My husband is very fond of parsnips so I have just adopted one as a Christmas present. Not any parsnip though, but the ‘Guernsey Half Long’ a French heirloom variety that is more than a 150 years old.
I had never given much thought about forgotten vegetables until a couple of year ago when we bought some funny looking purple carrots at a local farmer’s market. It turns out carrots used to be purple until the late 16th century when Dutch growers experimented with them and decided they should be orange. Last year I also came across The Forgotten Foods programme an very interesting project aiming to preserve edible biodiversity around the world.
I first became aware of the Heritage Seed Library when selling their Adopt a Veg scheme at By Nature. The library is part of Garden Organic the UK’s leading organic growing charity.
The Heritage Seed Library works to conserve a unique collection of rare and endangered vegetable varieties not featured in modern seed catalogues. By adopting a veg you’re supporting the work of Garden Organic, sharing skills and knowledge within schools and local communities, researching and promoting best organic practice to thousands of individuals, and helping to grow and preserve our seed heritage. Currently about 200 varieties feature in their Seed Catalogue.
You can adopt a wide range of vegetables such as: Lazy Housewife French bean, My Girl tomato and the Tutankhamun pea. The Heritage Seed Library also offers a few varieties complete with a packet of seeds that you can grow at home and help to protect.
To Adopt A Veg please visit www.adoptaveg.org
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