SEEDS WITH STORIES MAKE TASTIER FRUITS

Home-grown produce almost always tastes better than shop-bought fruit and vegetables. With that in mind, just imagine how delicious tomatoes and peppers raised from saved seed can taste. Professional gardener

- Nicola Hope

When a seed has a story, it takes growing to the next level of significance. In January 2020 I was lucky enough to meet with seed guardian extraordinaire Adam Alexander and was thrilled when he gifted me some seed varieties from all over the world. I was given beans and peas, lettuce, courgette and some of the juiciest cucumbers that I have ever encountered… but most exciting of all were the tomatoes, chillies and sweet peppers.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you how a significant chunk of my year is devoted to the propagation and cultivation of tomatoes. Not only are they my favourite food bar none, but I pride myself on growing huge amounts of sweet fruit for myself in my small greenhouse at home, as well as at work, where I have the run of a large, traditional glasshouse. I had grown heritage varieties before I met Adam, but never any with personal stories attached.

Chillies and sweet peppers hold a similar place in my heart (and my greenhouse), but for different reasons. While I love a sweet pepper and some of the milder varieties of chilli peppers, I am, like many others, wary of the hotter ones. A hint of heat and a fruity zing is about my limit but I adore their aesthetic. I believe them to be one of the most attractive of greenhouse plants.