Paolo gave us some history of seed production. It was the Romans who first brought seeds to the UK and gave us a greater variety of plants. Apparently the word ‘allotment’ is a Roman measurement. In 1917 the government encouraged vegetable growing and when the Spanish Flu outbreak happened many people survived because they have fresh veg. In the second world war our government had the ‘Did for Victory’ campaign once again to give the people fresh vegetables. And during the recent Covid outbreak, allotments were one of the few places that people were still allowed to visit.
Paolo explained that people think that Italy is hot, but where his family are from is in North Italy where there are mountains and the climate is much like the UK. He told us that Italy is the largest producer or rice which surprises many people.
Paolo also told us about the difficulties of importing seeds. Covid had first interrupted the production and then the UK’s exit from the EU means it is very difficult for the seed companies to import seeds as there are a lot of restrictions and regulations and if they get one thing wrong the whole lot are incinerated. He told us that all the companies you may have bought seeds from Thompson & Morgan, Mr Fothergills etc. all import their seeds. There are no companies in the UK producing their own seeds.
He finished with a few tips. Now is the time you can plant basil direct into the soil. It likes a warm humid condition. Lambs lettuce wants cold, sew it when you take your tomatoes out. Seeds have varying shelf life e.g. Tomatoes will last 10 years while parsnips deteriorate quickly. Store your seeds in a cool, dry and dark place.
And finally a saying ‘before you look down, look up’ meaning before you look what is growing, look up and see what the weather is doing.
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