UK considers mass market sales of heirloom varieties

16:26 10th September 2010

British gardens and greenhouses could soon be filled with interesting heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Complaints about a lack of diversity, as well as a growing interest in historic genomes, have led to the European Commission relaxing its rules on the matter.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the distribution of heirloom seeds had been restricted due to the requirement for them to go through a tough and expensive testing procedure before being approved for market.

Now that heirloom seeds and varieties only grown by amateur gardeners have been made exempt, the UK government is consulting on whether it should make it easier for such products to be registered with seed catalogues.

The consultation will last until October 29th and could see a whole host of opportunities opened up to UK growers.

In other news, the RHS has launched a plethora of new qualifications which will give garden and greenhouse enthusiasts more skills, whether they are a beginner, intermediate or expert.