IRISH SEED SAVERSAssociation

Seed Catalogue

American Flag Leek

Amish Pie Pumpkin Beta3 Carrot Caro Rich

Tomato

Camomile Cosmos CylindraBeetroot

Galina CherryTomato

Gelb Radish Gene Bank Marrow

GoldenAmaranth

Grandpa Admires Lettuce

Honesty Leprechaun Courgette

Lily WhiteSea Kale Linseed

Frise Vert Fonce Parsley

Lucullus Chard

Mr. Jones Broad Bean

Old Ambaster Broad Bean

Seed Catalogue 2018

The Irish Seed Savers Association was set up in 1991 to save Ireland’s heritage and heirloom vegetable seeds, potatoes, grains and fruit trees from extinction.We have over 600 varieties of organic, open pollinated heritage seeds in our pur-pose built Seed Bank and our extensive heritage gardens house the native apple tree collection together with the country’s only self-rooting orchard. We share our skills and knowledge with thousands of children and adults through courses, camps and outreach programmes. The Irish Seed Savers Association is one of very few organisations in Ireland engaged in this urgent work. Please join us by be-coming a supporter. Your contribution will ensure that this living legacy can be held in trust for future generations.

Please find supporter forms and information at the back of this catalogue.

All our seed are open pollinated and grown in Ireland. Beside each variety a symbol tells you where it’s been grown:

ISSA - Irish Seed Savers AssociationS.G. - Seed Guardian Additional Symbols:C.O. - Certified Organic*B - Available on Bulk Catalogue

We welcome any gardening news, tips and feedback from your own experiences growing our seeds so that we can share it with others in the seed saving community.

Irish Seed Savers Association are very grateful to Pobal, Clare LEADER, the Department of Agriculture, The Jackson Foundation, DCCAE and the Irish Environmental Network, Clare County Council, Patago-nia, SEAI, The Heritage Council and Croí publishing for their very valued support of our organisation.

Inside Illustrations from Thomas Etty

Bee’s & Workshop Drawings by Judith Evans

ContentsAlliaceae Family - Onions & Leeks.

Brassicaceae Family - Cabbage, Kale, Brussel Sprouts,

Sea Kale, Cauliflower, Foder Rape, Swede, Turnip, Radish.

Chenopodiaceae Family - Beetroot, Chard, Spinach, Quinoa.

Compositae Family - Lettuce.

Cucurbitaceae Family - Cucumber, Courgette, Melon,

Squash, Pumpkin.

Gramineae Family - Sweetcorn.

Leguminoseae Family - Broad Beans, French bean,

Runner Bean, Peas.

Liliaceae Family - Asparagus.

Linaceae Family - Linseed / Flax

Solanaceae Family - Pepper, Chilli Pepper, Tomato,

Cape Gooseberry.

Umbelliferae Family - Carrot, Parsnip, Celeriac, Celery,

Root Parsley, Salsify.

Salad Leaves & GreensHerbsFlowers

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Alliaceae Family

Onion (Allium cepa)

Note: Growing onions from seed successfullySow in trays/modules under cover in February. Plant out seedlings approx 15cm apart in April into really moist soil (water well if dry). Onions need to have plenty of green leaf growth by solstice, ‘June 21’ when the change in daylight starts the process of swell-ing the bulb. Harvest when tops have started to die back in August.

Buan (CO - ISSA) *BThis is a true native Irish onion bred by Barnie Crombie who was still doing onion trials in the 1980’s. However he had sent seed to the Russian and English gene banks from which Irish Seed Savers Association received seed and we have been growing and saving this unique variety since. It has performed extremely well in the most adverse conditions for ‘good quality onions’, ie an average Irish summer. The name comes from old Irish, ‘Long life’, and it is indeed a really good storage bulb, with fla-voursome white flesh and has won prizes in several shows.

James long keeping (CO - ISSA)This is one of the most “asked about” crop varieties that we have. The RHS of 1819 states ‘Well known sort raised by market gardener of the name James several years ago”. Dropped from the national list in 1993 in Britain, this wonderful onion has good flavour medium size red/brown bulbs and as the name suggests, is an excellent keeper. Amazing to see it’s still popular after 200 years.

Paille Des Vertus (CO - ISSA) *BThis variety is a French heirloom also known as ‘Brown Spanish’, a standard variety in Europe for over 200 years. It was said by Vilmorin in 1855 in his famous book ‘Les Plantes Potageres’ that ‘the winter supply of onions for Paris and Europe consists chiefly of this variety’. Now it is rare and very hard to find. The onion is flavour-ful, flat bulbs up to 10cm across, productive, early cropper with brown/copper skin. Keeps well.

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Up to date (CO - SG)This onion goes back 80 years. It was taken off the national variety register as it was incorrectly thought to be one and the same as Bedford Champion. The Up to date onion has good resistance to the disease white rot. A yellow skinned variety good all round and excellent for storage.

Overwintering VarietiesNote: These are best sown in late July/August in trays and planted out as seedlings September/October. These onions produce really well in a cool tunnel, start harvesting as fresh scallions in April, leaving remainder to mature into big bulbs by late June. They can be grown outdoors but the crop will tend to be on the small side. It is easy to be self sufficient in onions by growing both summer and overwintering varieties.

Sendai Ki Tamanegi (CO - ISSA) *BTamanegi is in fact the Japanese word for onion. This great variety came from an open pollinated small seed company in Japan. Grows lovely large bulbs from a late summer sowing and also stores well.

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum)Note: Leeks need a long growing season, we usually sow them in boxes under cover in February, ready for planting outdoors in their final bed by the end of April or early May by which time the seedlings are quite sturdy. If you have a polytunnel, a side bed can be used as a direct sown seedling bed. When transplanting use a dibber to create a good long planting hole 15cm apart and make sure the soil is very moist, soak be-fore planting if dry.

American Flag/Giant Musselburgh (CO - ISSA) This variety is also known as ‘Scotch flag’, noth-ing to do with patriotic sentiment the term flag is an old reference to plants with sword-like foliage as have leeks. This variety remains popular, going back as far as 1870. Broad, green leaves and good thick stalks with mild and tender flavour.

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Bleu de Solaize (CO - ISSA) A very old French heirloom variety going back to the 19th Century. Very hardy, holding well over the winter, medium long shafts, sweet flavour, the blue/green leaves turn a beautiful violet colour in very cold weather.

Bulgarian Giant (CO - ISSA) A popular European heirloom that came to us from the big international seed swap in Brussels. Renowned for having an extra long stem, and being exceptionally tall, nevertheless, a quick growing, early maturing variety. Light green leaves and good flavour. Harvested in Autumn, it lasted through the Winter here.

King Richard (CO - ISSA) An early maturing leek which we found also overwinters here exceptionally well even in extremly wet winters! Noteworthy long shanks, white/pale green with excel-lent flavour.

Monstrueux D’Elbeuf (CO-ISSA)A traditional French cultivar grown in the alluvial plains of the Seine in Normandy. It has short, chunky stems and lovely bright green foliage, it is good for autumn harvesting.

