Why are growing numbers of people choosing to buy seeds from Irish Seed Savers?

The ethos here at Irish Seed Savers Association, is to conserve and distribute wonderful rare and heritage varieties, as well as to encourage the skills of saving your own seed and empowering people to do this in their own gardens, small holdings or farms.

All of our seeds are grown and saved in Ireland and are Open Pollinated which allows you to save your own seeds from them, keeping the variety true to type. By choosing Irish Seed Savers Open Pollinated Seeds you contribute to keeping food security in your own hands and Irish agricultural biodiversity alive and vibrant.

Download 2024 Heirloom Seed Catalogue

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  • This is a vigorous, thick-stemmed variety. Reaching heights of 2.5-3m, adequate support is definitely required for this robust pea. Lovely white flowers and soft marbled green leaves develop as the plant grows, giving way to a plethora of pods. Highly productive, with pods containing an average of 8 large peas developing well into the season. The peas are delicious – very sweet and crunchy when raw, softening after cooking. If you have the space, this is a highly recommended variety to grow. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 45
  • This variety came to us via a Syrian refugee. The young courgettes are pale green, almost white. The small and delicious fruits retain good flavour as they mature. Highly successful outdoor crop.
    Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 10
  • Sweetpea

    3.75 (3.75 incl VAT)
    This tall, climbing sweet pea has traditional old-fashioned mix of pink, white, mauve and purple colours and that most lovely evocative fragrance. Best given support to get the most out of this lovely flower. Easy to save seeds. Average Seeds Per Pack: 20
  • This lovely herb produces clear lemon-yellow flower heads, which are highly attractive to insects. It is very easy to grow, and its fern-like, aromatic leaves are perfect for salads, with fish, pickles and sauces. The seeds can also be harvested and used for flavouring, particularly along with gherkins. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • This variety was sent into us by Stephen Marsh, a long-standing supporter of our work. Describing it as a ‘beautiful butterhead’, Stephen used to grow this variety 50 years ago when it was highly sought after. In 2016 Stephen rediscovered it in a catalogue and sent us the seeds. Big, light green, tasty heads with tightly packed fleshy hearts. It is described as a spring/summer sown type, but we sowed in early autumn and it grew fine and healthy under cover.
    Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • A German heritage variety of champion size, originally from Schmeltz. Rich soil and plenty of space is required for this mammoth vegetable, which can reach up to 8kg over a long season. The colour is white to light-green and despite its large size, this kohlrabi remains tender and buttery-soft. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • An early ripening bell pepper. Small plants producing an abundance of beautiful medium-sized fruits that ripen to a stunning deep scarlet red from August onwards, even in a cool overcast summer. Deliciously crisp with sweet and fruity flavour. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 25
  • Sunflower Mix

    3.75 (3.75 incl VAT)
    The perfect choice for any sunflower lovers this mix of white and black seed will attract a lovely crowd of pollinators and provide blooms all summer long.  Leave to ripen and mature for your own supply of seeds for next year. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 15
  • A Czech heirloom cordon variety, highly recommended by many who have grown it over the years. It is a very reliable, good cropper, ripening quite early with an abundance of medium-sized, round, tangy red fruits. Grows outside as well as under cover. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 30
  • A classic Italian variety, the plants form a bush which remains compact through the growing season. This is a very productive cropper, producing fruits well into October here in Capparoe. The fruits display distinctive long, alternating olive and deep-green stripes, which become more prominent as the fruits mature. The courgettes have a delicious fresh flavour, smooth skin, and flesh that remains nice and firm when cooked. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 10
  • Strawberry Calendula Marigold Flower

    3.75 (3.75 incl VAT)
    Lovely light pink and cream flowers with ruby centers. The flower from midsummer through to the Autumn. Beautiful as cut flowers or for posies. Pollinator friendly. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 100
  • Stenu Pea

    3.50
    This is a tall variety, up to 2m in height, so the plants will need good support. the word ‘Stenu’ itself means wall or rock in several Eastern European languages, perhaps referring to what it was grown on. Gorgeous pink-purple flowers produce pods of up to 8 peas. Lovely eaten raw when young, and they sweeten up even more when cooked. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 50
  • A long Japanese burpless type, tender and sweet even when large. This productive and delicious variety needs to be grown with protection.
    Average Seeds Per Pack: 16
  • This is a very popular overwintering onion from Japan. The big, delicious, golden bulbs of this variety store exceptionally well, up to a year. Perfect for roasting and soups.       Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • This is the oldest known local vegetable variety in Scotland, grown on the Shetland Isles since as far back as the 1500s. Due to the extreme weather on the Shetlands, the cabbage seeds were planted in “Plantie Crubs” (small circular stone-walled enclosures) before transplanting into larger fields, which were also enclosed in stone walls. This rare cabbage grew beautifully on a windy hillside in Clare, hardy right through the winter. The heads of this variety are quite open, the green leaves tinged a beautiful pink-purple, deepening as winter progresses. The outer leaves were traditionally used as animal feed. The cabbage itself has a distinctive peppery taste that was once a prized ingredient of mutton stew on the Northern Isles. Average Seeds Per Pack: 250
  • A really excellent, large Japanese Onion. Wonderful flavour and great storage properties. It even won a prize at the Clare Garden show many years ago. Sendai is a city in Japan’s Tohoku Region, northeast of Tokyo on Honshu Island. Tamangi is the Japanese word for Onion and we are very grateful to Matteo Petitti, former colleague and long-time supporter for introducing this open-pollinated variety to us directly from Japan where his partner Tomomi hails from.
    Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • Grown originally by Sean Flynn of Killucan/Cloughan, Co. Westmeath, we trialled this cut-and-come variety in 2020. A medium-sized cabbage, with a lightly crinkled, semi-flat green leaf. The flavour is mild and delicious, producing plenty of leaves throughout the season. Average Seeds Per Pack: 250
  • Ruby Regis

    3.75 (3.75 incl VAT)
    Our seed for this variety came from ‘Bôite de Graines’ a seed company in France where our former staff member Flora Barteau now works. It is a stunning upright bushy annual with masses of deep-veined, funnel-shaped, bright pink blooms. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 50
  • A dark red bulb, round and slightly flat in shape. Vigorous and hardy. Certified Organic Average Seeds Per Pack: 200
  • This globe-shaped beetroot gets its name from the Italian word ‘rotonda’ meaning ‘round’. Even when the roots grow quite large they maintain their juicy sweetness, with a distinct earthy flavour. These beets are especially good roasted and store well.
    Average Seeds Per Pack: 300
Supported in part by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Pobal through the Community Services Programme. We confirm that our organisation complies with The Governance Code for the Community, Voluntary and Charitable Sector in Ireland.

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