‘GOLDEN carrots’ are being grown by community gardeners in Rugby who are taking part in a countrywide ‘seed relay’.
Precious Egmont Gold carrot seeds were dropped off at Hillmorton Community Garden by The Heritage Seed Library (HSL).
The HSL, based at Ryton charity Garden Organic, is celebrating 50 years of seed conservation with a unique seed relay across the UK – and Hillmorton Community Garden is taking part to help conserve and grow heritage varieties.
Kate Warburton, a volunteer at Hillmorton Community Garden and a Community Champion for Garden Organic, said: “We really value our association with Garden Organic and the work they do to preserve heritage varieties.
“Being part of the seed relay and having the chance to grow and enjoy traditional vegetable varieties is a privilege.
“We chose the carrot Egmont Gold to grow. Our carrots did well this year in our raised beds and we are keen to branch out with a different variety and explore a new taste.”
Fellow volunteer and community champion Jill Dwyer added: “I think it’s so important to preserve these heritage varieties and without the work of the Heritage Seed Library so many would be lost.
“We can’t wait to see what they taste like!”
Now in its fifth year, the Hillmorton Community Garden community group have transformed the grounds of their local church hall into a community vegetable plot, creating an outdoor living room with a ‘Friendly Bench’ and raised beds of fruit and vegetables.
Many of the group’s volunteers are part of Garden Organic’s ‘Rugby Community Champions’ scheme, run in conjunction with Rugby Borough Council, which offers training and advice to residents about sustainable gardening.
The seed relay aims to conserve the widest variety of vegetable seeds as possible to ensure the survival of homegrown food crops in the face of threats from climate change and a decline in pollinating insects.
During the first stage of the giant 50th birthday ‘pass-the-parcel’ event, precious heritage seeds have travelled more than 180 miles and been shared among key individuals, organisations and communities across England. Further stages will take place across Wales, Scotland and Ireland in 2026.
At each stop-off point, supporting ‘seed champions’ have taken a packet of seed from the golden anniversary parcel to grow, harvest and save, and passed the rest of the seeds onto the next destination.
The HSL is the only living library of heritage vegetables in the UK, and the only seed library that conserves food by sharing heritage seeds with gardeners and communities to help preserve them. Growing out the seeds make them more resilient and better adapted to climate change and local conditions.
Fiona Taylor, CEO of Garden Organic, said: “The Heritage Seed Library conserves seed by sharing it, and this work is a continual relay between places and generations to ensure the survival of heritage vegetables.
“Passing seed on to be grown by friends, neighbours and future generations is a simple action that gardeners and growers can take to ensure our food crops adapt to climate change.
“Seed is a precious natural resource, and open pollinated seed continually adapts to the conditions in which it is sown. This means by passing seed on and sowing it in a variety of places, we are allowing it to survive and thrive.”