Verdonnet (CO-ISSA)An old landrace variety improved and selected by a farmer. Originally from Switzer-land, with good large stalks, dark green leaves and hardy through winter.

Brassicaceae Family

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Note: Sow spring cabbage end of July/ begining August for the following Spring in mod-ules and plant out transplants 4-6 weeks later 30-40cm apart. Spring Cabbages were traditionally grown where early potatoes had been dug.

Flat Dutch (common) (CO - ISSA) *BA selection from the native Irish on farm collection of seed; often called common cabbage. Good big, white/green heads, that stand well through the winter.

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Gortahock (CO - SG) Large drumhead cabbage hailing from Co. Donegal. Some heads are the size of a football, both tasty and tender. Very hardy, it stands well through the winter.

Irish Drumhead (CO - ISSA) *BBeautiful dark green savoy heads of medium size cabbage that are winter hardy, grown out from the native Irish collection.

Paddy’s cabbage (CO - SG) An heirloom developed by an Irish allotment holder who then shared seed with his allotment neighbours. The variety is spring sown for use late summer onwards, a vigorous grower producing large heads, good and crunchy, standing well into win-ter. Mona, a local market gardener who grew this one for seed was very impressed with it and is going to continue growing the cabbage for sale.

Spring Cabbage (CO – ISSA)From our native Irish collection, these particular spring cabbages were grown and collected in and around Cork city. Lush tender greens and small pointed heads all through spring. Will produce even in hard winters.

Cut-n-Come Cabbage (B. Oleracea var. acephala)Crops that are primarily for winter use, we sow in early summer. This spreads both the work and propagating space. Hardy crops like kale/swede can be sown outdoors. We use module trays and transplant; but you can also direct sow, though crops are then more vulnerable to slugs.

Delaway Cabbage (CO - ISSA) *BA popular native Irish cut ‘n’ come cabbage that performs well even in difficult growing conditions like waterlogged soil or exposed places. No pests or diseases to report, it provides delicious purple/green tender crinkled wavy leaves that can be picked for several months and go on producing more. Lovely addition to the winter garden.

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Winter Greens Mix (ISSA - SG)A mix of different varieties of kale, leaf rape and mustard leaves that can be sown often and used when small for baby leaf tangy salad leaves or thinned out and left to mature for delicious, nutritious winter greens.

KaleRemember when kales start producing flowering shoots in spring these can be

pinched off and eaten like sprouting broccolli.

Red Russian (SG) *BVery tender and mild, a pre 1885 heirloom variety. Oak type leaves can have a red tinge and stems are a purplish red, with great flavour.

Uncle John’s (SG) *BThis variety was grown and saved by John Burke in Co. Cork for 50 years. It has proved to be ex-tremeley popular being a most delicious, tender and sweet kale, with lovely bright green leaves that thrive all through the winter well into spring, showing good resistance to black spot.

Fodder Rape (B. rappa)

Emerald (CO - ISSA) *BThis is an Irish bred lush green fodder rape. Growing it out to rejuvenate old seed we discovered that it is really quite delicious to eat, more tender than kale. Stood well through the winter, so its good for the pot and for the animals.

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Brussel Sprout (B. oleracea var. gemmifera)

Balbriggan (CO - ISSA) *BGrown out on field scale this landrace really held its own on the windy waterlogged hilltop. The plants that didn’t thrive were rogued out – so the overall hardiness and vigour of the variety will hold true. These are mostly large plants with large sprouts, holding through the winter – though as with most landraces there is some variation.

Dublin Cropper (CO - ISSA) Now in the Irish heirloom, as the name suggests a great ‘cropper’ of delicious mild flavoured, medium size sprouts that kept on producing all through the waterlogged winter. It’s from the Irish collection though we know very little about it, but could infer from the name it was once grown in horticultural fields around Dublin, pos-sibly even bred in Ireland.

Irish Glacier (CO - ISSA) *BOnce a very popular variety especially with commercial growers, it was given to us from the Wellsbourne gene bank. Barry Murphy who made the original on-farm collection of Irish brassicas, describes it as an outstanding variety, with small tight sprouts, good for freezing. Plants are very neat and uniform. It lives on as a parent to the modern F1 variety Lunet, bred in Holland.

Cauliflower (B. oleracea var. botytris)

Winter Roscoff (CO - ISSA) *BThis great cauliflower was collected in Co. Dublin in 1982 from an elderly farmer, and produces magnificent curds. Sow July/Au-gust and plant out in September for an early crop the following spring; can also be grown in tunnels over winter for an even earlier crop. To keep curds from discolouring as they mature, cover up with the upturned leaves and stump of a cauliflower already harvested.

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Sea Kale (Crambe maritima)

Lily white (CO - ISSA) This is a perennial crop so it requires a permanent site. It has distinctive grey/blue green fleshy leaves and gives a beautiful display of pure white flowers in late spring. However as a food crop it is the early shoots (like asparagus) that are eaten raw or cooked. They are best when blanched so put a thick layer of straw over them in au-tumn/winter. Don’t start cropping until the second year. The seeds come in a little roundish fruit each containing only one seed, which are sown whole.

Swede (Brassica napus)

Backweston selection (CO - ISSA) *BThis was the last of our native swede to be grown out for seed. It came with no name only a number. It was originally a selection made at Backweston Agricultural research station in the days when breeding work on vegetables was still being un-dertaken. Lovely big sized purple-skinned roots of good flavour and hardiness as proven by the extreme winter.

Best of all (CO - SG) *BA traditional swede with purple and white skin growing to a good size. Golden flesh very sweet and tasty, lasting well into spring before going woody, all round ‘excel-lent’ as described by a supporter.

Major Dunne (SG)This was a popular variety commonly grown in the north and given to us by John McCormack of Co. Down. It grows quite upright, high on the surface thus not prone to soil pests like eel worm. Good purple colour, sweet tasty flesh and hardy through the winter. Many grew to an enormous size. If you prefer small Swedes, delay the sowing and planting until the very end of June.

Old Jake (CO - ISSA)This variety originally came from a ship-wreck on North Haven Island off the coast of Maine. It has excellent flavour and hardiness, keeping well into spring. Very up-right in the ground with purple skin.

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Six Mix (CO - ISSA) *BWe grew out all the six native Irish swede varieties together in 2015 so we could do botanical descriptor work on them. This seed is then a mix of all six varieties and there may be some interesting surprises if the flowers were cross pollinated!

Tipperary Turnip (CO - SG)A native cultivar of swede returned to us from the Wellesbourne gene bank. Market Gardener Jason Horner, who is one of our seed guardians, grew this variety out for us. This was one of his favourite crops as the Tipperary Turnip did not suffer from Boron deficiency on his land to the same degree as other varieties. On his commer-cial vegetable plot the 3 rows took up very little space and made great forage for his bees when flowering. Like other native Brassicas it is hardy and disease resistant. It has a delicate, mellow, sweet flavour, still remembered by many of the locals. “The flesh,” says Andrew Williams, “is not tough at all and keeps well through winter”.

