The Seed Detective: Uncovering the Secret Histories of Remarkable Vegetables
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-08 03:17:37
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Adam Alexander
- ISBN：1915294088
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Ever wonder how peas， kale， asparagus， beans， squash and sweetcorn ended up on our plates？ Well， so did Adam Alexander。
Adam Alexander is The Seed Detective。 His passion for vegetables was ignited when he tasted an unusual sweet pepper with a fiery heart while on a film-making project in Ukraine。 Smitten by its flavour， Adam began to seek out local growers of endangered heritage and heirloom varieties in a mission to take home seeds to grow and share so that he could enjoy their delicious taste – and save them from being lost forever。
In The Seed Detective， Adam shares his own stories of seed hunting， with the origin stories behind many of our everyday vegetable heroes。 Taking us on a journey that began when we left the life of the hunter-gatherer to become farmers， he tells tales of globalisation， political intrigue， colonisation and serendipity – describing how these vegetables and their travels have become embedded in our food cultures。
‘We are a nation of vegetable growers’， says Adam， ‘and this book explores the wonderful world of rare and endangered heritage and heirloom vegetables – and why we must keep growing them and saving their seed， not only for our gardening and culinary pleasure， but to pass these stories on – vegetables are truly our history on a plate。’
Adam Alexander is The Seed Detective。 His passion for vegetables was ignited when he tasted an unusual sweet pepper with a fiery heart while on a film-making project in Ukraine。 Smitten by its flavour， Adam began to seek out local growers of endangered heritage and heirloom varieties in a mission to take home seeds to grow and share so that he could enjoy their delicious taste – and save them from being lost forever。
In The Seed Detective， Adam shares his own stories of seed hunting， with the origin stories behind many of our everyday vegetable heroes。 Taking us on a journey that began when we left the life of the hunter-gatherer to become farmers， he tells tales of globalisation， political intrigue， colonisation and serendipity – describing how these vegetables and their travels have become embedded in our food cultures。
‘We are a nation of vegetable growers’， says Adam， ‘and this book explores the wonderful world of rare and endangered heritage and heirloom vegetables – and why we must keep growing them and saving their seed， not only for our gardening and culinary pleasure， but to pass these stories on – vegetables are truly our history on a plate。’
Reviews
Steve Streeter
，
Adam Alexander has written an incredible book- not a phrase used lightly but worthy of such a statement。 The Seed Detective explores the variety of vegetables around us ; exploring the origins of the plants and the development ， variation and propagation of their seeds as they “ migrate “ around the planet over centuries of human movement and seed collecting。 Mr Alexander is a seed collector and has travelled to the furthest corners of the planet in his desire to save and share seeds。 His passio Adam Alexander has written an incredible book- not a phrase used lightly but worthy of such a statement。 The Seed Detective explores the variety of vegetables around us ; exploring the origins of the plants and the development ， variation and propagation of their seeds as they “ migrate “ around the planet over centuries of human movement and seed collecting。 Mr Alexander is a seed collector and has travelled to the furthest corners of the planet in his desire to save and share seeds。 His passion is really infectious and the stories he tells of the people he has met are a delight。 As well as a book of facts and details， this is a book with a clear message - a call to arms- that WE the reader， consumer， gardener and plant lover need to be aware more than ever about the beauty of the everyday vegetable and the variety of types and flavours we are losing through the advancement of the global market and seed contamination and cross pollination。 However this is not a book with negative tales of woe but a bright light being shone on these incredible plant species that humbly take a role in our everyday lives。This is a a book to savour- no pun intended - but to be read slowly; this is a book to be devoured in several bites or one long feast … this is also a book to return to when a new growing season begins or throughout the year as plants reach that value point of ‘ going to seed ‘ A must for gardeners， environmentalists or anyone who cares deeply about what they eat and the world around them。 this is an incredible tour de force and Adam Alexander needs to be given a heartfelt thank you for writing such an important and informative book 。。。more
Ula Tardigrade
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I liked the premises of this book， as I am interested both in history and botany， and even started some gardening myself recently。 Unfortunately， while clearly passionate about his heirloom seeds， the author gets stuck in too many details and the result is mostly dry and encyclopedic。 I think it still will be interesting to people who are looking for very specific information about their plants， but if you’re looking for an engaging popular science book， it may not be the best choice。Thanks to t I liked the premises of this book， as I am interested both in history and botany， and even started some gardening myself recently。 Unfortunately， while clearly passionate about his heirloom seeds， the author gets stuck in too many details and the result is mostly dry and encyclopedic。 I think it still will be interesting to people who are looking for very specific information about their plants， but if you’re looking for an engaging popular science book， it may not be the best choice。Thanks to the publisher， Chelsea Green Publishing， and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more
Randal White
