In the garden: A visit to the Cork business saving seeds 

A recent visit to West Cork took me to the headquarters of Brown Envelope Seeds, situated on the picturesque Turk Peninsula, near Skibbereen, Co. Cork.

Madeline McKeever is the founder and owner of this seed-saving business, which focuses mainly on vegetable seed.

There are other activities on the farm too, including native woodland, beef cattle, and a recently planted vineyard. You just never know what you will find in West Cork!

The first catalogue of seed for sale was produced in 2004 and the business has gone from strength to strength since then.

While the number of varieties available for purchase has increased a lot over the years, it is amazing to see what a relatively small area can produce for seed harvest. Operating out of two polytunnels and an outdoor growing area, the site produces the seed as well as using seed produced in Co. Clare by Jason Horner to increase the range.

This business produces seed of broad bean, French bean, cucumber, basil, lettuce, aubergine, salad crops, many varieties of tomato, melon, gourds, butternut squash, spring onion, radish carrots, chives, peas and peppers, to name just a few of the crops which we encountered on our tour of the farm.

Madeline and Hannah showed us around the tunnels and outdoor growing areas, generously sharing tips and tricks as we toured.

Open-pollinated varieties are grown as these plants will produce seed that will grow true to type, similar to the parent plant.

Many modern breeds of seed are F1, which are produced from two inbred lines, and result in a uniform crop, and in huge variation within any seed saved. It means that we are totally dependent upon the seed companies that produce F1 varieties for our crops every year.

Using open pollinated varieties will enable seed saving each year. It makes a lot of sense and gives a security, having the ability to save seed of our own crops.

Many modern varieties of seeds are bred for growing in an ideal environment. Many traditional older varieties produced a good crop in less than ideal growing conditions and it is important that we preserve these older varieties as they have evolved to cope with different climatic conditions. They have better genetic ability to adapt.

Growing plants, particularly vegetables, to produce seeds is a totally different ball game to growing for consumption. When growing for seed, the best plants must be cultivated in suitably robust growing conditions to ensure that seed which will grow in the most typical climatic conditions results.

Knowing what plants need to be isolated to prevent cross-pollination, what plants are self-pollinators, and what plants need a longer season of growing to produce seeds are some of the different factors that need to be taken into account when saving vegetable seeds.

A cross between broccoli and cauliflower may not have a desirable result for a vegetable grower, so care needs to be taken to ensure quality results.

Selection of plants for vigour, disease resistance, flavour, size, colour, and consistency can be considered when trying to improve varieties, and that is another whole area, developing new and improved varieties.

Ultimately, saving seeds is a very important undertaking, particularly if we are to produce seeds of plants that are acclimatised to our particular growing conditions. This will become increasingly more important as we see the effects of climate change develop further over the next few years.

A plant’s ability to adapt to changing conditions is in-built in its DNA and using varieties which are bred to suit our soils, temperatures and moisture levels will help them adapt more quickly to changing conditions.

It is also valuable to continue to use heritage varieties which have evolved down through the generations to particular soils and growing conditions.

For more details about the range of seeds available, for visiting the farm and on workshops happening soon, check out www.brownenvelopeseeds.ie.

It is hard to believe that some plants are starting to set seed already. Early flowerers like honesty, sweet rocket and foxgloves have begun to form seed heads, with seeds ripening nicely in this summer sunshine. It may be some weeks yet before the seed is ripe so keep an eye out.

Saving flower seeds is a great way to get started and develop some confidence around the ability to collect and successfully grow your own seed.

Collect seeds of some companion plants like calendula, French marigolds, poached egg plant or cosmos by watching out for seed ripening over the next few weeks.

Usually, when the seed turns brown, then it is ready for harvest - collect on a dry and sunny day for best quality.

Some of the easiest vegetables to start collecting seed from are beans, peas or tomatoes, as these are all self-pollination and do not need cross-pollination.

Happy seed saving this summer.

Plant of the Week

Seen growing in one of the polytunnels at Brown Envelope Seeds was the attractive star-shaped flower of chicory. It is the cultivar Cichorium intybus ‘Medusa’, also known as Puntarelle di Galatina.

It is a chicory that was traditionally grown in the region around Rome, prized for its hollow bolting shoots which are consumed rather than the leaves.

This is a vegetable crop not widely consumed in Ireland but one which Madeline believes has potential for growth. Known for its anti- inflammatory and anti- oxidant attributes as well as many other health benefits, it is one to consider for the autumn/winter harvest.