Western Perfection (CO - ISSA)A popular variety grown in Cork and donated to us by Eddie Lucey. A round, me-dium sized swede turnip with purple/magenta skin and delicious golden flesh. Grew well despite the difficult weather and exposed position with very little disease noted. Matured quickly from a late sowing at the end of June.

Williamsburger (CO - ISSA) *BThis is a selection made at Backweston Agricultural research station from the popu-lar old cultivar Williamsburger. Roots grow from moderate to large sized with pale flesh and pleasant, mild flavour. Winter hardy.

York (CO - ISSA) *BSometimes known as York Purple Top, as it has just that, with sweet yellow flesh. Small to medium in size and excellent winter keeper.

Turnip (Brassica rapa)

White Egg (CO - ISSA) *BThese are quick growing pure white, summer season turnips, mild-flavoured, pulled and eaten straight away when small. We grew them very easily sown in peat blocks and transplanted. Left in the ground they swell very rapidly but are quite delicious roasted at this stage. Sow successionally from early spring to summer.

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Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Black (CO - SG) A large white root with thin black skin and crisp pungent flesh. Very cold hardy and can be harvested through the winter after a late summer planting. The roots will sweeten when cooked. Very disease-resistant and easy to grow.

Daikon (CO - ISSA) *BThis is an oriental radish, grows up to 25cms long with dense and crunchy white flesh and mild flavour. In Japan they are traditionally pickled but can also be used in stir frys, soups or grated raw. Winter hardy, can be sown from Spring to Autumn for overwintering.

Purple Plum (CO - ISSA)A lovely radish with bright purple colourful skin, and sweet crisp white flesh that does not get pithy, growing up to 3-4cm.

Chenopodiaceae FamilyBeetroot (Beta vulgaris)

Cylindra / Formanova (CO - ISSA) *BA wonderful heirloom from Denmark, famous for slicing with long cylindrical roots. This tender and sweet variety with dark red flesh is also known as ‘Butter Slicer’ or ‘Cooks Delight’ because of it’s wonderful texture.

Feuer Kugel (CO - ISSA)A rare, smooth skinned variety from Switzerland. Described by growers as “spec-tacular, tender bulbs with fantastic flavour and bolt resistant” , “Very successful and absolutely delicious”.

Robushka (CO - SG)Good all round vigorous variety for eating fresh and storage. Round roots with smooth skin, deep dark coloured flesh and nice fruity taste.

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Rotunda (SG) *BFrom the Italian ‘rotonda’ meaning ‘round’, this beetroot grows quite large into per-fect round shapes. Very juicy, gives a distinct earthy flavour, quite sweet.

Leaf Beet / ChardNote: Chard has been cultivated for millenia, Aristotle mentions cultivating red chards in ancient Greece. It is hard to imagine a garden without it especially for the lush greens through Autumn and Winter. It is considered a spinach subsitute, but much more robust, long lasting, versitile and easier to grow. Sown April- June either in modules or direct, it will last to the following spring.Young leaves make a great addition to salads while large leaves (along with the stems) can be boiled, stir fried or steamed,with all the different colour stems giving you a range of nutritious phyto-nutrients.

Ladakh Beta (SG) *BThe seeds of this variety were brought back from an international slow food gath-ering in Turin, Italy. We weren’t initially sure whether it was going to be a leaf/chard type or a fodder beetroot crop. When grown in our gardens it turned out to be a vigorous, hardy crop with large light green leaves.

Lucullus (CO - ISSA) *BThis variety of Italian heritage, was named for a Roman General ‘Lucius Luccullus’ renowned for his splendid banquets and vast gardens some 2000 years ago. It was introduced in 1914 and won the RHS award of garden merit. Quite hardy through the winter, with heavily ‘crumpled’, bright, lush green leaves an white stalks that can be almost like asparagus when cooked. Young flowering stalks in Spring can be used like sprouting broccoli.

Orange Oriole (CO - ISSA) *BThis came to us from Baker Creek heirloom seeds in America. A stunning all orange stalk selection that will brighten up the garden. Delicious leaves.

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Spinach (Spinacia oleraceae)

Notes: Whilst spinach is found cultivated in many areas, it has never been found in its wild state. It is thought to have come west form Persia with the Ar-abs, named ‘Prince of Vegetables’, as far back as the 6th Century. Little wonder that today we find the leaves rich in iron, iodine, carotene, folic acid and chlorophyl…

Early Mona (CO - ISSA)Technically called ‘Fuhre Mona’ coming from the Austrian seed savers. Lush big dark green leaves that keep going all winter from an Autumn sowing. Through the following Spring it also self seeded (from the seed we missed harvesting) and cropped well through the summer too.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quino)

Temuco (CO - ISSA) *BMadeline McKeever of Brown Envelope Seeds sent us this grain, quinoa, to trial and grow. It was a surprisingly easy and trouble free crop under cover. Direct sown in drills in April, it grew up to 1.5m tall, harvested in early September. Quinoa is a small and sacred food of the Inca people, also very nutritious, high in protein and essential amino acids. The grain contains bitter saponins (a chemical defence against birds), which needs to be washed out before use.

Compositae FamilyLettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Brown Gold Ring (CO - ISSA)A lettuce with heritage; it won an award of merit from the Royal Horticultural Socie-ty in 1923. A Romaine/Cos variety with upright, compact head, dark green crunchy leaves that have a slight golden bronze colouring. Especially beautiful when the sun shines and the leaves shimmer. Can be grown both in Summer and over-Winter.

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Forellenschluss (CO - ISSA) An heirloom from Austria originally, the name means ‘speckled like a trout’. The loose leaf heads have apple green leaves, speckled maroon/scarlet. It has lovely but-tery flavour, holds well in warm weather with good resistance to bolting.

Grandpa Admires (CO - ISSA)Named after an American civil war veteran born in 1822. This variety grows well, surviving poor weather and has large, crisp juicy leaves, light green with a bronze-red tinge and a loose heart.

Oreilles du diable (CO - ISSA)The name translates as Ears of the Devil, but do not be put off this extremely old French heirloom variety. The leaves are triangular shaped, red burgundy in colour and delicious. A unique and beautiful variety.

Red Rapids (SG)A vigorous and slow bolting loose leaf variety, with crimped red/green leaves. Seed guardian Mona describes it as a ‘delightful lettuce, that everyone loved’.

Valdor (SG) Very popular winter lettuce, cold and wet hardy, with resistance to botrytis. Big heads of lush green leaves. Excellent for cropping under cover but can be grown outdoors too.

Verde a Foglia Riccia (CO - ISSA) A lovely large loose curled green leafy lettuce, over-wintered well in the tunnel. Slightly bitter ‘edge’ to the flavour, good in salad mix with very crunchy leaves. Donated to us by supporter Steven Marsh.

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Cucurbitaceae FamilyCucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Early Russian (CO - ISSA)Introduced in 1845, this wonderful cucumber does as it suggests and starts fruiting very quickly giving lots of short-medium dark green fruit. They have an excellent flavour, mild and sweet and crisp texture. Keeps cropping over a long season. This variety is reputed to be quite hardy so may be worth trying outdoors in our short summers.

