MetaChat - Seeds! Heirloom seeds!

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22 February 2007

Seeds! Heirloom seeds! Gardening geekery inside.→[More:]My job has brought me into contact with a lot of gardening folks and heirloom-seed people. Because I'm a Slow Food coordinator, I got 20 free packs of heirloom seeds this year. I'm so excited to grow these guys. Here's what I ordered:

Tomatoes: Red Fig (18th century, small, fig-shaped, good for drying); Amish Paste (from Wisconsin), Nebraska Wedding; (these are bright orange and look juicy, beefsteak-style), and Brandywine (1900, super tomatoey and delicious - I grew some last year).

Lettuce: Grandpa Admire's ('George Admire was a Civil War veteran born in 1822'; this butterhead lettuce was passed down through his granddaughter; Speckled (looseleaf, brought from Holland to Germany in 1660, then to Ontario in 1799, passed down through a Mennonite family); Tennis Ball(goes back to the 17th century, buttery and smooth); and Amish Deer Tongue,

Squash: Amish Pie, Sibley (1887)

Peppers: Fish (pre-1870 African-American heirloom, traditionally used in Chesapeake crab and oyster houses), Wenk's Yellow Hots (from Erris Wenk, one of the last local truck farmers in Albequerque's South Valley), Jimmy Nardello's (brought to the US in 1887 from the village of Ruoti in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy; sweet pepper, good for frying).

Beans: Mayflower (said to have been brought over in 1620, found in the Carolinas, cream-and-maroon); Lina Cisco's Bird Egg (brought to Missouri in the 1880s, they look like their name), True Red Cranberry (an ancient Maine bean propogated by the Abenaki people for centuries, a deep rich red); Cherokee Trail of Tears (long black beans in beautiful long green-and-purple pods); and Christmas Lima (gorgeous large flat seeds with white and maroon swirls. Firm and delicious. I hate limas but I learned to love these at our farmer's market. They are great blanched and in a salad).

Watermelon: Moon and Stars. So beautiful! Named after the pattern on their skins.

Ground Cherry: Aunt Molly's -- I had never even heard of these, much less tasted one, before last summer. They are like very small tomatillos, only sweet. Their flavor is unique and ethereal, unlike any other vegetable or fruit. They taste something like wildflowers smell.

post by: Miko at: 09:50 | 20 comments

I forgot to add -- if any MeChazens are seed savers, I'd be happy to do some exchanging. I have more seeds than I can use in my little community garden, so if you are interested in trading for any of these varieties, let me know in the thread and I'll e-mail you.

posted by Miko 22 February | 09:53

We've been gradually expanding our garden area since we moved in two years ago, so this year's garden should be even more spetacular than last's. So exciting! We generally buy seedlings, so our options are a bit limited, but it's usually interesting and fun to try new things. Even when the crop disappoints, it's always a learning experience.

posted by mrmoonpie 22 February | 09:55

it's always a learning experience.

Absolutely! It's easy to get intimidated by the gardening knowledge out there - the soil science and terminology - but you really can't go wrong by just trying. Humans have been growing plants for aeons, and you learn by doing.

There are few things as satisfying as eating produce grown in your own garden.

posted by Miko 22 February | 10:30

I grow ground cherries every year. Brandywine tomatoes and moon and stars watermelons too. I've been trying to get my tiller started this morning so I can use this warm weather to get some new garden ground started, but thus far it is not cooperating. I was looking at seed catalogs earlier but I need to wait until I am tired from working so I'll be fed up and not order so much crap. heh.

posted by weretable and the undead chairs 22 February | 11:08

I've been trying to get my tiller started...

heh, weretable with that simple declaration you have just brought my entire childhood back to me in a rush like something straight out of a jean shepherd tale. mom had an ancient toro tiller that was a massive POS.

attempting to start that sonofagun every spring and thinking up new and inventive swears to hurl at it was the definitive indicator that spring, had indeed, sprung.

posted by lonefrontranger 22 February | 11:29

were, how do you use your ground cherries? I ate them out of hand last summer, but I wonder what else to use them for. It says they make a great jam, and I bet that's right. But do you have any other suggestions? Maybe in salads? Have you ever tried drying them, and if so are they good?

Mmmm. Ground cherries.

posted by Miko 22 February | 12:08

I got a Seed Savers membership for my birthday this year and the catalog arrived yesterday. I am overwhelmed by it, so this post is helpful to me.

I also took the Vermont Master Gardener class last year and it has been a useful education for a newbie like me.

I'd like to swap seeds but we don't have any this year. Although I am goign to plant some of the ox heart tomato seeds my uncles have been growing for decades in PA.

Thanks Miko!

posted by terrapin 22 February | 12:32

Plus we have soooo much soil amending to do this year. We bought our land last year and had to clear a few acres of pines to make room for the garden as well as to get sun on our driveway. Our soil is very acidic due to the pines. So I have mapped out an area for the first garden area, hoping to add some lime and compost this year in the hopes that we can grow more next year. We may try some things this year, but we don't expect much success. However, we may also look to add some blueberries--which love the acidic soil--even though neither Sarah or I like blueberries that much :) Figure we can use them to trade and or to bake cobblers for town fundraisers, etc.

posted by terrapin 22 February | 12:38

Miko: What zone are you in? We can be anywhere from Zone 3 to Zone 5 as we appear to have microclimates issues depending on where one is on the property.

Oh, and we plan to try and build a greenhouse this summer to help with our short growing season, which I assume you have as well.

posted by terrapin 22 February | 12:40

HAve you considered doing raised beds? That's an easy way out where the soil is bad. My tiny raised bed at home works well -- I had to do that, though, because we're near the Naval Shipyard, which has been here since 1800, so apparently the soil's full of lead and mercury and such. My community garden plot is very sunny and warm, but I plant according to Zone 5 and it works well. Last year was a terrible year for the tomatoes, though -- too wet, and not enough heat even in midsummer.

