Heritage Seed Library Catalogue 2008

The Heritage Seed Library 2008 catalogue arrived on Saturday morning.
The HSL is a member’s only catalogue – a way of getting round European legislation that insists only seeds registered on a national list can be sold. As registration costs money, the seed companies only keep their most profitable varieties on the list – and crop biodiversity suffers as a result.
The HSL aims to keep some of the ‘heritage’ varieties alive by distributing seeds among their members. Many of these de-listed varieties are more appropriate for gardeners anyway.
The catalogue is always published in December, and members have until the end of March 2008 to make their choices. Each member is allowed to choose 6 packets of seed each year. As there is a limited supply, it pays to make your choices early. You are allowed to make up to 12 choices (of which they will send you the first 6 that are available) and you can opt in to receive a ‘lucky dip’ packet as well.
I have lots and lots of seeds, far too many, so it was difficult to make my choices this year. I have settled for:
- The African Horned Cucumber (kiwano), which will have to grow in the grow dome
- A white carrot variety, Blanche a Collet Vert Hors Terre
- Two peppers – Soror Sarek and Trifetti. I think Soror Sarek is sweet and Trifetti is hot (but very ornamental)
- And two lettuces (as the chickens will always eat spare lettuce!) – Emerald and Bronze Arrow.
I’m posting my request form today. I’ve only chosen 6 varieties, but I’ve ticked the box that says they can send substitutes if my chosen varieties are out of stock. The seeds themselves are likely to arrive early in the new year.
1 Comments for Heritage Seed Library Catalogue 2008
Commenting is closed for this article.

XML Feeds
Search Me
Blogroll
The Fluffius Muppetus blogspot archives
My Amazon wishList
Emma's photos
The Emma & Pete Show
Abingdon Carbon Cutters
Bleepshow
Eco Knits
Fuel My Blog
Muppet's Moolah
Plant wishlist
James
Karen
Maddy Harland
Permaculture Magazine
Permaculture Magazine reviews
Permanent Publications
Regular Jen
The Delectable Diary of Hayley Harland
A blog called Fuggles
A Thinking Stomach
adekun's blog
AllotmentPickings
At last I've got my plot!
Baklava Shed Coalition
Bean-sprouts
Bifurcated carrots
Bliss
Blogging from Black Pitts Garden
Calendula & Concrete
City Bumpkin
Cleve West
Clodhoppers
Clucking Billhooks
Compost Lover
Cool Blue Shed
Daughter of the soil
Eden
Elspeth Thompson
Fennel and Fern
Fergus the Forager
Finca
From Seed to Table
Frugilegus
Garden Organic
Gardeners Like Us
Gardenspaces
Going to the Dogs
Groene Gedachten
Guardian Gardening Blog
Hills and Plains Seedsavers
Home on the Hill
Horticultural
In the Toad's Garden
La Ferme de Sourrou
Landed
Living the Good Life
Mas Du Diable
Melanie Fleur
Multiveg
Musings from a Stonehead
Mustard Plaster
My Tiny Plot
Nature's Paradise
Observer Organic Allotment
Oca Testbed
Otter Farm
PassAlong Plants
Perennial Vegetables
Plain Old Kristi
plan be
Plant Cultures
Plant trees, it's self defence
Plants for a Future
Pumpkin soup
Pushing up the daisies
Quinta Stuart
Radix
Raising Seedlings
Random Plantings
Scarecrow's Garden
Simon's Allotment
Soilman
Spade Work
Subsistence Pattern
Tales from the Pie 'n' Mash
The Constant Gardener
The Cottage Smallholder
The Dig Issue
The Enduring Gardener
The Green Fingered Photographer
The Informal Gardener
The Organic Gardening Catalogue
The Oxford Garden Project
The Perennial Platter
The Plot Thickens
The Rock and Roll Gardener
This Garden is Illegal
Trying to grow things
Urbania to Stoneheads
Veg Plot
Veg Plotting
Vegetable Vagabond
VeggieGardenInfo
Wiggly Wigglers
Wisteria and Cow Parsley
You Grow Girl
My Zero Waste
The Book of Rubbish Ideas
The Rubbish Diet


If you want Bronze Arrow lettuce (plus a bunch of others — about to harvest seed for Deer Tongue, Spike Leaf, a green oak-leaf variety from France, Forellenschluss, a purple Savoy type, Cimmaron) drop me a line — I’ve loads of seed; always keen on a swap!
mike · Dec 11, 04:34 AM