Wautoma (CO - ISSA)Early and productive stripy green cucumber. Quick to set fruit and not bitter. It can be used small for pickles or left to grow as a short slicing cucumber. Disease resist-ant.

Courgette (Cucurbita pepo)

Gene Bank Marrow (CO - ISSA)We had seven seeds in a packet from a German gene bank, the date 1999, the place of origin, Sweden, the description ‘vegetable marrow’. The six that germinated grew amazingly well, quickly covering an entire bed in the tunnel with their small cour-gettes and also good as the more traditional marrow. Given how vigourous they are they should be a good cropper outdoors.

Genovese (SG)Seed given to us by an Italian volunteer whose father has a small seed saving farm in Tuscany. These courgettes started fruiting early, a more ‘traditional cylindrical green’ fruit than some of our other varieities. Outdoors they also grew well and continued to produce small courgettes into October. Open growing habit for easy harvesting.

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Striata d’Italia (CO - ISSA)Classic, Italian courgette, long alternating olive green and deep green distinctive stripes becoming more prominent as fruits mature. Fresh flavour, smooth skin, flesh that remains nice and firm when cooked. The plants remain as a fairly compact bush through the growing season. Productive into late September.

Syrian white (CO - SG)This variety came from a Syrian refugee. The young courgettes are pale green, quite small, very delicious and retain good flavour when mature. Fruits well outdoors too.

Melon (Cucumis melo L.)

Green Nutmeg (CO - ISSA) This is an 1850’s heirloom variety, an early ripening small musk melon with oval fruit and rough, netted green skin. It holds within a deliciously sweet perfumed, pale green flesh. Needs to be grown under cover and yields several fruit per vine.

Squash (Cucurbita pepo)

Table Queen Acorn (CO - ISSA)So called as the fruits are acorn shaped; dark green ribbed skin about 20cm long, several per plant. However when you come to eat them its clear why the ‘Table Queen’ part is so fitting because the deep orange, dry, thick flesh is so incredibly sweet and delicious. The squash can be eaten fresh or stored over winter. It was introduced in 1913 by Des Moines’s Iowa Seed Company and in a ‘bake off ’ in the 1930’s reigned supreme against three dozen other squashes.

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima)

Amish Pie (CO - ISSA)One of the best varieties ever grown at Heritage farm, the American seed saving organisation. Bred by Amish farmers, a rare heirloom cultivated by an Amish gar-dener in the mountains of Maryland. This variety is a ‘traditional’ looking orange pumpkin with delicious thick orange flesh and stores well.

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Anna Swartz Hubbard (CO - ISSA)The hubbard types are decribed by Amy Goldman as ‘squash with personality’, how-ever they are said to be the “acme of perfection in squashdom” This one was a family heirloom producing big fruits in hard shells, so good for winter storage. The flesh is sweet, creamy, deep orange and delicious. This variety is recommended as being cool tolerant.

Australian Blue (CO - ISSA)Australia is the land that gave birth to the ‘Blues’ ... at least in the world of pump-kins. This one has indeed blue-green skin, fruits of varying size, round and ribbed but slightly flattened at the top and bottom, good for storing. Dense brilliant orange tasty flesh. Produced very well outdoors.

Gramineae Family

Sweet Corn (Zea Mays)

True Platinum (CO - ISSA) *BThis unusual sweetcorn has been bred by Alan Kapular, a plant breeder of what are called ‘Tomorrows Heirlooms’ in Oregon U.S.A. This variety is an open pollinated one actually bred out from a popular hybrid Platinum Sweet Lady. The corn is a pale cream colour with a delicious buttery mild sweet flavour. The seed is almost trans-lucent - so a little different to usual varieties of sweetcorn.

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Leguminoseae Family

Broad Bean (Vicia faba)

Bacardi (CO - SG)Productive compact variety that grows to about 1m high. It averages about five small beans per pod, with a delicate flavour.

Londonderry (CO - ISSA) *BThis came from the British Heritage Seed library, but presumably has Irish origins. It grows well and is very hardy, the flowers have a lovely scent. Produces long pods with four or five creamy seeds. Can be used for Autumn sowings.

Martock (CO - ISSA) This robust landrace bean has references as far back as 1293 in English manorial ac-count rolls. The flowers are those of broad beans with a lovely purple/maroon mot-tling. The pods of beans are small but extremely numerous containing small brown meaty delicious beans, use fresh or keep for drying.

Mr Jones (CO - ISSA) A variety grown in the second world war, the seeds were given out for the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. Maintained by the British Heritage Seed library, this broad bean grows quickly from an early spring sowing. It needs some support but does not grow very tall, producing a good yield of small pods containing four to five beans.

Oldambaster (CO - ISSA) *BA Dutch heritage variety from the province of Gronigen. It has unusual pure white flowers which smell wonderful. Medium pods packed with beans growing up the whole stem, thus very productive. Good for both Autumn and Spring sowing.

Vectra (CO - SG)Compact plants which produced a huge number of neat smallish pods, containing 4-5 beans. The beans are very pale green with a lovely mild and pleasant flavour and quite tender.

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French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Note; It can be good to grow both a bush and climbing variety especially if you enjoy beans fresh. Bush types tend to start producing beans a lot quicker than the climbers so give an earlier crop but is then finished, at which time the climbers have done all their growing and will start cropping over a longer season. For dried beans to store (or seed), leave the pods as long as possible on the plant until they are brown and parchment like before picking.

Climbing VarietiesBanette (CO - ISSA)

A land race variety from the Alps. The plants grow and crop very quickly, bearing prolific quantities of long, thin, juicy and utterly delicious green beans.

Carol Leenstra’s (CO - SG)An Italian heirloom bean that grows well here, as Micheal Viney from Mayo says ‘gave an outstanding crop in my tunnel, almost too vigorous’. The plants climb very quickly producing an abundant crop of delicious flat green podded beans late sea-son. They are good for growing outdoors. A supporter in Kerry had great success using them as dry storage beans.

Cherokee Trail of Tears (CO – ISSA)This heirloom bean was preserved by Cherokee Indians as a staple food when forced out of their homelands on the ‘trail of tears’ in 1838. It’s a prolific variety with lovely pink flowers and slim green pods that turn purple as they mature. Use the fresh beans when they are approx. 15cm long or leave to dry on the plant as the small black beans are good for storage. When the pods begin to turn purple, the plant itself becomes most strikingly decorative.

Early Riser (CO - ISSA) This is an excellent variety for northern climates as it has a short growing season, ap-proximately 55 days to the start of harvest. A Romano type, with long delicious flat green pods, stringless and very tender, keeps producing to late in the season. Also know as ‘Northeaster’ or ‘Kwintus’.

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Hunter (SG – ISSA)A classic variety of French Bean, heavy-yielding with a wide, flattened pod, they are tender and reliable. Produce bright green beans that are almost stringless and can grow to around 25cm long. Delicious flavour, they’re best picked young to enjoy at their most tender.

