier, with 500 seeds stated at £3.10, which is under 1p a seed on that claim.
Editorial
Products Compared publishes British-English buying guides based on amazon.co.uk listings and public UK sources. We do not run a lab and we do not invent test scores.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources named for this comparison. Updated October 2026.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Lee Burkhill (Garden Ninja) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, star ratings and review counts come from those listings and from the public UK sources below. We did not run a laboratory test.
