Adam Alexander is a British

horticulturalist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, author, and filmmaker. He is known as the Seed Detective.

Biography

Alexander's first business was

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

on part of his parents' farm. This business failed and he went into film and television production. Alexander is an advocate and practitioner of

seed saving In agriculture and gardening, seed saving (sometimes known as brown bagging) is the practice of saving seeds or other reproductive material (e.g. tubers, Grafting, scions, Cutting (plant), cuttings) from vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers for u ...

. He is a member of the British Seed Guardian project who work to collect and save rare seeds. Alexander is critical of the impact that

monocultures In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monocultures increase ease and efficiency in planting, managing, and harvesting crops short-term, often with the help of machinery. However, monocultur ...

have on agriculture and the larger environment. He is known as the Seed Detective and has traveled around the world collecting rare seeds.

Personal life

Alexander lives in eastern Wales. His 3.5 acre farm is located near

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

. On his farm he grows approximately 100 varieties of vegetables each year.

Books

The Seed Detective

The Seed Detective is a book which is largely autobiographical in which Alexander examines the history of some of the vegetables he has encountered over the years. It was recommended by the Slow Food Foundation. The Seed Detective was published in September 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Adam Living people British horticulturists British writers British filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people)