Kind of Blue

                                                     Photo: Kind of Blue Strawberries

I’m so tempted to start sowing. 

I’ve walked out of the house a few times with a packet of seeds and turned around to come in again as a waft of icy air hits my face. It’s going to be a while yet though as I think we have a few more cold spells to come before the optimum sowing time is upon us. It doesn’t stop me stocking up on seeds though and there are plenty of companies to choose from, in Ireland and further afield.  

I’d ignore any over inflated seed prices that claim they are GMO free. All seeds sold to the public are GMO free, it’s just buzzwords used for marketing purposes and gives suppliers the freedom to charge you that little bit more for the apparent peace of mind and feeling you are doing something positive for the environment. It’s a bit like putting the word Vegan on heavily processed food, it might not come as too much of a shock to realise that just because something says ‘vegan’ on the packet doesn’t mean it’s not still junk food full of chemicals, salt and sugar and bad for the environment. 

Paint the whole world with a Rainbow

There are other seeds for sale online that are also a bit misleading. You’ll see adverts for Rainbow Tomatoes, which claim to have black, purple, red and yellow fruits on just one stem. The images on the adverts look very impressive, both in their myriad of colours and also for the quality of work done be someone on Photoshop. I’m sure they must have a giggle every time someone buys a packet and puts a couple of euro into their bank account. 

Some people purchasing the packet of seeds might never actually get around to opening them as they are sometimes seen as a novelty item. Others who might be expecting a rainbow of colour might be disappointed to just find the regular red variety or plants that don’t resemble tomatoes at all. The worst-case scenario is to have no seeds germinating and you miss the optimum growing time. There are very few people who complain about these seeds as they either feel a bit daft or just disregard them as it’s only cost them a few euro. 

Blue is the Colour

You can also get ‘Blue strawberry’ seeds. The images we see online have also been attached to a rumour that they were genetically modified by scientists in order to create a freeze-resistant strawberry.

Websites claim they did it by an artificial transfer of isolated genes from a species of fish called the Arctic Flounder Fish. The Arctic Flounder Fish produces an anti-freeze that allows for protection in freezing waters.

There is a very small element of truth to this claim. Researchers did attempt to introduce an antifreeze gene from an Arctic flounder into strawberries in the late 1990s in order to create a more freeze-resistant fruit. So far, it’s come to nothing, but you can still get yellow strawberries, both in large and alpine sizes. It’s claimed you get a better crop of the delicious sweet fruit because the birds aren’t attracted to them meaning there’s more for you. There’s no mention of slugs though.

If you encounter a photograph of a blue strawberry on the internet like the tomatoes, it most likely grew out of an enthusiastic Photoshop users head, not a seed.

All Wrapped Up

I was thinking about seed and plant protection in the cold spells and reminded myself of the fabulous work local knitters do around the peninsula around for the Feelgood Fortnight. Trees and outdoor furniture all get the Yarn Bombing treatment consisting of either crocheted or knitted covers being put on trees, posts, outdoor furniture and anything else that stands still for long enough.  It was initially seen as a feminine movement to partake in the traditionally masculine and male-dominated graffiti scene. I’m sure there are men in the groups now though.

It’s used as street art and temporary graffiti which goes down well with most people. There have been a few issues where people use nylon or acrylic materials to cover things but on the whole is natural wool that is used which rots down quickly if not removed. 

Originally from America the idea was to peacefully and brightly reclaim and personalising cold, sterile public areas. In Inishowen it’s used as a celebration and I think some of the pieces could be used as a colourful way to protect your more delicate shrubs and trees over the winter period.