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 2023 Heirloom Seed Catalogue

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Rubin Lettuce

€3.50

A Swiss ‘ruby’ variety, this lettuce has an upright habit and a loose head of stunning, deep maroon leaves. A reliable, cold-hardy plant, excellent as a ‘cut and come’ variety.

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 200

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Verde a Foglia Riccia Lettuce

€3.50

Kindly donated to us by supporter Stephen Marsh, this is a lovely, large, green lettuce with an upright growing habit. The loosely curly leaves are very crunchy and strong-tasting, a great texture to have in a salad mix. Grows well year-round.

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 200

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Salsify

€3.50

A somewhat forgotten, mild-flavoured root vegetable highly deserved of attention. Opinions vary on taste ranging from Oyster-like to Asparagus or Artichoke. The wild crop relative of this cultivated crop was gathered by the Greeks and Romans for medicinal use for liver and gallbladder treatments and it was a staple on Victorian dinner plates. Michel Roux Jr, the Michelin-starred chef said: “Salsify is one of the most versatile and tasty root vegetables – from raw in coleslaw to roasted with spices. Truly delicious.” Also, a wonderful plant to have in the garden, growing to 100cm, for its beautiful edible purple flowers blooming from spring to autumn. Attractive to wildlife. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 150

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Lipstick Pepper

€3.50

These fruits ripen to a beautiful, glossy, deep red, and are delicious both raw and cooked. A very dependable cropper, rich and sweet even in cool summers. The plants are compact but productive (equal to or better than many F1 hybrid types). Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 20

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Northern Princess Linseed/Flax

€3.50

An Irish Flax cultivar presumed from the North of Ireland, repatriated from the Vavilov Institute for Plant Genetic Resources in Russia c2000. This variety has been successfully regenerated four-fold since it arrived in our care; Here at Capparoe, and also grown as part of an on-farm trial in Kilkenny, at Airfield Estate in Dundrum, Dublin and by Helen Keys and Charlie Mallon as part of their regenerative farming practices at Mallon Farm where they have grown, processed and woven the flax (with other varieties) by hand to create precious pieces of history. Flax is part of our deep cultural heritage and is so giving, flowers, fiber and food. Grows to 80cm, 5 seed heads per plant. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 300

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Hurst Greenshaft Pea

€3.50

An exceptional pea, winning the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993. A reliably producer of very heavy crops. Grower Matt Dwyer comments “One of the best peas I have grown”. Unusually long (10cm) pods grow atop 1m tall vines, with the pods containing a bounty of 9-11 peas. Growing over an extended season, a prolific producer of sweet, tasty peas that are wrinkled at maturity. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 50

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Twiggy Pea

€3.50

This variety hails from the ‘Court of Eden Seed Savers’ in Holland. Approximately 1.2m tall, this variety produces full pods, with up to 8 peas per pod. The plants are quite remarkable, with beautiful, extensively curled ‘twig’ like tendrils, which are beautiful for garnishing dishes. Excellent flavour. Average seeds per pack 50

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Mr Ferns Climbing French Bean

€3.50

This variety has impressed market gardeners, as it thrives and is a prolific producer even in a poor summer. Originally donated by a supporter as one of his favourites, this easy-to-grow variety has beautiful pink flowers and tender green pods that contain bean seeds that turn dark purple/black when mature. Average seeds per pack 30

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Pam’s Speckled Climbing French Bean

€3.50

Originally from China, this variety was donated to us by supporter Pam from Wales, who has saved this beautiful bean for 20 years. The pods are streaked dark purple-red against light green, making them a highly decorative plant as well as being delicious to eat. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 30

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Waltham Butternut Squash

€3.50

This is a vigorous and dependable variety, producing between four and seven fruits per vine. The lightly tanned, smooth skinned, bottle-shaped fruits have fine-textured, golden orange flesh. Exceptionally good keepers, this variety is perfect for storage if you can resist cooking up the fruits straightaway. The fruit have a small seed cavity with a low seed count, so it’s well worth saving your own!

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 10

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Blanche De Virginie Courgette

€3.50

A French heirloom, this productive variety has small, pale-green fruit. ‘Carpaccio’ is a great way to enjoy this fruity-flavoured gem of a courgette – cut into thin vertical slices, marinated with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and grilled briefly on both sides. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 10

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Gene Bank Courgette

€3.50

We had seven seeds in a packet from a German gene bank, dated 1999 with the place of origin given as Sweden, the description ‘vegetable marrow’. The plants grew amazingly well, quickly covering an entire bed in the tunnel with their small, tasty courgettes, though this crop comes into its own as the more traditional marrow.

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 10

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True Gold Corn

€3.50

A variety of Sweetcorn that has been selected from a 1955 hybrid and which is now open pollinated. Described as an ‘old fashioned’ corn that will transform any plate to a luxurious meal. A late season corn that delivers tender, sweet, rich, delicious golden cobs up to 3 per plant.

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 26

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Oldamster Wierdeboon Broad Bean

€3.50

A Dutch heritage variety from the Groningen province. It produces unusual pure-white fragrant flowers, followed by medium-sized pods containing tender beans that grow up the whole stem. Unusual pure-white fragrant flowers, followed by medium-sized pods. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 20

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French Honeysuckle

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

A hardy perennial, once seen never forgotten! This 1m tall open bush has silver rimmed leaves and fantastic, fragrant, dense spikes of crimson red flowers, which are rich in nectar. Best grown in a sunny position but likes moist soil. A member of the legume family, this plant is also nitrogen fixing. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 40

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Poppy Mix

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

This is a mix of poppies in various shades of colour: pink, magenta, mauve and purple. Some have frilly petals or double blooms! Easy to grow, this flower is best direct sown. Self-seeds easily if the stunning mature seed heads have been left to develop. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 1000

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Sweet William – Grandmothers

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

An early-flowering variety, coming to us from Vermont, USA. A lovely bright and fragrant mix in shades of pinks, purples and whites. Long, firm stems make it an ideal cut flower throughout summer. A short-lived perennial. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 350

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Pinwheel Metamorph (Tagetes-Marigold)

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

Given to us by ‘Peace Seeds’ in Oregon, USA, these plants provide an absolutely stunning display of dark red, orange and yellow concentric-striped flowers, blooming in vivid profusion from May to October. Tall plants up to 1m high, with the pungent ‘tagetes’ smell that can help to put off pests. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 150

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Coming Soon

Early Blood Turnip Beetroot

€3.50

This lovely, turnip-shaped beetroot originated in North America, dating as far back as 1825. A quick-growing variety, the foliage is bright green with streaks of red, and the crisp, sweet flesh is dark crimson with occasional pink areas. Average seeds per pack 300

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Midnight Madness Chard

€3.50

This visually stunning and delicious chard is from an organic seed company in 'Ontario, Canada'. Gorgeous deep burgundy leaves and deep purple and orange stalks are plentiful throughout the growing season. A lovely addition to salads and soups. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 200

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