Ita Ahern’s (CO – ISSA)This variety came to us from Ita, a student of Drumcollogher Organic College. Orig-inally grown in a nursery in Norfolk it has been ‘handed down’ for over thirty years. Very vigorous plant, growing quickly to the top of the tunnel. It impressed us a few years ago when we grew it, for the length of the flat pods - up to 30cm, the produc-tivity and also for its taste - it’s a most tender and sweet tasting green bean despite the size. Another plant that does well in cold winters.

Mr Ferns (CO – SG)This variety has greatly impressed our seed guardian, market gardener Jason Horner, who told us it thrived and produced far better than his usual commercial variety in a poor summer. Originally donated by a supporter as one of his favourites, Mr Fern has beautiful pink flowers and tender green beans that hold well.

Slovenian (CO - ISSA)This variety has been waiting to be grown out since 1999, given to us by a supporter bought in a local market in Slovenia. Despite its age the germination was good, the developing beans are picturesque with creamy-beige flowers and lovely yellow/green flat pods. The best revelation was the taste test. Both my daughter and I con-curred, the nicest bean ever, delicious creamy and melt in the mouth.

Semi-Vining BeanNote: These beans need a little support with small bamboos or rods.

Pinto (CO - ISSA) The name ‘Pinto’ which means painted in Spanish, refers to the beans, which are beige splashed with reddish-brown patches. Very popular in Mexico, they can be eaten as green beans when young, and when dried are considered like a super food: high protein and helps the heart, lowering cholesterol levels.

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Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus)

Note: Although runner beans have perfect flowers, they need to be ‘jiggled’ for pol-lination to occur, especially if you are growing an early crop under cover when there is little insect activity (this is why beans sometimes fail to develop on the early bracts of flowers). This can be achieved by gently shaking the vines or directing a good stream of water spray from a hose.

Painted lady (CO – SG)This gracious lady was catalogued in the R.H.S. dictionary of plants as far back as 1633. Incredible bi-coloured blossoms of scarlet/orange and creamy white, continu-ing for most of the season. Develop into long fine flavoured green beans. May also be used dried.

Prize Winner (CO - ISSA)As the name implies this variety was renowned for wining trophies at horticultural shows, due to its long straight pods (up to 30cm) and excellent quality. It is actually an improved European selection of the Scarlet runner bean (the original runner bean brought over from South America).

Pea (Pisum sativum)

Daniel O’Rourke (CO - ISSA) *BAgain an Irish heritage variety, originally saved in the Russian gene bank. It grows quite tall, with prolific small pods and sweet peas, best eaten while young. Good dis-ease resistance. The peas can also be left to mature and dry off to be used as a soup pea in winter.

Fill the bucket (CO - ISSA) An Irish pea of distinction, also known as Fill the basket or even Fillbasket. It is listed in the Edmonson Brothers Dublin seed catalogue in 1921. It was sent in to us by John O Neil, his neighbours, the Christies from Tipper-ary town had grown and saved this variety for over 50 years. Easy to grow small plants 1-1.2m but very productive with truly delicious peas, enough to ‘fill a bucket’.

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Hurst Greenshaft (SG) An exceptional pea, reliably producing heavy crops (9-11 peas per pod) with superb sweet flavour. It has good mildew and fusarium wilt resistance. This variety won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993 – and then reconfirmed in 2005.

Irish Green Pea (CO - SG)One of our most popular varieties, repatriated from the Vavilov Gene Bank in Rus-sia. The plants grow swiftly in our temperate climate, up to 2m tall, so need good support. They produce an abundance of delicious sweet round peas, described by many as a wonderful crop. They have good mildew resistance and are less prone to sprouting in the pod in a wet summer.

Irish Preans (CO - ISSA)This was returned to us from the British Heritage seed library, having come origi-nally from an Irish agricultural research station. Very tall growing up to 2m, flowers are maroon/mauve which develop into large pods of enormous peas. They are in fact more like a bean (hence the name prean), coming into their own when cooked in soups and stews as they have good substance and nutrition. It may be easier to grow them as a climbing bean although they are botanically a pea.

Josh Toombs Purple Pod (CO - ISSA) *BThis wonderful heirloom pea came to us from Josh Toombs in Co. Antrim. Josh got in touch with Seed Savers when he was 79 years old because he wished to share this pea with other gardeners. It had been preserved in his family for over a century. The decorative pink and mauve/purple flowers produce a classic dark purple pod. Peas are good eaten fresh when young and immature, or left to dry on the plant which make an excellent storage pea.

Purple Pod Capucijners (CO - ISSA) The name comes from an order of monks in Holland, who have long been custodi-ans of diverse fruit and vegetables. This is a tall vigorous plant so needs good sup-port. It has beautiful pink/white flowers and deep purple pods. This is a good pea for soup or drying for winter.

Robinson (CO - ISSA) *BA Scottish heritage variety with long slim pods packed full with up to 11 peas with outstanding flavour, remaining sweet even when quite mature. It was once a very popular variety with exhibitors with such ‘perfect’ pods. Grows quite tall, up to 1.5m and is very productive.

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Table Talk (CO - ISSA)The late horticulturist Geoffrey Schofield from Boston UK, was responsible for sav-ing this pea variety from extinction by donating it to the Heritage Seed Library. A tall crop, 2m high bears large full fat pods of tasty sweet peas over a long season.

Twiggy (SG)From the Court of Eden seed savers in Holland. These pea plants are quite remark-able with beautiful extensively curled ‘twig’ like tendrils. Approx. 1.2m tall, pods full with up to 8 peas, excellent flavour.

Sugar Snap and Mangetout VarietiesGolden Sweet Mangetout (CO – ISSA)

A rare variety collected originally from a market in India. Tall vines that flower with abundant purple/maroon blooms. The pods are a beautiflul lemon yellow, best picked while quite flat and perfect for stir fry. Can be Autumn sown under cover.

Oregon Sugar Pod (CO - ISSA)A vigorous and high yielding mangetout pea with sweet and crunchy pods. It was developed in Oregon State University, an excellent variety for sowing in Autumn. Grows up to 1.5m and needs support.

Winterkefe Mangetout (CO - ISSA)If sown under cover in October, Winterkefe will produce wonderful pink and ma-genta flowers from February and an abundant crop of mangetout from mid April onwards. A very tall vigorous plant; this landrace is originally from Switzerland. “Sown in February, it grew vigorously and supplied pods in great quantity; excel-lent, delicious, easy and rewarding. I thoroughly recommend this variety.” says a supporter from Galway.

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Liliaceae FamilyAsparagus (Aspargus officinalis)

Cherbury (CO - ISSA)This was sent in to us by Suzette Hughes (of the Hughes family who donated the famous Delaway cabbage to us). The original plants were grown in the Edgeworth gardens near Dublin called Cherbury, where her mother worked as a young girl. Su-zette has been growing them successfully in her own garden for the last 40 years and sent in seeds to us three years ago. Normally asparagus are propagated vegetatively but we had great success growing it from the seeds. The shoots are delicious, even raw. In a final twist of irony, those aged gardens live on in the name of the modern housing estate built there ‘Cherbury Gardens’.

