HAVE you heard of Storage Tomatoes you can keep for months and eat fresh over the Winter?
Or black carrots, purple cauliflower and pink celery?
The world of gardening is expanding daily – and a lot of these exciting new varieties are down to two women who’ve founded She Grows Veg.
It’s a heirloom seed company that scours the world for different and original plants – that you can grow right here in the UK.
Heirloom seeds are varieties of vegetables that have been passed down from generation to generation for at least 50 years.
They are open-pollinated, meaning they reproduce naturally through pollinators like bees, birds, or wind, rather than through controlled breeding like hybrids.
And, as She Grows Veg founder Lucy Hutchings tells Sun Gardening: “They’ve stood the test of time, and not only that, the flavours are better, they come in a rainbow of shapes, sizes, and colours that you won’t find in the supermarket, and you can save seeds from your harvest and replant them year after year.”
New Encyclopaedia of heritage seeds published this month
FORMER chef Mitch McCulloch has travelled the world to find exciting heritage seeds – and has a new book out The Seed Hunter.
He told Sun Gardening: “When you plant a seed and tend to it to harvest, it gives you a real sense of satisfaction which is almost lacking in modern life.
“Once you couple that with actually growing something which has a rich historical and cultural significance – like beans that were brought by the Cherokee Nation along the Trail of Tears – it’s a direct piece of history which we can hold, we can look at, we can smell, we can taste and we can use to inspire other people to to value the food in a different way. Hopefully this will ensure that the future generations are going to be able to taste these flavours from our past.
“Most heirlooms are the result of family breeding projects or small scale production with real emotions attached to them and they’re not just big corporate seed companies that are looking to produce a crop that is homogenized with a thick skin that can travel.”
He added: “I’m so excited my encyclopaedia of heirloom seeds is finally here. It’s jammed packed with rare and unique heritage food crops. “Discover the history, folklore, and fairytale for these amazing heirlooms, the varieties I recommend, plus recipe ideas as a nod to my chef past. “I’ve also included an 35 page interactive directory of seed sources to help people track down the rarest of seeds.
Currently She Grows packets of Storage tomatoes are just £4.50, black carrots are £3.50 and purple cauliflower is £2.95.
Working with friend Kate Cotterill, the pair set up the company just last year – and have already won gold at Chelsea and Hampton flower shows. .
Lucy said: “ We’ve visited amazing seed farmers and plant developers around the world who have just devoted their lives to a certain type of vegetable.
“So we have an amazing carrot grower in Japan and we’ve just connected with this guy who collects storage tomatoes in America.”
“Or there’s a cave bean that was found in an archaeological dig. It’s 1,500 years old and it was found in a ceramic pot and the archaeologists decided to try and germinate it and it did.
“We now sell it and it’s gorgeous. The little beans are almost like brown and white cow print.
“We just feel it’s really important that absolutely everyone on the planet realises they can grow something.
So we have winter greens out now, a container range and seeds you can do on your windowsill, balcony and garden.”
Kate added: “Our seed packets are little Instagram posts all on their own with a QR code that takes you to a YouTube video to help you get growing.
“We’ve really ripped up the rule book. We’re passionate about heirlooms and ornamentals, and we want everyone to have the best experience possible.”
News, tips, hacks and a leaf blower competition
NEWS! A gardening charity is asking people to adopt at-risk heritage seeds to make sure they continue to bloom for future generations. The Heritage Seed Library, run by sustainable gardening charity Garden Organic, holds the National Collection of Heritage Vegetables and works tirelessly to grow precious heirloom vegetables that due to commercial growing practices may be lost forever. Now it’s asking the public to help keep vegetables,’ in circulation – including tomato ‘Marianna’s Peace, Broadbean Martock, and Pea ‘Freer’s Mum.’. To become a Variety Champion click HERE
NEWS! Cherry Lane Garden Centres are offering kids halloween carving sessions this half term. Tickets are £6.99 with a cookie and witches brew. To find out more click HERE
SAVE! GET your seeds in the grounds or pots with a Farrer Tanner Burgon and Ball dibber for £12. Or buy one for £3.99 from espares.co.uk
WIN! TWO lucky winners will get a Cobra leaf blower – worth £119 each. To enter fill in THIS form. For more details, visit www.thesun.co.uk/COBRACOMP or write to Sun Cobra Comp, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Ends 23.59GMT 02/.11.24 T&Cs apply.
TOP TIP To best store seeds, put them in paper envelopes in an airtight container – containing something to absorb moisture. Silica gel is best, but dry charcoal and newspaper are also good.
THIS WEEK’S JOB Organise and clean your greenhouse, keep planting daffodils and allium bulbs – hold off until November for the tulips. Rake your lawn of leaves, but leave some in the beds.
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