The Farm
Seeds of Scotland is a Highland-based seed company located just north of Inverness. Our fields overlook the beautiful Cromarty Firth in the foot hills of Ben Wyvis.
The farm consists of two parcels of land which have a total area of around 1 hectare. Seed processing and packing takes place in an old grain drying loft near to the fields.
The farm was established in March 2023 and is undergoing organic conversion with the Soil Association.
The Seeds
Why grow open pollinated seeds?
All of the seeds that we sell are open pollinated. Unlike F1 hybrids, open pollinated seeds can be saved and re sown whilst maintaining their distinctive characteristics year on year. Open pollinated varieties have more genetic diversity within them and as well as increasing the Biodiversity in your garden they are more suited to adapting to new growing conditions and changeable weather.
The Growers
We (Haley and Finlay) started growing vegetables in Burra on the west coast of the Shetland Islands. We found that Shetland Kail (kale) thrived in a particularly windy and exposed plot. As we learned more about this fascinating crop we encountered the stories and traditions connected with seed saving and growing Kail in Shetland. We outgrew our plot and decided to gain experience working on various commercial market gardens on the mainland of Scotland whilst getting involved in the 'Seed Sovereignty Programs' seed production training.
Prior to setting up Seeds of Scotland we visited and worked at seed producers across the UK and Europe where we gained valuable knowledge and insight into the modern seed industry and the production of open pollinated seeds.