Welcome to Franchi Seeds of Italy 1783

'Best Seed Company of the Year'
(The Horticultural Channel' in a poll of 47,500 people on 30/12/2012). Thanks all !!

Friday May 10th 1300 to 2000 at Seeds of Italy's characteristic old London warehouse is the setting for a free exhibition of rescued Italian accordions dating 20's to 70's, some of which are astoundingly beautiful. Bring yours along (lovely accoustics here!), shows us one that you've had knocking around for years or simply come and browse.

Franchi in Italy are lobbying their seed association and we in the UK too are against the new proposed licensing and sale of seeds act in the EC. Whilst the EC has some excellent laws the UK needs like PFN's (protected food names) and Europe makes some sensible decisions like banning Neonicotinoid pesticides which are still permitted and being used in the UK, this seed law in it's present form will damage ALL countries biodiversity and uniqueness and both Italy and the UK in particular have a rich cultural plant heritage which must be protected. This law is unenforceable, and damaging to all European countries not just the UK. Italians are just as worried about this law and we hope it will not be passed. Paolo. Director. Seeds of Italy.

ITALIAN PINE NUTS - Did you know most pine nuts in the UK are from China and some can cause a very unpleasant condition called 'pine mouth'? Italian pine nuts are a far superior quality, and flavour, long without those horrible dark ends and traditionally used to make pesto 'Genovese'.

We have in stock now ARTISAN TRADITIONAL VIRGIN OLIVE OIL from the hills of Santeramo in Colle (Puglia).

NEONICOTINOID pesticides are BANNED IN ITALY for seed production (unlike in the UK where they are permitted and used). So only with Franchi seeds can you be sure (Whatever your position on this subject) that they are safe for our  delicate BRITISH BEES.

Below is an artist's impression of our small RHS Hampton Court 2013 Roman vegetable 'Plinys Garden' which will be complete with Roman soldiers courtesy of Fishbourne Roman Palace and the National Roman Legion Museum of Wales.



By the time of the mutiny on the bounty in 1789, Giovanni Franchi was already 6 years into his business of selling seeds around the market squares of Parma from his horse drawn cart, and the company is still in the same family 229 years later with Giampiero Franchi at the helm. 1783 also witnessed the death of the landscape architect Capability Brown, the end of the American War of Independence and the flight of the Montgolfier brothers balloon over Paris. Franchi are the oldest family run seed company in the world and are much more than just seeds in a packet – they are a story of tradition, pride, experience, quality, passion and excellence handed down over 7 generations that continues today alongside state-of-the-art technological solutions.

Franchi are a completely independent seed company and we are not associated with any other companies in the UK! If it doesn't say Franchi (or Golden Line) on the packet, its not ours! If it's not ours, it is not 230 years of handed down experience over 7 generations still in the same family and we are seed producers too. We assume when we buy seeds that the company you have bought them from have produced them - IN MOST CASES THIS IS NOT THE CASE and people just don't realise!

Do you know which country the seeds in your packet come from? With Franchi seeds you can rest assured because we are seed producers and we commission over 90% of our vegetable seed range ourselves, locally. They are traditional regional varieties which have provenance and some come from the Alps, Dolomite or Apennine areas of Italy, so they are used to much colder climates than the UK can throw at them.

Every region of Italy has its own varieties, which like its recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. They are not globally available varieties which are found worldwide but instead are regional with a unique heritage. Go to an Italian market and you can buy tomato seeds, tomato plants, tomatoes and everything made with the tomatoes. There is no separation between gardening and food – there’s just food, RY and the tomato will vary in shape, size and flavour depending on the region, along with all the other vegetables. It is common for offices, factories, railway stations and even hospitals to have an ‘orto’ or allotment. Many schools do too and children who grow veg, eat veg!


‘From Seed to Plate’ is not just the name of our new cookbook, but it is our philosophy. Our catalogue features everything you need to achieve this so for example you can grow your Franchi San Marzano plum tomatoes, use a Rigamonti passata machine to make your passata and then bottle them in our Bormioli Quattro Stagioni passata bottles which once hermetically sealed, will sit in your larder for at least a year. It is really easy to do lots of things badly, so we only deal with a few suppliers, all of which still produce traditional quality goods in Italy.

We have always included signed recipes in our centre pull-out section so you can enjoy the fruits of your labour and this year we are thrilled to have signed recipes from a variety of chefs and restaurants to inspire you.