The Kale bed is so called because there is always kale in it

Between 1982 and 1984, the Irish plant researcher R.F. Murphy took part in a transnational initiative to map and collect samples of remaining farm bred cabbage:

The varietal situation has undergone great changes within the last decade. The introduction of hybrids, plant breeders’ rights and national seed lists have all been responsible for genetic erosion and many land races [farm bred varieties] have now disappeared.

 In fact, since the author started collecting these in 1982 approximately 40% of the growers have now discontinued the practice of saving and selecting their own seed. Indeed collection was already too late for many crops […].

R. F. Murphy. ‘Final report. Collection of land races of all crucifiers in the Republic of Ireland’. E.C. Collection Programme 6 – Ireland – CP 6. Kinsealy Research Centre, Dublin 5. 1984.

Archive journal N°9

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This issue was initiated by visual
artist, researcher and amateur
plant breeder Åsa Sonjasdotter
to accompany her exhibition and
seed propogation project at Project
Arts Centre (PAC), Dublin.
In collaboration with practitioners
of cultivation, the project
Peace with the Earth –
Tracing Agricultural Memory,
Refiguring Practice revisits
histories of agriculture.
It investigates soil, habitat
and dwelling histories,
in order to challenge and
transform long-established
cultural narratives of cultivation
and ecological thinking.

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Further readings

The publication Peace with the
Earth — Tracing Agricultural
Memory, Refiguring Practice
reveals gaps and inconsistencies
in historical narratives, opening
up ideas for possible cultivation
systems that nurture the soil and
its habitat. Grounded in research
into agricultural practices on
the Swedish island of Gotland
in the Baltic Sea, the quotes,
documents and photographs
of dead, and living matter
presented in the book testify
to ways of living off the land.
These assemblages sketch
out the nurturing environments
of three relict crops cultivated
from prehistoric times until
the present day.

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The pamphlet Peace with the
Earth was published by the
Swedish suffragettes and peace
activists Elisabeth Tamm and
Elin Wägner in 1940, after the
outbreak of the Second World
War. Elisabeth Tamm (1880–1958)
served as one of the first women
in parliament and was an organic
farmer. Elin Wägner (1882–1949)
worked as a writer and activist
on matters of women’s rights,
peace, and ecology, and was a
member of the Swedish Academy.

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