Our National Lottery Heritage funded ‘Sowing Your Seeds’ project has discovered 30 new seed varieties in the Midlands, says project coordinators Giselle and Lucy.

Alternative text should describe the visual content of the image. — Our Heritage Seed Library has already received dozens of intriguing heritage and local seeds from across the Midlands

New seeds and seed stories are being shared as part of our exciting Heritage Seed Library ‘Sowing New Seeds’ project.

So far, we’ve received 30 new varieties, ranging from heritage broad beans and peas – but also less traditional varieties, such as amaranth, quinoa and purslane, which have proved to be thriving in the Midlands.

Nineteen of these are being grown for trial at the Heritage Seed Library, based at our headquarters in Ryton, Coventry. And through evaluating their growth and characteristics, we’ll make a decision to add them to our National Collection of Heritage Vegetables.

The #SeedSearch project, launched earlier this year – and funded by National Lottery players - focuses on identifying, preserving and sharing seeds of unusual, under-represented and heritage vegetable varieties being grown across the Midlands.

The stories behind those seeds and the people growing them, is also something we’re looking to unearth and share. We’d love to get an insight into their historic provenance or cultural links, and how they came to be growing and thriving in the Midlands.

The story of Uncle Maurice’s broad bean 🔗

One of the stories that’s emerged is about Uncle Maurice's Broad Bean – and it’s a story that spans 100 years, two continents, three cities, and three gardens!

Steve and Gill Bullock followed in the footsteps of four generations of their family by nurturing Uncle Maurice’s broad beans in their vegetable plot in Lichfield. Now, thanks to our #SeedSearch project, the special family heirloom could be available for other gardeners to grow.

The broad beans are named after Gill’s uncle Maurice, whose father Andy was a First World War veteran. In the 1930s, Andy was working as a maintenance man for the Nielsen family at Kiora House, in Norton on Tees, and became friendly with the gardener. He gave Andy a parcel of broad bean seeds that he’d been growing since the early 1920s.

After the death of his father, Maurice continued to grow the broad beans in his garden in Norton-on-Tees and, despite emigrating to Canada in the 1970s, continued to grow and save the beans year-after-year. His daughter Judith also raised Uncle Maurice’s beans, and 20 years ago Steve and Gill inherited their own packet of the precious family heirloom.

“We were chuffed to bits to be trusted with Maurice’s legacy, and continue this little bit of horticultural history,” says Steve, who has grown heritage varieties and been a member of Garden Organic for more than 40 years. “It was a bit of a responsibility, of course, but we felt proud we could carry on the family tradition that has spanned more than 100 years.

“It’s much more interesting growing these genetically diverse seeds that help to widen the gene pool of our plants. I think they also taste better than the bland varieties you get in the shops. It’s fantastic to be able to pass them on to the Heritage Seed Library so other gardeners, in different parts of the UK, can continue to grow and enjoy them for years to come.”

Read more about Uncle Maurice’s broad beans in this Kitchen Garden cutting here.

Like to take part in our #SeedSearch? 🔗

Do you have ‘Ray’s butter bean’, ‘Grandpa’s Cress’ or ‘Mrs Taylor’s Red Pear’ hiding in your garden shed or greenhouse?
And would you like to organise a seed saving workshop in your space with support from HSL team?
Head to our seed search page to find out more about the project and get in touch.