Mission Seeds

Winter Sowing

2015-01-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

To winter sow, cut about midway up the container just above where your soil line will be. Don't cut the top all of the way off. Leave one side attached so that it is a flip top. Fill the bottom with moistened potting soil, plant the seeds, duck tape the top to the bottom, and use a knife to poke one hole one each side at the base for drainage. Throw the top cap away and set outside. You need to water about once a week until it starts to warm up and then twice a week or whenever they get dry. They grew just fine with regular night temperatures in the single digest to 20°F.

Instructions for winter sowing
http://wintersown.org/wseo1/Plastic_Gallon_Jug.html

What to sow when
http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/01/what-to-winter-sow-and-when/

Winter sowing works great with cold weather tolerant crops like kale, collards, brussel sprouts, onions, and many flowers. Just plant them in January or February and stick them outside to sprout when they decide. I actually have had a hard time growing bulbing onions from seed until I tried winter sowing. I have my best and largest onion bulbs overwintering in the ground outside for seed. I dug some of the smaller onion bulbs out of the frozen ground/wood chip mulch and used them for cooking this last week.

Winter sowing did not work for my tomatoes, peppers, or potato seedlings. They didn't start sprouting until it was almost too late to plant and were then too small. I think I would need to bring them in at night in my climate to get them large enough to transplant on time.

Canadian Hardy Apple Trees

2015-01-20T20:54:00.000-08:00

Most apples won't reliable fruit here with late spring frosts that we get into June and sometimes July. Apples are said to need only about 10% of their blossoms to get pollinated and not get frozen, so if the tree blooms really late or over a long period it has a greater chance of having some blossoms pass through their most critical time without freezing.

There are a number of super hardy apple varieties that will produce fruit in the most inhospitable climates. Here are a few interesting apple links if you have late spring frosts that typically kill your apple blossoms. Some of the trees are hardy even down to zone 2 in case you get those brutally cold winters.

Hardy Canadian Apple trees:
Hardy Fruit Trees
DNA Gardens
Morden 360 story

Hardy Apple Trees in Alaska:
Clair's Cultivations - great list of good producers in Fairbanks, Alaska at the end of the page

Most of the Canadian trees are only available as scionwood from a few companies or the USDA Germplasm Unit.

One tree that always produced in Southeastern Idaho in zone 3b was Wealthy. Wealthy is a great tree that is available in the U.S. Honeycrisp is also supposedly a good producer in cold harsh climates, but I haven't tried growing that one yet.
Wealthy
Red Wealthy

I'm growing Goodland, Northern Spy, Morden 360, Tolman Sweet, Norda (possibly the same as Norkent), Ginger Gold, Red Wealthy, Spitzenberg, and Cortland. I am guessing that the last two will not fruit every year due to frosts, although they still need a few more years to start fruiting before I find out for sure.

Painted Mountain Corn and Corn Bread

2015-01-20T20:28:00.004-08:00

I grew painted mountain corn here at about 7000' in elevation. I planted it in March or April. It grew and froze back over and over again so many times that I wasn't sure if it would make it and planted some more just in case. I transplanted a few plants as well that I started inside, which really wasn't necessary. We had our last killing spring frost on June 10th. Throughout all of the frosts it just kept regrowing. I was hoping that it would be more tolerant to the 12F we got about the first week in June, but alas it had to regrow from the roots once again. It continued to try and grow and eventually did grow once it stopped freezing every night.

Here are some of my Painted Mountain cobs.

Seeds to plant in the spring from the longest skinny cobs.

All of the so so cobs had their kernels removed and put into jars. I finally got around to milling them to make cornbread.

Corn for corn bread.

Those two and a half quart jars of Painted Mountain seed turned into this nice bag of corn flour.

It looks like it will make a couple batches of corn bread.

I also grew some glass gem corn that I got from Joseph Lofthouse as well as some from Native Seed/SEARCH. I had to transplant this to get it to make it in my climate as it takes a little bit too long for my climate. Last year my glass gem didn't even tassel before the fall frosts. This year it did great. I only had a few plants, but had 5-7 full cobs on the plants.

Best cobs from about five plants. Notice the similar cobs that all came from the same plants. The smaller cobs were turned into corn flour with the extra Painted Mountain corn. The red cobs turned out to be popcorn and actually popped.

It seems to grind just fine like the Painted Mountain. We'll see how the corn bread turns out.

