Posted on 02/07/2009 7:00:17 PM PST by franksolich
‘Celebrity’ is a great variety. My FIL sold those tomatoes at Market for many, many years.
He still grows it, but he looks forward to the ‘weird’ tomato plants I give him each season, LOL!
Husband and his brothers are having a “Tomate-Off” this year. Most pounds of tomatoes from ONE plant. That should prove interesting. *SMIRK*
I love the zerbra and purple heirloom’s with olive oil and fresh basil....Mmmmmmmm can’t wait for my local farmer’s batch.
Vegetables that grow well elsewhere do poorly at my place (high altitude, strong sun, low humidity and water, short growing season), so I have tried a number of heirloom items with success.
Antique own root roses seem to be more successful under these conditions as well.
Ditto...’two thumbs up, way up’ for Seed Savers!
The popularity of heirloom roses has been on the rise for about fifteen years now, but it’s only been in the last year or so I’ve noticed cooking programs and forums discussing the virtues of heirloom veggies.
I haven’t tried any of the heirloom vegetables, but I will soon. Just as hybridization of roses took away most of the fragrance away for the sake of consistent visual perfection, I can believe that the hybridization of vegetables may have resulted in the sacrifice of flavor.
I had not heard of heirloom meat and poultry before. Hopefully Bobby Flay or Emeril will use it soon. That seems to get new things into the supermarkets faster than anything.
It’s my understanding that heirloom varieties produce seeds that perpetuate for generations, unlike some hybrids that cannot produce good seed.
I once grew a grapefruit tree from a hybrid seed, and that tree produced no fruit.
I couldn’t tell ya. Don’t remember that well. but it doesn’t seem possible to me. They grew so dense that there was no available space between bulbs. It SEEMED like they were reproducing underground, and just splitting off new roots.
Does “paste” varieties mean those tomatoes are best suited for sauces? (I apologize if this is a stupid question!)
I grew my first ever tomatoes last year, and they turned out quite well for my “maiden voyage.”
I bookmarked the Seed Savers site. I think I’ll copy some of what you’re ordering and try a few more like the Purple Cherokee. :)
You said it better than I. I was sort of astounded that some folks just assumed saving “heirlooms” was some sort of liberal movement. Instead, it’s simply common sense.
“?It’s my understanding that heirloom varieties produce seeds that perpetuate for generations, unlike some hybrids that cannot produce good seed.”
This is true. And you know why? Because if you can harvest your own seeds, you don’t have to buy more (or at least not as many) from the huge conglomerate that developed them.
I honestly don't know how many agricultural offices actually support the collection and exchange of heirloom seeds, but I'm willing to bet there are few given the greater weight of the number of private exchanges.
Many, if not most, of the modern seed stock is hybrids.
They are either infertile or have very poorly reduced fertility and viability.
I try to save seed from my garden, and usually get the best ones from the plants that I grow from the seeds I got last year... what grows the best year over year.
So in a sense heirloom seeds are the Mutts of the seed world!
I had an heirloom steak once. I think they said their great great great grandpa butchered the cow in the 1950's. (Kidding)
Great thread!
:’)
ping
Some things just never cease to amaze me.
I’m still shaking my head over some of the ridiculous posts on that Monsanto thread yesterday.
I’ve got to find my camera, and then remember how to get into my photobucket account..........hubby has my greenhouse more than 90% finished and he said it will be fully shelved and ready to go tomorrow.
It’s 75 and breezy right now. I put in some peas, spinach, chives, and something else yesterday. I’m using the table on the deck as a potting “bench” at the moment and will have the first of my mater and pepper seed flats ready to go into the greenhouse tomorrow!!!!!!
I’m so excited :)
One more week for me before I start seeds in earnest!
Today we opened on Sunday for the first time this season. It poured all day long, but we still did a brisk business. It was sort of a “bonus day” as we weren’t too busy, and I had a lot to do to get Bare Root ready and all that rot...and starting this week I’m back to 6 days a week. Grrrrr!
I was chatting with a customer today and she was all, “Oh, you just must LOVE working here in the Spring” and I was polite, but told her of my 60+ hour weeks and non-stop running all day long. At least I’ll lost my usual 10 pounds, LOL!
I have a feeling we’re going to have a cold, wet, sloppy spring, just like we’ve had three years running. I hope people aren’t flooded out again. Two years in a row of that is enough!
I was just going through my seeds and found a couple packets I forgot I had bought. They are a brand called Valley Green and they are some brand that I know I got a somewhere like Wal-Mart or a supermarket. Anyway, they are labeled as heirloom seeds.
It’s Black seeded Simpson lettuce and Little Marvel Peas. Interesting that you can get heirloom varieties just by hunting around in stores.
A little further along in the season, could you start a thread on how to save the seeds? I have an idea, but am unsure exactly what to do. How can you tell when something like peas and beans are ready to save? What about something like lettuce or onions?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.