The first six months of working as the Wales Coordinator for the UK and Ireland Seed Sovereignty Programme have had me travelling around the country meeting a wonderful mix of farmers and growers. I’ve been to brand new sustainable small holdings working under the ground-breaking Welsh planning law One Planet Development. I’ve hung out with […]
Read ArticleAt the dawn of agriculture, 11,000 years ago, the practice of seed saving was inseparable from the act of farming. If you didn’t save seed, you wouldn’t have any crops to grow next year – it was as simple as that. It wasn’t until very recently that farmers stopped producing seed in the UK, leaving […]
Read ArticleSeed Training in Scotland Saturday 14 July, 10 am – 5 pm. Basic Seed Production Training Day at Newton Dee Camphill Village near Aberdeen with Neil Munro. The training will include seed plant biology, reproduction biology, selection principles and techniques, seed plant husbandry and harvesting, cleaning and storage of seed; the path to commercial seed production. With […]
Read ArticleSeed Production Workshop: Selection Tutor: Ben Gabel (The Real Seed Catalogue) Host: Trill Farm Garden, East Devon Date: Saturday 16th June 2018 This is the second workshop we are running with the South West Seed Savers Co-operative and The Real Seed Catalogue and will be a chance for growers to get more in depth training […]
Read ArticleTucked away in the rolling hills of South West England, a quiet revolution is taking place. A group of small scale, agro-ecological vegetable growers have joined together to form a seed savers cooperative through which they can exchange seeds and share knowledge and experience about seed production. The motivations behind forming the group are numerous: […]
Read ArticleThe first six months of the UK & Ireland Seed Sovereignty Programme have seen a team of 5 skilled and experienced Regional Coordinators take up posts across the country, 38 growers trained in seed production, and active participation in outreach and events reaching approximately 500 engaged growers, horticulturists and activists. Whilst the regional ‘seed hubs’ are […]
Read ArticleIt was during the Great Seed Festival in 2014 that the idea for the programme was first conceived, as an audience dedicated to seed and food justice heard Jane Rabinowicz, the then head of The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, present the story of their inspiring programme. The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian […]
Read ArticleJoin us for a day long workshop learning everything there is to know about Brassica Seed Production! In collaboration with the South West Seed Savers and The Real Seed Catalogue, we’re running a workshop led by Kate McEnvoy of Real Seeds, focussing on how to grow, select and process Brassica seed crops. As well as […]
Read ArticleIt’s cold, wet and muddy and the plants in the garden look as though they’ve all but gone to sleep. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a time of rest for growers in the UK. But while the garden lays dormant over winter, growers begin a different phase of their annual cycle – […]
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