Now’s the time to browse the seed catalogues in earnest
AND SO St Brigid's Day has come and gone, and spring (we hope) has finally sprung. For, as Kevin Danaher writes in A Year In Ireland, the first day of February "is one of the focal points of the agricultural year . . . and the starting-point of preparations for the spring sowing".
All of which means that we urban farmers can now finally indulge ourselves and start browsing the catalogues of what’s become a veritable smorgasbord of vegetable seed suppliers.
OPW gardeners Brian Quinn and Meeda Downey ordered the bulk of their seed a couple of weeks ago from Moles Seeds. But they’re not quite finished. “We plan to experiment with something unusual again this year, like we did last year with the tobacco,” says Brian. “But we haven’t quite made our minds up yet what exactly that’s going to be. We’re thinking about absinthe, or maybe liquorice.”
So while Meeda and Brian take time to consider, we thought that it would be fun to find out what other GYO-ers/GIY-ers are growing this year. Here’s what some of them will be up to.
Growers' Choice
Madeline McKeever (Brown Envelope Seeds, Skibbereen):she is always experimenting with new varieties of vegetables. "We're planning to trial lots of new varieties this year. For example, rat-tailed radishes that you eat the pods of; chillies that supposedly ripen outdoors here; miniature white cucumbers; and a yellow mange-tout pea called Golden Sweet. Another new variety we will be trialling is Joy Larckom's Midnight, initially selected by Joy, from Bull's Blood beet, for having larger chard-type leaves," she says. All seed supplied by Brown Envelope Seeds is organically-certified and homegrown in Skibbereen. "Which means that any varieties that make it into the catalogue are suitable for Irish conditions," says Madeline.
Peter Bourke, Irish Seed Savers Association:"Almost all of the vegetable and potato seeds that we supply are unusual by the very fact that they are no longer available commercially. Quite a number are of Irish origin, and have been repatriated to us from foreign gene banks," says Bourke. New additions this year to the ISSA catalogue include the South American tuberous plant, Connemara Oca (a bit like a lemon-flavoured potato), and Achocha, a distant relative of the cucumber that produces an abundance of little green fruits.
Emer O'Flaherty, Springfield Walled Garden Organics (Limerick):she is ordering her seed from a wide variety of suppliers, including UK-based Kings Seeds and Richters in Canada. "I also love organic seed suppliers, Tamar Organic, who are based in Cornwall. This year, I'm growing a type of squash called Patty Pan, which is a small, fist-sized variety that comes in different colours – green, yellow and white. What's great about this squash is that it doesn't produce a glut, and instead comes on gradually." She's also trying out two types of red celery, Giant Red Selection and Redventure, available from Wild Garden Seed in Oregon, and an interesting salad leaf called Namenia from Moles Seeds.
Michael Kelly, GIY (Grow It Yourself) Ireland:he is growing dozens of different vegetables this year, from sweetcorn (True Gold) to squash (Butternut, Fictor and Green Hokkaido) and is including 300 onion sets (Sturon and Red Baron). "I'm being optimistic," he says. Kelly's favourite seed suppliers are all Irish – The Organic Centre, Irish Seed Savers, Fruithill Farm (for seed potatoes and onion sets) and Brown Envelope Seeds as well as Woodies DIY, GIY Ireland's lead sponsor for 2010.
Hans Wieland, The Organic Centre (Rosinver):he says they're stocking lots of new organic seed varieties this year, including a salad cucumber called Soyu Long which, he says, is "burpless and bitter-free", and pumpkins Big Max and Musquee de Provence. He and some GIY Sligo gardeners are also entering a "Grow the Best Aubergine" competition and will trial varieties such as Black Beauty and Rosa de Bianca in polytunnels. Urban farmers may also like the sound of some of the unusual vegetable seeds supplied by author and vegetable expert Sarah Raven, including a trombone-shaped, climbing courgette (Trombomcino), a purple-leafed leek (St Victor), green-and-purple leafed Brussels sprouts (Red Rubine) and the very colourful gourd (Turk's Turban).
Keith Foster, Exhibition Seeds:this UK-based supplier specialises in seeds for giant vegetables. "Many of our varieties have won national championships, world championships, and world records. We don't seek gold medals or media mush but we do know the vegetable world," claims its website.
Seed Suppliers
The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim (organiccentre.ie or 071-9854338)
Brown Envelope Seeds, Skibbereen, Co Cork brownenvelopeseeds.com or 028-38184
Irish Seed Savers' Association, Scariff, Co Clare (irishseedsavers.ie or 061-921856/921866)
Fruithill Farm, Bantry, Co Cork, fruithillfarm.com or 027-50710 Thompson Morgan thompson-morgan.com, available from Mr Middleton Garden Shop, Mary St, Dublin 1, mrmiddleton.com and 01-8603674
Woodies, woodiesdiy.com
Moles Seedsmolesseeds.co.uk or phone Peter Wyatt 0044-(0)7738456630
Seedaholic.com, Westport, Co Mayo, seedaholic.com or 098-50666
Sarah Ravensarahraven.com or 0044-(0)845-0920283
Tamar Organics, tamarorganics.co.uk or 0044-(0)1579-371087
The Real SeedCatalogue realseed.co.uk or 0044-(0)1239-821107)
Kings Seeds, kingsseeds.com or 0044-(0)1376-570000
Richters Herb Specialistsrichters.com
Wild Garden Seedwildgardenseed.com
Exhibition Seedsexhibition-seeds.co.uk or 0044-(0)-1947-840666
Nicky's Nurserynickys-nursery.co.uk or 0044-(0)-1843600972
- The OPW's Victorian walled kitchen garden is in the grounds of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, beside the Phoenix Park Café and Ashtown Castle. The gardens are open daily from 10am to 4.30pm
- Next week Urban Farmerin Propertywill cover "seed potatoes – to chit or not to chit, that is the question"
- Fionnuala Fallon is a garden designer and writer