Linaceae FamilyLinseed/Flax (Linum usitatissimum)

Easy to grow, just sow direct in spring, and then from Summer to Autumn you will be treated to delicate satiny sky blue flowers each day. Harvest the pods, full of seeds as they dry out in Autumn. We thresh them using a rolling pin or bottle to crush pods and separate from seed. Beware of bird competition.

Crown (CO - ISSA)A variety from the Vavilov gene bank. For the first time grown under cover, where it performed especially well, producing strong plants of the fibre type, producing large quantities of plump shiny seeds, perfect to use in the kitchen.

Stormont Cirrus (CO - ISSA)This is one variety of a whole collection of Irish grown flax/linseed that was stored in the Vavilov Gene Bank of Russia. We have been growing and conserving it over the past few years here at Capparoe. This one grew well, quite tall stalks and we were able to harvest good amounts of seed, though we think it is probably one of the fibre types used in linen production.

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Solanaceae FamilyPepper - Sweet (Capsicum annum)

Lipstick (SG)A dependable cropper of rich sweet fruits even in cool summers. The plants are compact but productive (equal or better than many F1 hybrid types). They ripen to a beautiful glossy deep red and are delicious both raw and cooked.

Sunnybrook (SG) A very early ripening bell pepper. Small plants produce an abundance of medium sized fruit that ripen to a deep scarlet red from August onwards even in a relatively cool overcast summer. Delicious and crisp, with a sweet fruity flavour.

Pepper - ChilliNotes: When processing the peppers, take care and wash your hands afterwards. The seeds are very irritating so wear rubber gloves to remove and do not touch your face or eyes.

Elfantenrussel (SG)A European heirloom, productive and disease resistant. Quite tall plants with long branches bearing huge quantities of fruit. The peppers are long and slender starting as dark green they ripen to a brilliant yellow, good, hot and delicious.

Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)

Red varietiesAmateur (CO - ISSA)

A tried and tested heirloom variety of bush tomato, that is guaranteed to succeed even in a poor summer, worth trying outdoors. It grows only 45cm high, and bears many good quality medium-size red fruit.

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Auld Sod (CO - SG)Reputed to be of Irish heritage, this robust little tomato bears many small, plum shaped fruit. They are juicy and tangy while young, going slightly mealy as they ma-ture, excellent for cooking at this stage. Better grown as a bush type, ie. don’t pinch out the side shoots and performs quite well outdoors with some resistance to blight.

Aurora (CO - ISSA)This bush comes from Siberia. It germinates at low temperatures and grows well in cool conditions. The large, slightly flattened fruit is red, juicy and ripens early. The bushes are quite large and so benefit from some sort of support. A good tomato for growing outdoors.

Doriena (CO - ISSA)This cordon variety was bred by biodynamic growers in Germany. A rounded-oval plum tomato, has good resistance to blight and fruit splitting. Yields well, with a fruity flavour.

Red pear (CO - ISSA)A cordon, which gives high yields of pear shaped cherry tomatoes, quite late to start ripening, but once started just keeps on with truss after truss. It is a very old heir-loom, cultivated since the 1700’s. Lovely balanced flavour of tanginess and sweet-ness, perfect for salads, the shape creating additional interest to any dish.

Stupice (CO - ISSA)A Czech cordon variety highly recommended by many who have grown it over the years being a very reliable and a good cropper ripening quite early with an abun-dance of medium-sized round, tangy red fruits. Can crop well outdoors too.

Silver Fir Tree (CO - ISSA)A Russian heirloom with particularly unique ferny like foliage. It is a bush variety though we found that it spread over quite a large area and could benefit from some staking. For a bush variety, its an amazing cropper with a long season, the first ripe fruit arrived at the very end of July and were still coming into October. The tomatoes are beefsteak-like very sweet, juicy and rich in flavour.

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Sweet Aperitif (CO - ISSA)With its multi branching habit, this red cherry tomato produces excellent yields of delicious, bite sized tomatoes that are thin-skinned, shiny red cherry fruit. It has a nice balanced flavour of sweet/acid ratio.

Lucky Leprechaun (CO - ISSA)Sent in to us by a supporter but coming originally from an heirloom seed company who described it as an ‘Irish heirloom dating back to the early 1900’s!’ It is a bush tomato producing early yielding, sweet tasting, juicy, medium sized red fruits. Pro-duced very well even in very wet, cool conditions. Great name!

Pink varietiesAmish salad (CO - ISSA)

This is a very rare variety coming from the Amish people of Pennsylvania. A cor-don, the fruit is slightly plum shaped, medium sized, pink/red, giving many trusses full of fruit. They have a lovely fresh sweet but tangy flavour. Excellent sliced for salads, but good cooked too.

Berner Rose (CO - SG)Conservation cordon variety ‘The Rose from Bern’. Produces quite large round pinky red fruit with delicious red flesh.

Yellow varietiesBroad Ripple Currant (CO - ISSA)

Sweet yellow fruit, more cherry-sized than currant. Vigorous cordon plants. Goes back to the 1900’s when it was originally found growing through a crack in the pavement in an American city. Very good variety for outdoor cultivation, showed excellent blight resistance and gave a good sweet crop very late into the Autumn.

Dzintare Lasite (CO - ISSA)A favourite from our tomato trials of Latvian varieties. A medium, tear drop-shaped golden tomato of incredible sweetness. Yellow tomatoes tend to be less acidic than red ones. A grower in Meath goes on to say, “I grew Dzintare Lasite outside in a sheltered spot and they did very well, better than red ones.”

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Polen (CO - ISSA)This seed from Poland was collected by the German gene-bank at Gatersleben. A cordon variety that produces quantities of small gold, thin-skinned plum tomatoes, still delicious even in November. Stephen Carrington in Wicklow was still harvest-ing a few in January from a polytunnel. Has also fruited well outdoors in the past.

Russian Emerald Apple (CO - ISSA)This variety is a real wonder, originally as the name suggests of Russian heritage, it produces amazing fruit subtle shades of golden/yellow/green, with darker green striping. They are beefstake-like in shape and size and have a delcious tart fla-vour with deep sweet overtones. Very juicy, perfect for slicing fresh but as a fried or grilled tomato they are sublime. Per-haps the origion of the famous ‘Fried green tomato’!

Orange varietiesCaro Rich (CO - ISSA)

Beautiful smooth orange fruit, medium to large size, with delicious and dense flesh excellent for cooking. This tomato has an exceptionally high beta-carotene and vitamin A content (up to 10 times that of other tomatoes). A cordon type, high yielding.

Old Flame (CO - SG)Bi-colour orange/yellow streaked red beefsteak like fruits that have sweet meaty flesh with low acidity. Old American heirloom from West Virginia dating from the 1880’s.

Purple/Black varietiesBrown Berry (CO - ISSA)

A unusual variety with cherry-type fruit dressed in appealing, earthy- brown skins. More than a novelty - the fruit have very good flavour and are semi-sweet and juicy. Sturdy, 1.2 meter plants. Indeterminate*. Produces over a long season.*Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are also called “vining” tomatoes. They will grow and produce fruit until killed by frost.

