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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Purple Sprouting Broccoli

€3.50

A beautiful plant to have in any garden, this variety is a prolific producer of succulent, deep purple broccoli spears. When sown in late spring or early summer the tasty spears can be harvested from February the following year. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 200

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Purple Poppy

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

A large, handsome and cheery poppy, with lilac petals that form dark patches at the base. The leaves are lobed and wrinkled, the stems a beautiful bluish green. They produce large seed capsules, and the attractive seed heads make great additions to dried flower arrangements. Super easy to save the seeds. Average seeds per pack 1200

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Purple Pod Capucijners Pea

€3.50

This variety gets its name from an order of monks in Holland who have long been custodians of diverse fruit and vegetables. A tall, vigorous plant (up to 2m), so needs good support. It has beautiful pink/white flowers and attractive deep-purple pods. At the ‘Scoil Chroi’ school garden in Galway, students especially enjoyed the purple peas dried for soup. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 50

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Purple Plum Radish

€3.50

This is a lovely radish, originally developed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States in the 1980s. An early-season, hardy, fast-growing variety, maturing about 25-30 days after planting. The skins of this variety are a lovely vibrant purple colour with white inner flesh. The oval/teardrop-shaped roots are 2-5cm in diameter with a tapering taproot. The crispy non-pithy flesh is sweet and subtly peppery compared to that of other radishes, perfect for salads and snacks. Average seeds per pack 250

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Princess Danish Dwarf French Bean

€3.50

This dwarf bean came from one the European seed shares and is a traditional variety for drying and storing. The robust plants are healthy and uniform, with plenty of lovely white flowers developing into pods throughout the season. Leave pods on the vine for as long as possible until they have dried to a parchment texture. The lovely amber-brown beans inside will need further drying indoors to store for winter for use in soups, stews, casseroles, risotto, etc. Once dried they will need soaking for a few hours before cooking. Average seeds per pack 30

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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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Polen Tomato

€3.50

This seed from Poland was collected by the German gene-bank at Gatersleben. A cordon variety that produces quantities of small gold, thin-skinned plum tomatoes, still delicious even in November. Stephen Carrington in Wicklow was still harvesting a few in January from a polytunnel! Growing outdoors as well as under cover, this sweet, mild tomato is a lovely addition to any garden. Average seeds per pack 50

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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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Peperone Friarello Pepper

€3.50

This sweet and flavourful red frying pepper comes from Southern Italy. The tall bush plants may need some support as they become weighed down with plentiful fruits throughout the season. This variety produces lots of bright green fruits developing a deep red colour as they ripen. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 35

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Pencil Pod Dwarf French Bean

€3.50

This bean was one of the first stringIess, round-podded varieties, introduced around 1900. Each vigorous plant produces black-seeded, long golden yellow pods that can reach up to 18cm (7") in length. This heritage variety is great for early sowings, and crops reliably throughout the summer. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 20

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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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Ox-Eye Daisy

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

This large, cheerful wildflower grows to 80cm tall, with flowerheads 25-50mm in diameter. The flowers consist of soft yellow centres, surrounded by bright white rays. A dramatic and lovely native plant to add to the garden. Seeds are best started in pots, left to overwinter outside, and planted out in plugs in the spring. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 100

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Outredgeous Lettuce

€3.50

This is a wonderful lettuce bred by Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon. A large, upright, loose-leaf cos type head, perfect for ‘cutting and coming again’. It is indeed outrageously red, a colourful addition to salad. Hardy over winter, also good for spring sowing. As well as being grown at Capparoe, this variety has the claim-to-fame of being the first vegetable grown and eaten on the International Space Station!

Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 200

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Oregon Homestead Sweetmeat Pumpkin

€3.50

A Pumpkin for cool conditions. A stunning variety with sweet, thick, delicious flesh and beautiful slate blue-grey skin. Kindly donated to us by supporter Cora Hanley, and wow, what a find! Originally bred by the Gill Brothers seed company of Portland, Oregon, this variety was reselected by Oregon breeder and author of ‘The Tao of Vegetable Gardening’ Carol Deppe for cool soil emergence, large seeds, thick flesh, long storability, and vigorous growth. Average seeds per pack 10

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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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Old Homestead Climbing French Bean

€3.50

Given to us by Jean Goldberry who claims it is ‘the best bean’ she’s ever grown. The variety has a long history, going back to the 1800s when it was described in a garden journal as ‘unsurpassable’. Long stringless pods are produced in clusters over an extended season. Delicious while young and good for freezing. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 30

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Northern Princess Linseed

€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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Nasturtium

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

These classic garden flowers are lovely prolific plants, providing plenty of colourful, edible flowers, leaves and seeds. With a trailing habit and tendency to self-seed readily, they may take over the garden if left unchecked. Grown around the garden they can help to keep aphids at bay. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 20

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Muesboni Runner Bean

€3.50

This heritage German runner bean is a vigorous, reliable, early cropper. It produces bright red flowers followed by reasonably stringless beans. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 15

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Mrs Rucks Tomato

€3.50

This lovely bush variety presents a huge amount of scarlet small-to-medium, juicy fruit. An early ripener, their flavour is mild, fresh, and tangy. An early ripener. Mrs. Ruck was a lady of Audley End Estate in Essex (now managed by English Heritage) and had passed on the seed when she moved away. Our seed came to us via the Eden Project in Cornwall. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 40

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