The Hoo Heddern: Gardeners’ Seed Swap

The Hoo Heddern begins its journey with seeds and growers at the Chalk Village Gardeners’ Club on Friday 13 March. After a talk by Tom Hart Dyke, Cherry Truluck will briefly introduce her project before offering tea and cookies.

Members and guests will also invited to take part in a seed swap. Cherry will be bringing organic seed from her own collection and is seeking to exchange this for seed that grows well in this area – especially (but not exclusively) seed saved from people’s own gardens.

Cherry is also looking to learn from local gardeners about their memories and experiences of growing fruit, vegetables and herbs here, so she can add to the archive of material stored in the Heddern.

Bring something to place on the shelves

Each stop along the peninsula adds another thread to the Heddern’s growing tapestry: a recipe rescued from a drawer, the smell of a childhood meal, a seed packet saved from a long‑gone allotment, a note about what once grew in the salt‑touched soil, or a catalogue that once lived in someone’s shed.

You’re welcome to share anything connected to food and the Hoo landscape:

• Stories of meals, marshes, gardens, and kitchens – written or just memories to share
• Favourite recipes — smudged, typed, or half‑remembered
• Ingredients grown, gathered, or simply loved
• Books, catalogues, clippings, foraging notes
• Memories of fishing, foraging, cooking, preserving, and feasting.

Every contribution will become part of a living, travelling portrait of what food means here and how it has shaped the peninsula, past and present.

Explore what the Heddern is carrying

Inside the Heddern, you’ll find a strange and beautiful mix of objects offered by neighbours across Hoo. You can open drawers, read the snippets people have left behind, browse recipes and notes, and trace patterns between the salt‑pans, gardens, mudflats, and kitchens that make this place unique.

The Hoo Heddern has been commissioned by Cement Fields and supported by Medway Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).