Sharing know-how about UK gardening

In order to regulate the seed trade in Britain, in particular the problem of synonyms and dubious claims about crop yields, laws were introduced to trial all crop cultivars (cultivar = cultivated variety) and compare their characteristics. Distinct cultivars were placed on a list, and only those on the list could be sold. Originally the testing and listing was free to seed companies, but gradually costs crept in, and up, effectively reducing the cultivars submitted to a limited number of commercially viable ones. So certain cultivars that small-scale growers and gardeners had favoured, perhaps due to flavour, long harvesting period, or suitability to local soil and weather conditions, were lost.

Although a vegetable gene bank exists, this doesn't provide access to amateur gardeners, so Lawrence Hills (the founder of Garden Organic, an association for nurturing natural growing methods before they were forgotten, and research new techniques) came up with an ingenious solution. It was only illegal to sell unlisted cultivars, not give them away, so why not have a seed library? The Heritage Seed Library was born, made up of many cultivars no longer on sale, with a catalogue for library members to dip into. Old seed can die, so it's important to keep sowing, growing and harvesting to keep the cultivar alive for future generations. To maintain supplies, crops for seed saving are grown by Garden Organic and by Seed Guardians around the country.

Garden Organic, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry, CV8 3LG Tel: 024 7630 3517

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Commercial suppliers of old varieties:

Thomas Etty, Somerset (heritage seedsman and bulb merchant)

Tel: 01963 359202

Organic Gardening Catalogue, Surrey (organically grown, sundries, discount for Garden Organic and RHS members)

Edwin Tucker & Sons Ltd, Devon (seeds and seed potatoes)

Tel: 01364 652233