What if we could revive forgotten heirloom vegetable varieties?

On Wednesday 21st April, Rachael Emous-Austin co-chair of NailsworthCAN had a conversation with Beth Richardson, Sally Oates and Jane Brown about their work at the Stroud Community Seed Bank. This group is passionate about bringing back varieties of fruit and vegetables that have been forgotten due to the rise of large scale agriculture. They provide seeds to the local community in exchange for donations in the hope that these lost treasures can be revived.

You can catch up on the recording of the conversation here:

The group has an open structure with the goal of broadening and deepening engagement across the Stroud District. The Stroud Seed Bank was formed in 2016, as an outgrowth of ‘Down to Earth Stroud’ that aims to make land more accessible to people.

Seed Guardians look after particular varieties or collections of varieties, and in the Autumn come together to package seeds for distribution. The group provides an induction workshop to provide basic training on how to produce good quality seeds.

The group has already curated 57 varieties, including a number of lovely heritage seeds that could otherwise be lost. There is a preference for varieties that don’t cross pollinate in order to be able to retain consistent varieties.

Market gardeners prefer to use F1 hybrids for commercial reasons but this has had the effect of reducing diversity.

By building a community of seed guardians from the ground up, the group will aim to preserve the diversity of plants that thrive in this locality, that will help build resilience in a changing climate.

You can learn more and contribute to this inspiring project here: http://www.downtoearthstroud.co.uk/seed-saving/