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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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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Queensland Blue Pumpkin

€3.50

Australia is the land that gave birth to the Blues - at least in the world of squash and pumpkins. This one looks and tastes great and does so for an extremely long time - up to two years of storage life! ‘Queensland Blue’ has been around since the 1800s, once favoured for “Grabeen Gullen Pie” by early settlers who hollowed out the pumpkin, filled with it with joints of possum, and baked it in a bed of hot coals. We prefer ours in soups and curries! Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 10

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China Rose Radish

€3.50

This lovely winter radish came as the name suggests from China and was introduced to Europe in the 1880s. Perfect for autumn planting, the long, cylindrical, tapering roots reach 15-20cm in length and 5cm in diameter. The skin is a beautiful rose colour, with white tips and firm white flesh. These spicy, peppery roots are delicious when cooked up, or even sliced and eaten raw. A very good variety for storage. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 250

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Land Cress

€3.50

Also known as American cress, these dark green leaves have a spicy flavour like water cress, but the plants are much easier to grow. Compact plants form attractive lobed leaves in rosettes. They thrive in the summer and autumn, but will also happily carry on throughout winter due to their cold tolerance. It’s surprising this delicious, peppery plant isn’t grown more widely! Average seeds per pack 1400

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Lebanese Salad Rocket

€3.50

These rocket seeds were brought back to Mud Island Community Garden by garden member Mark Kawa from the Lebanon. They nick-named it Lebanese Rocket when planting the seeds with little hope for such a hot climate plant, but it has thrived in winter and summer. If not regularly picked it quickly goes to seed but the leaves do not go as bitter as others. The delicate champagne coloured flowers are equally delicious and mild. If properly managed it can grow to a mass of about 30cm and planted as edible filler in the flower garden. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 700

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Wild Rocket

€3.50

This leafy-green perennial has its origins in the Mediterranean region. It is straightforward and quick to grow, with its characteristic lobed leaves ready to harvest only 6 weeks after sowing. The flavour is sweetly peppery when the leaves are young, becoming spicier and more intense as the plant develops. A lovely addition to salads. Certified Organic

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Matador Spinach

€3.50

An old variety, with medium-to-dark green smooth leaves that have a distinctively spear-shaped appearance. Very productive and can be sown nearly all year round, ours overwintered very well in the polytunnel. The tasty leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 250

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Red Orache Spinach

€3.50

A beautiful edible leaf vegetable from the Amaranth family, also known as mountain spinach or orache. Though not widely grown these days, it has in fact been a source of food for people since the Mesolithic era. A fast growing, cool tolerant leaf, with taste and colour to rival any spinach, it has the added bonus of being bolt resistant. Definitely the new kid on the block. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 250

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Virginia Spinach

€3.50

Originating in Virginia, in the USA, this delicious curled spinach has the added benefit of being resistant to blight. As with most spinach, you’ll get better results if you sow in autumn as this crop tend to bolt in warm weather. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 250

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Erbette Spinach

€3.50

Similar to spinach, this leaf-beet variety has large, smooth green leaves and thin white stems. It can be harvested continuously throughout the season far into late autumn, and even overwintered for a fresh crop in spring. The tender, tasty leaves can be cooked up on their own or added to soups and stews. Average seeds per pack 200

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Bangholm Swede

€3.50

This Danish variety produces plenty of medium-sized dark-purple roots. It is very high-yielding - during variety trials carried out by Teagasc in the 1960s, Bangholm had an 8% higher yield than the control crop. We found them a great all-round swede. If you try them do let us know what you think! Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 450

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Bodeglut Cordon Tomato

€3.50

Bred in the 1960s by Paul Vogel and Dr. Rolf Bielau of the Julius Kühn-Institut in Quedlinburg, just north of the Harz mountains, this tomato variety of German heritage does not appear in any seed catalogue that we are aware of. We obtained the original seed from the Gaterslaben genebank, and Seed Guardian Nick Hill grew it out in Carlow in the spring of 2021. A tomato with medium sized red fruits, thin-skinned and with a sweet flavour. If you try this variety, please let us know what you think! Average seeds per pack 35

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Brad’s Atomic Grape Cordon Tomato

€3.50

These plum-shaped cherry tomatoes, originally bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farm, start off looking like bunches of small aubergines, developing green, red and blue colourful stripes as they ripen. Best sown from January to March, they are very productive and ripen over a long growing season. As this is an indeterminate type this variety needs to be supported and have its side shoots removed. The fruits have rather thick skins which helps with crack-resistance, and makes the sweet little juicy tomatoes burst in your mouth as you eat them. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 40

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Malselvnepe Turnip

€3.50

This Norwegian landrace is a hardy variety, well suited to growing in northern climates. The squat, medium-sized turnips are pale yellow in colour, and have an excellent flavour. Good for cooking as well as eating raw if you enjoy the strong flavour! Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 450

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Dyers Chamomile

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

A native to Europe, known also as yellow ox-eye and golden marguerite. These wonderful flowers have large lemon-yellow daisy heads and grow to 2 feet high. It is an extremely effective dye plant and the yellows obtained are strong and crisp. The flowers can also be used in teas. A short-lived perennial. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 100

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Common Daisy

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

A familiar favourite, this charming little native flower can be seen in grasslands, lawns and roadsides from March-October. Brilliant white rays, sometimes tinged with pink, surround a bright yellow centre. A welcome, cheerful addition to any 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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Foxglove

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

This striking native wildflower loves the edge of shady places - hedgerows banks, woodlands, mountains and moors. An elegant plant with dozens of purple, inner-speckled, tubular flowers that cluster around a tall stem, reaching 1.5m in height. As a biennial, the plants will produce foliage in their first year, with the magical flowering spikes developing in the second. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 100

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Red Campion

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

This lovely tall flower likes shadier conditions such as hedgerows, woods and grassy banks. The attractive, pink-red, 5-petalled flowers are 2-3cm across and bloom from May to September. The plants themselves can grow quite large – from 30cm to 1m in height. Seeds are best started in pots, left to overwinter outside, and planted out in plugs in the spring. As this species is dioecious (with male and female flowers on separate plants) it is important to grow out both males and females if you want the plants to self-seed (which they do readily!), or otherwise select only males to limit the spread. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 100

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Savoir Se Bree Sage

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

A stunning ornamental sage variety from our friends at ‘Bôite de Graines’ in France. Growing up to 2m, these plants created a stunning structural display in our Inis Glas garden. Delightful delicate blue/mauve flowers bloom prolifically and have that wonderful sage aroma, a real pleasure to behold. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 50

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Tobacco

€3.75 (€3.75 incl VAT)

Tobacco plant, Nicotiana, has become a popular bedding plant in recent years. This lovely variety is especially tall-growing, with broad, luscious leaves and crowned with many pink-white trumpet-shaped flowers. Certified Organic Average seeds per pack 100

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