What is an heirloom variety? Heritage and heirloom varieties of vegetables are simply old varieties that are no longer sold commercially by the big seed companies or used in commercial growing, they may only have been out of commercial circulation for a few years but some date back as far as the 1800’s. Also under this classification you can find local varieties that have been cultivated for many years, the seed being saved year on year and these varieties may never have had been offered commercially or officially named.
Why choose heirloom varieties? These old varieties have generally been chosen for flavour and will crop over a long period, modern commercial varieties are often developed for uniformity, ease of mechanical harvesting and shelf life rather than flavour. Heirloom and heritage varieties are generally open pollinated and have natural variation that allows them to adapt to local environments rather than being F1 hybrids that are all identical and expensive to produce. With heirloom vegetables you can save your own seeds year on year.
Read more about this in our article in the October edition of ‘etcetera’. Come along on Saturdays when our nursery is open and see our collection of heritage beans and find out more about the different uses – we have over 40 varieties – we are giving away free packets of heirloom bean seeds to customers to grow next year!
The nursery is open every Saturday from 10-4 until the end of October. We can open at other times by appointment so call or email if you want to drop in at another time.
This half day course will teach you some basic weaving techniques through the creation of a hanging fatball bird feeder. These make great gifts and are an attractive garden feature.
Come along and have a go at eco-printing techniques. You will experiment with leaves, flowers and rust combined with plant based dyes on cotton and paper samplers. You can bring your own T shirt or household lined to work on too. You will go home with some unique prints and an understanding of the materials and processes involved so that you can go away and experiment at home.
To book a place on this course use the ‘Buy Now’ button below. This is a secure PayPal transaction but you do not need a PayPal account to use it. We will send you confirmation and further details when we receive your booking.
You will then look at short rotation coppice as a management principle and explore techniques for sensitive woodland management to improve the health of your trees, diversity of species within the woodland and for harvesting timbers for different applications. The afternoon session will include practical skills for coppicing hazel woodland.
The course is also a good basis for future courses covering coppice crafts, hurdle making and cleft fencing.
Come along and learn the art of making animal sculptures out of willow. Make a majestic stag’s head to take home.
Le Jardin Creatif 