Below, we’ve collected some highlights of the sixth #SeedWeek. Thank you to everyone who shared on social media: we loved hearing about your seed sowing, swaps and stories.
This is a hopeful time in the northern hemisphere with new shoots peeking above the soil, tickled by spring. If you’re feeling inspired to sow a food revolution this year, take the Seed Packet Pledge. By donating £2.50 per month – that’s the average price of a packet of seeds – you can help Gaia’s Seed Sovereignty Programme to embed a resilient, abundant and nutritious seed system across the UK and Ireland.
Seeds and people: we have shaped each other. A beautiful new film by Andy Pilsbury, released to start #SeedWeek, captures a re-emergence in Ireland; it follows those market gardeners who are securing the future of food by returning to the ancient craft of seed.
With long-honed skills withering in a society that has prioritised commerce over co-evolution, our Ireland Coordinator, Jason Horner, spoke to The Irish Times about the importance of producing local, organic, open pollinated seed:
“The idea of seed sovereignty has really come to the fore in recent years because of the pandemic and Brexit. It has concentrated minds significantly and shown that we need seed suited to local growing conditions that’s available amongst ourselves.” Jason Horner
We talked up chicory – that unsung vegetable that provides beautiful, bitter leaves throughout the winter. Our Scotland Coordinator, Richie Walsh, spoke to growers Tom Booth, of East Neuk Market Garden, and Ashley Wheeler, of Trill Farm Garden, for a special podcast on how to cultivate and cook this unusual crop.
You can also read more about chicory our South West Seed Sovereignty Zine! Created by coordinators Ellen Rignell and Robyn Minogue, it was published for our end-of year gathering and is now available to read online, stuffed full of articles, poetry and recipes from the network.
Our Northern England Coordinator, Catherine Howell, gathered stories from some of the wonderful people she is lucky enough to share the region with. In this anthology you can read about vertical veg growing, learn from Southern Mexico’s seed saving culture, and listen to the sound of beans…
We put a spotlight on this fledging collective, who are selling locally grown, organic, open pollinated veg varieties including tranquil tomatoes and love-struck legumes. If you’re looking for seed to start your growing season, there are over 20 varieties available now in their shop.
The final day of #SeedWeek coincided, happily, with World Pulses Day. Our South East Coordinator, Francis Everson, took over Gaia’s Instagram and told the origin stories of some fantastic projects, ideas and varieties including the Greengrow Cooperative’s unique piano beans.
“It’s not just Jack who can find a whole new world with his beanstalk.” Becky Taylor
Show your support for seed sovereignty and help the movement to grow by buying some of our beautiful new merchandise.
To mark #SeedWeek and the Seed Gathering we released a limited edition linocut design by Isla Middleton, featuring chicory, amaranth and population wheat.
Every sale supports our work and we’ve teamed up with Teemill to make sure we uphold the highest standards of ethical, circular production.