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Cherokee Purple (CO - ISSA)An heirloom of Cherokee Indian origin. The vines, though cordons, are relatively short. The fruits are unusual, large, beefsteak-like, up to 300g each. They ripen to a dusky dark purple/ pink/ brown, with a sweet, rich, smoky flavour.

Gabacho Negro (CO - ISSA)This unusual tomato came to us from a seed saving community in Portugal. The name literally is ‘the Black French Guy’. A striking fruit to look at, the fruit is oval in shape and has an amazing dark red colour, with darker shoulders, medium sized and absolutely ideal for cooking delicious sauces. A cordon type and healthy crop-per too.

Cape Gooseberry Fruit (Physalis peruviana)

Giant (CO - ISSA)These need some protection to get started, and produce much better under cover though we grew some successfully outdoors. They are perennial and can grow up to 1.5m so may need support. During winter cover the root clump in a mulch for protection. They have very lovely lantern flowers which develop to contain edible round golden fruits, with a delicious tangy/sweet flavour either eaten raw or stewed. Fruits contain high levels of vitamin C. Harvest the fruit as the husks turn brown from August to November. Store the fruit in the husks.

Umbelliferae FamilyCarrots (Daucus carota)

Note: Carrot seeds are covered in fine spines (sometimes they look like hairy insects!), this can make them quite difficult to clean. In commercial seed-cleaning the spines are removed, but this is not necessary.

Giant Red (CO - SG)An old Italian variety of maincrop carrot, with great qualities. Large deep orange pointed roots, with excellent flavour and sweetness, voted all round as delicious.

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Kuttiger (SG)This is an old type white carrot once very common on Europe’s farms, but now quite scarce. The roots grow huge and have a much more earthy subtle flavour than or-ange ones. On a seed field trip, an interesting theory arose that white carrots (though hardly anyone grows them) contain an active chemical ingredient that can help in balancing children who have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). The roots grow to such a size that they are useful as animal fodder too.

Limburg Yellow (CO - ISSA)Delicious vibrant golden-yellow carrot with crisp smooth flesh. It comes originally from the Limburg province in the Netherlands donated by Jaap Vlaming a enthu-siastic seed saver over there. Grows vigorously from a Spring sowing and good for winter storage. It is also proven by some gardeners to be less prone to carrot root fly than the orange varieties.

Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa)

Parsnip is an ancient vegetable, traces of which have been found in archeological digs in prehistoric sites on the continent. By Roman times it was domesticated and much enjoyed and probably in Ireland and Britian was a main-stay winter food before the arrival of the potato. In an ancient text of ‘Simple Medicine’ by Platerius it is recom-mended ‘raw or cooked, for those who have just recovered from illness or melancholy’. Thus the perfect antidote to Winter blues. It is best to sow fresh seed each year, parsnip is the most short lived of our seeds, the germination rate drops to about 50% by the second year.

Bedford Monarch (CO - SG)A rare, old variety of open-pollinated parsnip. Large broad roots with smooth white skin, utterly delicious when roasted. Very good canker resistance. John, a local grower, reported excellent tolerance to the cold – in the ‘big freeze’ of a few Winters ago, after removing the soil on top with a pick-axe, he was able to pull perfectly clean parsnip from the frozen ground with no effort – and delighted in their sweet, deli-cious flavour.

Suttons Student (CO - ISSA)Introduced to the market in 1861 selected from wild stock or ‘ennobled’ by a Profes-sor at Cirencester Agricultural college, it was then taken up by Suttons. This long cultivated variety has long tapering roots of good size and pleasant flavour.

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Viceroy (SG)Another rare old variety coming originally from an heirloom collection from Seeds by Size in England. Long tapering roots, sweet to eat and very hardy.

White Gem (SG)A selection from the heirloom variety Offenham, this variety thrives in most soils and has good resistance to canker and a very sweet flavour. The skin is very white, roots are wedge shaped and medium long.

Celeriac (Apium graveleng)

Giant Prague (CO - ISSA) *BA variety that goes back to 1871, this is a great winter vegetable with good sized, globed roots and white flesh. Very tasty in soups and stews or even roasted, with that distinctive ‘celery’ flavour.

Celery (Apium graveolens)

Red Venture (CO - ISSA) A productive plant of succulent red stalks, much more juicy and tender than ex-pected from a red variety. Unusual looking with deep red stems with bright green leaves. The stalks retain their colour when cooked.

Root Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Halas (CO - ISSA)This is the continental parsley often known as Hamburg parsley. Rather than eating the leaves, this parsley is grown for eating its root. The variety actually comes from Croatia. It has broad shoulders with a conical shape and good flavour. Dig them in Autumn/Winter and use them as you would parsnips, good roasted with other roots and tubers. (This is not a leaf pars-ley, this is a root parsley)

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Salad Leaves & GreensThe following crops are very well suited to either early Spring sowing or late Summer/ Autumn sowing, giving fresh nutritious greens for salad and cooking throughout the year. If sown early Summer they tend to bolt (go to seed) very rapidly in response to the long light days, so at least delay sowing until after the midsummer solstice ‘June 21st’. Most are very cold tolerant but will grow more lush undercover in Winter.

De Vit Lambs Lettuce (CO - SG)Easy to grow, vigorous variety for spring and autumn sowing, mildew resistant. Has lovely glossy green leaves that are tender and delicate.

Hayachinena Japanese Greens (CO - ISSA) *BWonderful mustard greens with big lush, brilliant green leaves. A delicious flavour, not too strong, especially nice steamed, and served with a lemon juice and soya sauce dressing.

Mustard Lettuce (CO - ISSA) *BThis one captured the interest of many visitors. Brilliant emerald green leaves with curly, serrated-edges - most attractive. A great flavour with the distinct mustard hot tang. It can be used in salads or cooked. It’s very hardy and can be grown outdoors all winter as well as under cover, with a long growing season.

Pac Choi Tai Sai (CO - ISSA) *BA fine sturdy heirloom variety, with long, deep green leaves, juicy white stems, giv-ing a fresh taste to salad and stir fry.

Ruby streaks mustard (CO - ISSA) *BA lovely ornamental mustard leaf, with deeply serrated leaves, flashed deep with purple-magenta veining. Quite a tender mild mustard flavour to liven up salads, and good for steaming or stir fry.

Salad mix (SG - ISSA)A mix of lush cut-n-come varieties of salads. Including lettuce, mustard leaves, pak choi, rocket, endive etc.

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Salad Rocket (CO - ISSA)A salad green cultivated since Roman times. The nutty spicy leaves give interesting flavour to milder salad leaves. Best grown in cool conditions. The flowers are also incredibly beautiful, delicate creamy stars with purple veins.

Shungiku / Chop Suey Greens (CO - ISSA) *BA surprise in the salad bowl – flavoursome serrated leaves that taste somewhere between celery and carrots. Grew well over winter under cover and provided a spec-tacular display of yellow and orange flowers in early summer that were a big hit with the bees, hover-flies and other beneficial insects as well as visitors – delightful.

