The variety of life (From The Argus)

The variety of life

6:00am Saturday 6th February 2010

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What is Seedy Sunday?

Seedy Sunday is a giant seed swap, much like a clothes swap, whereby gardeners can exchange their favourite vegetable seeds with other green- fingered friends.

There are also stalls from organisations which can help in your growing endeavours, such as the Brighton And Hove Food Partnership, and talks from people who know unbelievable amounts of stuff about seeds.

On the speakers rota are Patrick Mulvany, chairman of NGO UK Food Group, Richard Reynolds, founder of the Guerrilla Gardening movement, and Vicky Cooke from the Heritage Seed Library.

Why should I swap my seeds?

Co-organisers Fran Saunders says there are three elements to Seedy Sunday: “There’s the learning and basic knowledge, then there’s finding interesting and unusual plants, and then there’s the political element of how our choices are being eroded by the larger seed companies.”

The problem begins with the 1964 Plant Varieties And Seeds Act, which says any food crop seed that is sold, and therefore all fruit and veg in our shops, must be properly licensed.

A licence costs £1,000 and yearly renewal is nearly £200. The fine for improperly licensed seeds is up to £5,000.

All certified seeds have to appear on a national list, which is published once a year by the Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs. A certified seed has to be sold in the correct packaging, sealed and marked in an approved way.

The aim is to make sure crops are always of a high quality, but seed swappers say the result has been irreversibly deleterious to our food security.

Many small-scale producers can’t afford to license seeds and companies push single species to get the best return on their investment. The Heritage Seed Library estimates that in the past 100 years we’ve lost over 90% of our seed varieties.

Why do we need so many types of seeds?

Without a wide and open gene pool and range of species we not only lose personal choice but expose ourselves to needless risk. Limiting diversity reduces our immunity to disease. Where one variety of tomato might suffer blight, another could be resistant.

If we only grow one type, we risk losing the entire crop.

Fran says that over time crops also become adapted to their local condition, so a species of potato that works in Brighton may not work in Crawley. She says: “We’re talking to the Heritage Seed Library to set up a local seed bank and develop varieties adapted to conditions here.

The aim would be to get them set up all over the country.”

Is there any Seedy Sunday etiquette I should know about?

Home-saved seeds must be swapped, not bought, otherwise you could be prosecuted for selling unlisted seeds. If you are bringing an unused packet of shop-bought seeds, make sure they aren’t hybrid (you can tell because the packet will have S1 written on the side). Be nice to people. Smile lots.

* Seedy Sunday takes place on Feb 7, 10am-4pm, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove. Entry is just £1.50.

Visit www.seedysunday.org.

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