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The author leads an amazing life， rather like the Indiana Jones of seed preservation。 He travels the world， seeking out vegetable varieties that have not been "discovered" in the Western World， and brings them out to be grown in controlled circumstances and preserved for future generations。 Alexander frequents farmers markets all over the world， looking for that elusive "granny"， who has been growing the variety for decades， maybe even generations。 It's an honorable task， otherwise many （maybe a The author leads an amazing life， rather like the Indiana Jones of seed preservation。 He travels the world， seeking out vegetable varieties that have not been "discovered" in the Western World， and brings them out to be grown in controlled circumstances and preserved for future generations。 Alexander frequents farmers markets all over the world， looking for that elusive "granny"， who has been growing the variety for decades， maybe even generations。 It's an honorable task， otherwise many （maybe all） of these varieties would be eventually lost。 It's a good read！ 。。。more
Annarella
，
If you are interesting in heirloom seeds and biodiversity this is as fascinating and gripping as a mysteryHighly recommendedMany thanks to the publisher for this ARC， all opinions are mine
Melissa
，
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley。Alexander knows a lot about plants， particularly what it takes to collect and continue heirloom varieties from around the world （just reading about his setup I am very jealous）。 I， on the other hand， can't seem to start plants from seeds for anything。 But that's ok， the more people explore this work， the more chance I have of picking up an heirloom plant at a farmer's market or other locales。Separated into East and West， Alexa *This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley。Alexander knows a lot about plants， particularly what it takes to collect and continue heirloom varieties from around the world （just reading about his setup I am very jealous）。 I， on the other hand， can't seem to start plants from seeds for anything。 But that's ok， the more people explore this work， the more chance I have of picking up an heirloom plant at a farmer's market or other locales。Separated into East and West， Alexander explores the heritage of well-known plants， not only narrating his own explorations but also digging into the history and origin of the plants as well。 I appreciated that he sometimes went into obscure areas， as there are so many varieties of edible plants out there that people just don't know about due to the homogeneity of what we generally find in stores。That being said， it could get dry at times， and there were certain sections I found myself skimming。 While I largely enjoyed the information， some just seemed to be more detail for the sake of detail。 But it was nice to see how tomatoes crossed the world （indeed it seemed like the largest chapter was dedicated to them）， how many classifications of peppers there are （no it's not just hot and not-hot）， and just where beans really originated。 I wouldn't have minded a few recipes thrown in for how he uses some of his crops based on the way he described taste and function。An interesting book， but definitely one for someone who is really into seeds， gardening， or food history。Review by M。 Reynard 2022 。。。more
J。S。
，
This is a rather interesting book about growing heirloom vegetables and is an enjoyable read。 I think what makes this one slightly different from similar books I've read is that it combines the history of vegetables with a memoir of sorts by the author of his love for the various "heirloom" or "heritage" varieties of seed he's run across in his travels around the world。 It's this nice blend of history and memoir that makes it enjoyable。 The book is broken into two parts:- Old World veggies: peas This is a rather interesting book about growing heirloom vegetables and is an enjoyable read。 I think what makes this one slightly different from similar books I've read is that it combines the history of vegetables with a memoir of sorts by the author of his love for the various "heirloom" or "heritage" varieties of seed he's run across in his travels around the world。 It's this nice blend of history and memoir that makes it enjoyable。 The book is broken into two parts:- Old World veggies: peas， broad beans， carrots， leeks， asparagus， lettuce， garlic- New World veggies: tomatoes， regular and runner beans， corn， lima beans， chilis， squash and pumpkinsIn each chapter he mentions seeds he acquired in his travels - often from what he calls a "seed granny" - and what he finds so fascinating or tasty or。。。 （etc。） about them。 Be forewarned， however， that you may or may not be able to ever find that particular heirloom because he sometimes uses a name he gave the seeds based upon where he got them。 So， the usefulness for us as gardeners， who would like to grow more heirlooms is somewhat limited。 Unfortunately， the book contains the usual screed against "Big Ag" （the somewhat mysterious big agriculture and chemical companies） found in so many books like this， but while this argument pops up in several places， it's minimal enough。 The author also seems to romanticize Neolithic farmers and Native Americans， but。。。 whatever。As a backyard gardener I would love to grow more heirloom vegetables with the space I have， but older varieties are often subject to diseases and fungi that don't attack newer varieties。 Also， they aren't always as prolific as some growers， including this author， make them sound - and I'm not the only one to complain about these issues。 （Not only that， but taste is often subjective， and I've been disappointed at the flavor of heirlooms on a number of occasions。） In that regard， this book is limited in its usefulness because it's more memoir and history than growing guide。 And I guess that's okay - it's a pleasant read as it is - but I would like to find a book that doesn't just tell us we should be growing more heirloom varieties and saving our own seed， but has some practical advice to get a well-meaning gardener started with heirlooms as well。 Still， I made a number of notes from my reading and will be looking for some of the varieties he mentioned。 （Thank you to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Publishing for an advance electronic copy。） 。。。more
Trena
，
For those who are interested in open pollinated seeds and who seek to learn the origins of vegetables。 The author tells the history of various cultivars and his search for seeds unknown to him from around the world。Thank you Chelsea Green Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC。
LindaPf
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