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"heirloom" seeds
conservativecave ^ | February 7, 2009 | self

Posted on 02/07/2009 7:00:17 PM PST by franksolich

While reading the food section of the afternoon edition of the newspaper, I came across a comment about "heirloom" seeds--not their qualities or anything, but just a suggestion that one hoard a few in a general pantry.

Now, I was born and raised alongside the Platte River of Nebraska, farming country (and then as a teenager, the Sandhills of Nebraska, ranching country), and so matters agricultural and horticultural are not exactly alien things to me.

But on the Head of St. John the Baptist, I must say the first time I ever saw the term "heirloom seeds" was when I first started observing the primitives on Skins's island, in the cooking, do-it-yourself, frugal living, and rural forums.

Really.

I kid you not. I had never seen that term before in my life.

The way the primitives talked about their "heirloom seeds," one milght have reasonably supposed they were talking about a Louis XIV pot d'chambre or a Queen Anne chest of drawers.

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TOPICS: Agriculture; Gardening; Outdoors; Science
KEYWORDS: gardening; seeds; vegetable
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To: Gabz

Valley Greene brand is from Page Seed Co. in Greene, NY. I found lots of info on the web about them, but still cannot recall where I bought the seed packets. They sure look like the kind from chain stores. They even have the price printed on them as part of the label, just like other name brands do.


61 posted on 03/08/2009 5:00:59 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom; Gabz

“How can you tell when something like peas and beans are ready to save?”

Those you just leave on the vine until the pods are brown and dry, so don’t harvest them all.

HOWEVER, you will need to start with a self-or-open pollinated variety, or they won’t produce true. So, you need to START with heirloom varieties, or the seed you save will produce a throwback to the male or the female plant from which it was bred. In other words, you can’t reproduce seed from ‘hybrid’ varieties. And they do that for a reason; patents and cash. This is why we can’t save the seeds from that GORGEOUS red pepper we bought at the market, and get that same red pepper in our gardens the next year. That pepper is a genetic freak, and for a reason. Again; patents and cash.

“What about something like lettuce or onions?”

Hmmmm....unless you live in a very warm climate, that’s a tough one. Lettuce will “bolt” and flower and produce seed in the heat of summer, but again, you need an heirloom or open-pollinated lettuce to start with.

Onions? Same thing. If you leave your onions in the ground long enough, and you have a very long growing season, they WILL flower. Think of the flower ‘Allium’ that blooms in the late spring...they’re related to onions, so look for a big, round ‘flower’ on top.

Actually, a lot of this, save for tomatoes and peppers is a heckuvalot easier to buy seed for from year to year. Growing things out for seed means you’re not going to be able to use the fruits of your labor, so if you have the room, you may want to just grow a plot for seed production, only...

But THEN, you’ll need germination cages to keep the seed from crossing with your neighbor’s plants, etc.

It’s pretty involved and a PITA to do.

BUT, it can be done.

Two books to get you started:

‘Seed to Seed’ by Suzanne Ashworth

‘Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More Than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs’ by Carole B. Turner

And FWIW, woody herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano) are propagated most easily from cuttings from mature plants. Keep herbs alive all winter long, indoors, under lights then make more cuttings to amuse yourself in the winter months and put those new plants out in the garden the next season.

I do the same with geraniums and a few other ‘annuals’ such as impatiens and begonias. Food is good, but you need flowers to feed your SOUL. :)


62 posted on 03/08/2009 5:58:37 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

I don’t know too many other people around here who garden, so I don’t think that cross pollination will be too much of a problem.

I do have seeds that are supposed to be heirloom varieties so it should work.

Right now, I’m planning on doing this as a learning experience. Likely, I’ll be buying seeds for as long as possible. My thought is just to learn to do this and teach my kids just to be prepared.


63 posted on 03/08/2009 6:35:21 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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