Trialling and collecting (mostly food) plants which grow well in Irish conditions or might be otherwise interesting. Producing seed from them to increase the choice of varieties available to growers and gardeners.
-
What is F1 Hybrid Seed?
One of the first things would-be seed savers learn is that you ‘cannot save seed from F1 hybrids’. Though usually not true, it is still rarely worth doing as the crops produced from them will be unpredictable in their growth form. Hopefully the following will shed some light on the terminology of F1 seed, why…
-
Spiced Pumpkin & Apple Chutney
My first attempt to ‘collaborate with chefs’ involved begging my friend Yola, who is very handy in the kitchen, to help me deal with more squash than I knew what to do with. I had quite a few kilos which needed using up as I had just screened my squash harvest. After being inside for…
-
Beanbasket
Growing Broad Beans for Drying Recent archaeological digs have shown that fava beans (Vicia faba) were first cultivated in the Levant more than 10,000 years ago. This places them in close company with the domestication and early farming of cereals. They must have provided early farmers with the much needed protein which is lacking from…