Wild Rocket (CO - ISSA)This type has much smaller and deeply serrated leaves compared to the salad rocket and is more pungent. It can grow as a perennial, which means it is slower growing and over the summer months it is far less prone to running to seed too soon, making it a useful addition to the salad garden. When it does flower, they are bright yellow.

HerbsDill (Anethum graveolens)

Sweet Mona’s (CO - ISSA)Very easy to grow, sow in April, with lovely aromatic ferny leaves, used in salads, pickles and sauces. The seeds are also used for flavouring (particularly in gherkins) Lovely flowers, with clear lemon-yellow heads, attractive to any beneficial insects.

Sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum) (CO - ISSA) This is a hardy cousin of the usual basil. It produces smaller, sweetly pungent leaves and attracts hundreds of bees when in flower. It is easy to grow and produces well outdoors as well as under cover. Can be used in salads, pestos, sauces and herb teas.

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Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)Note; Parsley can survive through our mild Winters outdoors but if you want to be sure of a supply of those wonderfully nutritious leaves for soup and salad, dig up a couple of plants at the end of Summer and replant undercover. Leave it growing a little longer in Spring and you will easily be able to harvest some seed from the flowering umbrels.

Karen Hermes Flat Leaf (CO - ISSA)An excellent parsley which was saved for many years by bio-dynamic grower Karen Hermes. Stands well through the Winter so could be picked all year round.

Frise Vert Fonce (CO - ISSA)This translates as ‘curled, dark green’ an accurate description of this old French va-riety. The tightly curled leaves are held clear of the ground on long stalks for clean and easy harvest.

FlowersA - Annual B - Biennial P – Perennial

Calendula Marigold - A (CO - ISSA)What garden would be complete without these brilliant, cheerful orange and yel-low-gold flowers? Flower petals can be eaten, good for companion planting and lots of medicinal uses. Self-seeds with abundance.

Chamomile -A (SG) Pretty yellow centred white flowers with a pungent smell. Very easy to grow, they flower from early Summer to late Autumn. The dried flowers can be harvested eight weeks after sowing and used for herbal tea which is reputed to soothe the stomach.

French Marigold / Pinwheel metamorph - A (CO - ISSA)These make an absolutely stunning display in the garden given to us from Peace Seeds in Oregon. Tall plants up to 1m high with the pungent smell of the tagetes marigolds that can help to confuse pests.

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Golden Amaranth -A (CO – ISSA)This is grown both as a vegetable, the young leaves can be eaten, and as a grain seeds. Though small, are a highly nutritious grain once a sacred food of the Aztec’s. It is also a stunning flower with vibrant golden tassels that last most of the summer until harvesting the grain in Autumn.

Honesty – B (CO – ISSA)This plant has lovely purple flowers, giving a fine display from May to June, followed by the flat silvery pods ideal for winter floral arrangements. Height reaches 75cm.

Love in the Mist (Nigella) – A (SG)Dates back to English gardens of 1570. An easy to grow border flower with lovely, wispy, feathery foliage and attractive flowers in mauve/blue/white shades. Interest-ing seed heads that can be dried and the plentiful seeds can be used as a spice, some-times as a replacement for black cumin. Self seeds easily.

Poppy mix - A (CO - ISSA)This is a mix of various shades of poppy, pink, magenta, mauve purple and some with frilly petals or double blooms! Easy to grow, direct sow, self seed easily.

Tree lupins - P (CO - ISSA)Vigorous woody shrub with lovely lupin-like bright yellow flowers in early summer. Beneficial in the garden as an insect attractant and also fixes nitrogen in the soil. Prune hard in autumn/winter to keep them vigorous and healthy.

Wildflower mix - A (SG - ISSA)A mix of brightly coloured annual and biennial flowers which attract butterflies, bees and other insects to your garden or orchard; flowers from April to September. Included in the mix are marigolds, wild campion, foxgloves, poppies, linseed, woad, bluebells, clover, and shamrock. Always sow in bare cultivated soil to get established.

Woad - B (CO - ISSA)Woad has been used for centuries to obtain a blue dye, it is said a hundred weight of leaves yields 10 lbs of dye and is quite an elaborate process to extract. However it is easy to grow this ancient plant and, as Richard Mabey describes in one of his books, worth it.’ An attractive plant with 1m high stems, long succulent leaves which shine like stained glass, with inner blue; foamy clusters and brilliant yellow flowers; pendant fiddle shaped seeds’. The seeds may also turn blue/purple in wet weather.

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IRISH SEED SAVERS DATES TO REMEMBER FOR 2018

Sunday, March 4th (12 - 4pm) - Seed Share at Irish Seed Savers

Come along to share your seeds or just come to enjoy our Seasonal Cafe& Cob Pizza Oven. Bring Family & Friends and enjoy a walk around ourbeautiful 20 acre site with Woodlands, Orchard & Gardens. FREE entry for Supporters & Children, General Admission €5

April 3rd - 6th - Childrens Easter Camp at Irish Seed SaversEaster Egg Hunt, Pizza Making in our cob oven, Fire Building, Outdoor Cooking, Foraging, Biscuit Making, Nature Walks, Bug Hunt, Pond Dip-ping, Shelter Building, Woodland Fun, Forest School Activities, Unusual Arts and Crafts each day including decorating eggs, sewing an Easter hare, and making Easter Baskets… and that’s not all! Creative arts and crafts each day.Price €75 per child, Time: 10am-2pm, Booking required.

May 15th - 19th - Blossom Week as part of Biodiversity WeekNational Heritage Week is coordinated by The Heritage Council and its aim is to build awareness and education about our heritage, thereby encourag-ing its conservation and preservation. We encourage people to come and visit our beautiful gardens and orchards, see Ireland’s public national seed bank and have a cup of tea or coffee in our café. FREE entry from Tuesday until Saturday

Sunday, May 27th (12 - 4pm) - Plant Share at Irish Seed SaversBring your surplus seeds, plants, seedlings and shrubs to share or just come for the talks, tours & food. Our Cafe will be serving a selection of mains, cakes, teas & coffee. With the Cob pizza oven serving delicious, wood fired pizza’s. Our Gardens, Orchards & Shop will be open. FREE entry for Supporters & Children, General Admission €5

Advertise your business with Irish Seed SaversContact us for more info & cost: sales@irishseedsavers.ie

Pinto Beans Prize Winner Runner Bean

Red Pear Tomato

RobinsonPea

Sacred Basil Sendai Ki winter onion

Shungiku Chop Suy Greens

Spring Cabbage

SunnybrookPepper

Suyo LongCucumber Sweet Pea Tutsai

Pac Choi

True Platinium Sweet Corn

Viceroy Parsnip

Winter RoscoffCauliflower

Yin Yang French Bean

French Marigold

CalendulaMarigold

James Long Keeping Onion

Early RussianCucumber

Irish Seed SaversGrowing Guide

An easy to use growing guide tells you when best to sow, harvest, plant indoors, sow in soil and plant out. We’ve tried to cover all of the major families and shown a few of the rare varieties of vegetable we stock. This is a great Growing Guide for

the novice or expert gardener. €4.31

Available In-store & Onlinewww.irishseedsavers.ie

061-921866