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It’s Almost Spring – NordGen Has Opened Its Annual Seed Sale to the Public

Date: 2024.03.01

A sure sign of spring is when the Nordic countries’ joint genebank, NordGen, starts selling selected seeds and potato varieties to the public. The seeds and potatoes that are sold represent a unique part of our cultivated cultural heritage and are often not available anywhere else. By ordering, growing, and taking new seeds from these plant varieties, the customer is making an important contribution to both biodiversity and to preserving our living cultivation history.

The pea “Vallagården”, the potato “Osmo” or perhaps the sweet William “Gimsjön”? Which historic plants are suitable for your garden this summer? On 1 March, the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) once again opened its online sales of seeds and potatoes to the public. This year there will be close to 100 different plant varieties to choose from. About ten varieties that are included in this year’s webshop can also be found in the very recently released book in Swedish “Klint Karins kålrot och Kurt Jönssons bondböna: Svenska lokalsorter och deras historia”.

Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson.

“One of them is “Åsbro” – a broad bean that we know has been cultivated since the 1850s in the Swedish province Närke. Another is the sugar snap pea “Saxbo” from Dalarna, which has been grown since at least 1936. These varieties have probably been around for so long because they are of such good quality. Now there is the opportunity for all those interested in cultivation to continue this historical heritage. I think that’s very nice,” says Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson, Senior Scientist at NordGen and responsible for the collection of legumes and medicinal plants.

Photos of the pea “Saxbo”.

Promote Biodiversity

As the Nordic countries’ joint seed bank and knowledge center for genetic resources, NordGen’s mission is to conserve and promote a sustainable use of the biological diversity that is important for Nordic forestry and agriculture. Therefore, the daily work includes both plants, animals and forests. Offering seeds to private individuals is a small but very popular part of the operations. NordGen does not make a profit from seed sales to hobby growers but offers the service to promote biodiversity and increase interest in our Nordic cultivated cultural heritage. The cost of the seeds (SEK 25 per bag) only covers a small part of the costs of work, postage, administration and technical solutions.

Josefin Granö.

“For this year’s edition of the webshop, we have changed the technical platform. We hope that it will work better than the solution we had in previous years when many customers encountered problems with their orders. Now we are keeping our fingers crossed that both orders and payment will run smoothly for our loyal customers,” says Josefin Granö, Administration Coordinator and responsible for the webshop.

FACTS

The webshop is available at shop.nordgen.org and opens 1 March 08:00. It is open for sale until 31 May but the rest of the year it is possible to buy a few other products, such as books and t-shirts.

The top photo shows some more examples from the assortment this year: the Icelandic chive “Pálsson, Reykjavik”, the shoofly plant “Skælskør SS0504” from Denmark and the Swedish pea “Extra Rapid”.