In late winter/early spring, while other gardeners are contemplating the varieties they’re planning to sow and grow - at the Heritage Seed Library, we’re preparing our long list. This long list is made of up heritage vegetable varieties for our Seed List, which goes out to members in December each year.

Now, we’re excited to say that our selection for 2025 has been decided and, as long as nature stays on our side, the List is almost ready to go!

Seed Guardian saviours

As always, the 2025 list is the culmination of a lot of hard work, both at Ryton and by our Seed Guardians, who grow seeds for us in their gardens and allotments across the whole of the UK. Last year’s growing season produced the equivalent of 107,000 packets of seeds!

Most of our seeds will find themselves in the hands of our loyal members, who get the treat of sampling six packets of our rare and unusual veggies. It’s their support that helps to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy such a fabulous range of varieties.

What’s in this year’s list?

This year we have around 170 varieties on the list, across 25 vegetable types. And it’s a diverse selection! Almost half of these are certified organic seed, and 18 are new to the list this year.

My personal favourite is dwarf French bean ‘Brighstone’. It takes its name from a village in West Wight, which has a history of shipwrecks on its dangerous shore. The story suggests that this bean came from one such wreck that occurred before 1900.

Local gardeners on allotments have grown this bean for years, and I can’t blame them. It produces vigorous plants and beautiful lilac flowers followed by long green pods, mottled with dark purple. Prolific and tender, even when they start to mature and described by one of our Seed Guardians as “a real cracker”!

Another new variety is climbing French bean ‘Rose Bean’. An heirloom from Eastern Kentucky, it’s named after the Rose family who have grown it in this region for more than four generations. It produces delicate white or yellow flowers, unusually on the same plant, and very large (>15cm), flat pods that contain seven or eight seeds. A multipurpose bean, good for using both fresh and dried.

Lastly, you might like to try Chinese radish this year. It’s perfect for those of us who like to slice them thinly and pop them in a pickle! The large (golf-ball-sized or more), round radishes have pink skin and crisp white flesh with a fresh flavour, so if you prefer them in a salad, they have just the right amount of heat.

To find out more about the Heritage Seed Library click here, and if you’re not a member and would like to receive six packets of seed from our 2025 Seed List, join us today!