Svensk fröodling och bevarandet av kuIturarvsväxter

Abstract

In Sweden, we currently import the majority of all the seeds that are grown here. But there are various companies that are working to bring back a Swedish seed cultivation and at the same time spread Swedish cultural heritage plants. The aim of this thesis is to see which companies that work with this, what seeds that are grown I Sweden today and why our heritage plants are important. Qualitative interviews are used as method to meet the aim. The various actors include seed companies, larger organizations, non-profit organization, and museums. There are only a few seed companies that have a Swedish production of seeds today and the biggest difficulty to grow seeds is the Swedish climate. Many plants need a long and warm season to develop mature seed and in Sweden the summers are often short and chilly compared to other countries in Europe. The autumns are also very humid and the seeds risk becoming moldy and rotten before there is time to harvest them. The easiest seeds to grow in Sweden are those who set seeds the first year. By growing seeds of heritage plants, they can avoid some of those problems because those plants are already adapted to our climate. Other advantages of heritage plants are that they have a genetic resource that allows them to cope with changes in the climate and can be used in research to develop new varieties for the future. They have a great diversity in taste, color, and shape. They have a cultural-historical value and can tell us about our history. It is a matter of sustainability to both be able to produce your own seed and to be able to use the vegetables grown in Sweden instead of importing large amounts of groceries. Through the cooperation of the various companies that already work with these matters, we could increase our seed cultivation in Sweden and spread cultural heritage plants even more.