This will be my first foray into actual seed saving, as well, though I have done a bit of home gardening in the past from 'boughten' seed. Tell you what, let's see how things go this year and maybe try trading saved seeds next year. I could send some of the beans and squash from the packets right now, though, since there's no way I have room for all of them. My plot is tiny! I'll aim for 3 of each plant, that's all.

posted by Miko 22 February | 12:50

I should add, Terrapin, that I was overwhelmed by that catalogue, too! What I did to narrow it down, though, was to choose the seeds that were part of Slow Food's RAFT (Regional American Food Traditions) grow-out. THe goal is to preserve these threatened varieties.

posted by Miko 22 February | 12:53

We have a LOT of rocks (of all sizes) to clear up from the area we want to garden, so we plan to raise the beds slightly. This will also help define the space and add a level of aesthetic appeal :) We also want to raise the beds to help level things out. Most of our land is sloped, which is very good for drainage, but a little difficult to maneuver a garden cart, etc.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions. If you have any seeds you want to share, our PO Box is listed on our website "about" section. Anything will be appreciated and extra food is always shared :)

posted by terrapin 22 February | 13:09

You might also look into Fedco for seeds. They're not exclusively heirloom, but they do have a number of very interesting seeds. If you live in a colder zone, they're great because they supply Maine farmers, so most of their stock is made to grow in that climate.

Every year I try a new type of tomato and see how I like it. In addition, I always put in Big Boys. Quite honestly, none of the heirlooms have come close to the Big Boys. I've tried Brandywine and was about as underwhelmed as you can get, plus mid-season a particularly nasty blight came through the area and wiped them out.

I try new things every year and repeat the things that have worked out really well. The repeats are arugula (a nice salad of arugula with parm-peppercorn dressing rocks), big boys, sweet peas, borage and bee balm (both of which bring in pollinators).

posted by plinth 22 February | 13:12

Bee balm makes a great hot or iced tea, too. Just steep the flower petals.

posted by Miko 22 February | 13:53

I'll be starting my tomato plants indoors tomorrow, and I'll probably get some other things started too. May first is considered our last frost free day, or around there anyways. Every year I grow yellow pear tomatoes 'cause they taste so good. The last 2 years I didn't grow vegetables at all for various reasons, but I'm all set this year with a couple more raised beds.

I'm still not used to the challenges of growing here in Colorado. When I lived in Napa I had a most amazing garden next to this incredible old pear tree. I had one yellow pear tomato vine that grew up the length of the trellis end post (8 feet or so), and then up on to the roof of my outbuilding, a total of 16 feet in length. I'll have to report on what tomato seeds I start. Other thing I like to grow a lot of are Nasturtiums 'cause the flowers taste so good. If I'm industrious this year I'll also finally build my cold frames and try to overwinter some kale and chard and so on. I ate a lot of kale last month and I had forgotten how much I liked it. A food from my childhood...

posted by eekacat 22 February | 14:25

Hey, that FedCo site is neat! I especially appreciate this planting guide, which should be fairly close to what we've got in my area. We're a teensy bit warmer, being coastal.

posted by Miko 22 February | 14:35

I'm still not used to the challenges of growing here in Colorado.

eek that makes two of us. i had a garden that was the envy of neighbours for blocks, BLOCKS, itellya... in ohio but two years of struggling to grow gardens in Lafayette made me throw up my hands in despair and craigslist all my garden tools. growing things in this climate is frickin fulltime work and i'm lazy.

bleah.

i hate raw tomatoes but those ohio compost pile volunteer tomatoes i used to get made the sam-damnedest best pasta sauce and salsa i've ever tasted.

posted by lonefrontranger 22 February | 15:23

Oh man. I am in so much lust for seeds right now.

posted by Specklet 22 February | 16:00

I have a raised bed which I try to manage in a permaculture/organic way. Rocket is self seeding, and the herbs are annuals, but the rest don't seem to manage so well. The beauty is, no digging. The worms do it all for me as long as I keep composting the top. Indeed, if I were proper hardcore I would simply throw the kitchen waste straight onto the garden to serve as a mulch while it decomposes.

I collect seeds from every thing as much as is possible. I always leave at least one plant to go to seed. Many of them have pretty flowers.

This Spring I am going to build a miniature poly-tunnel for half of it. This should help things to grow as we get some crazy wind from the Atlantic which funnels up the side of the house. I am using left over poly-tube from the central heating installation and weaving it through some plastic sheeting.

Tomatoes don't thrive outdoors here because of the wind, but they are my favourite so I have already got the seedlings sprouting. I might pop some in the poly tunnel later once the brocchili and salad is on the way out.

I am hoping to get an allotment for the bigger things like potatoes, courgettes, squash etc. but the local one is full and I wont get in until May unless there is a minor miracle. They are in the lea of the hill and alot less windy.

I haven't got around to getting exited about heirloom seeds yet as I have enough trouble finding anything that will grow successfully in the windy environment. Also, i try to rely on the water butt as much as possible, so the plants have to be able to live without too much molly coddling from me other than weeding and slug and snail patrol.

posted by asok 22 February | 18:05

I'm not sure how much gardening (veggies or otherwise) we're going to get into this first year in our new place. I'm not at all sure what's going on, I just remember that it was gorgeous this summer. I will, at least, have a tomato plant or two. I'm just not at all sure what kind of sun we're going to get. I think the beds closest to the back of the house will be our best bet for stuff that needs sun.

posted by deborah 23 February | 01:59

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