Project to preserve exotic fruit and veg
16 March 2010
A new project is under way to track down the seed of non-traditional crops which have adapted to growing in the UK after being handed down through several generations.
The Sowing New Seeds scheme, funded by the Local Food initiative of the Big Lottery Fund and run by Garden Organic, is scouring allotments all over the Midlands where there is a long tradition of growing African, Caribbean and Asian fruit and vegetables. A team of volunteers is not only gathering the seeds, but also documenting where they came from and how to grow them.
'Many of these exotic vegetables are grown by elderly allotment holders and gardeners and we want to preserve the seeds, experience and knowledge before it is too late,' says project leader Sally Cunningham.
Vegetables tracked down so far include 'Tanba' black soya beans from Japan, the 'Buddha's Hand' citron and Chinese arrowhead (Sagittaria sinensis), an aquatic plant whose tubers can be eaten like potatoes. Alongside the project trials are being carried out on exotic fruit and vegetable varieties currently available on the open market to assess their characteristics for comparison with the collected heirloom varieties.
The idea is to make the seed more widely available to gardeners in the Midlands and nationally through the Heritage Seed Library. Garden Organic is also setting up a new display of exotic crops in its garden at Ryton, near Coventry: it will eventually feature many of the seed varieties collected this year.