Cornbread Recipe (Gluten Free):

2 cups cornmeal (or corn flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil (or shortening)
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs

Mix, bake (preferably in a greased cast iron pan) at 350°F for approximately 30 minutes. If it is too crumbly add 1 tsp xantham gum next time.

Wood Chips, Dynamic Accumulators, and Gardening

2015-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have posted. Busy with life I guess. I had to learn how to garden this last growing season without a water source, which was a pretty tough issue to overcome. I still had a successful garden. Plenty of kale, collards, some tomatoes, squash of all sorts, etc. I learned a lot in the process and now realize how nice it is to have access to a reliable water supply.

The only way I was able to make my garden succeed was with lots of free wood chips (hay mulch alone was not enough to keep the soil from drying out in windy weather after three months without a drop of rain). I did use some grey water to get them started, but other than that they were on their own for water. Luckily the wood chips saved the garden.

About a year or two ago I watch a film called Back To Eden that demonstrated how to grow a garden without watering it. It relied on a ~6 inch application of wood chips and composted manure mixed into the mulch. Wood chips really do maintain constant soil moisture without the drying you eventually get with a mulch. The plants appreciate a good source of fertilizer too. I watched the Eden film probably three times I liked it so much. I would recommend it to anyone that likes gardening.

I also read a lot about permaculture and regreening desert spaces. I read about the idea of growing mulberry trees like the Illinois everbearing mulberry next to a chicken run to feed the chickens with the berries and about feeding mulberry leaves to milk cows to replace their grain ration. I also read about using mulberry leaves to replace 50% of a rabbits diet, and replacing 15% of a pigs diet with the leaves. I found out about many permanent crops that you can harvest year after year and continue to feed them to your animals, i.e. leaves and branches from honey locust, willow, apple, pear, linden, and poplar trees.

I read about coppicing black locust trees for a renewable source of firewood as well as coppicing many other trees like willows for wood or making baskets. I read about dynamic accumulators and started one, a comfrey plant, in the house during the winter. Comfrey seed is a bit hard to find. I bought this seed from Thompson & Morgan. I reused my old potting soil from my winter sowing experiments, so you can see that I have a tomato seedling popping up next to the comfrey plant. It was a little bit late germinating for the tomato.

What to Plant?

2012-04-05T22:26:00.002-07:00

A number of crops are tolerant of freezes early in the season. Each night the temperature is still getting down into the upper 20s at night, but the garlic and onions have grown to be about a foot tall. Some of the sequoia strawberry runners that I transplanted late in the fall are even starting to grow. The runners are flowering a bit too early for the flowers to set fruit due to the cold weather. I am thinking about covering them every night below 32F, so that I won't have to wait for warmer weather for strawberries. Mmmmm!

Sequoia strawberry.

So on to the topic today. What to plant when it is still freezing most nights? Well there are surprisingly many options: Spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peas, kale, brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, turnip greens, radishes, corn salad (mache), miner's lettuce, lettuce, endive, mizuna, and parsley.

Today I just planted some red cored chatenay carrots. A couple of days ago I planted long island improved brussel sprouts, little finger carrots, early jersey wakefield cabbage, chieftan savoy cabbage, titan parsley, alaska peas, giant noble spinach, and radish seed that I saved a few years back. The newly planted seeds aren't much to look at really, so here are some pictures from the cold frame that is still going strong. I have been leaving it open to let out the heat so everything doesn't bake inside during the day. I haven't been closing it at night either. All of the plants seem to like the cold all they need is to have something to keep the frost from settling on their leaves even if the temperature falls to 22F or lower.

I just planted titan parsley in the long strip of dirt next to

the yellowish colored lettuce called black seeded simpson.

Along bottom half of the picture at the far right edge is

monstreux de viroflay Spinach. The top half of the same row is

bloomsdale longstanding spinach. A bit of freckles lettuce is intermixed.

The red lettuce shown here is lolla rossa lettuce.

Here you can see that the cold frame is a little packed
with lettuce and other plants.

Here is some tasty sorrel. I think it is just common garden sorrel
not French sorrel, but alas I don't remember.
A radish is trying to overtake the sorrel.

Here is the red and green oakleaf lettuce.
I really like the interesting shapes of
these lettuce varieties in salad.

This plant with deeply serrated leaves is mizuna.

Delicious red sails lettuce.


I like the taste of this slightly bitter plant, frisee endive.

Miner's lettuce.

All of these lettuces and greens would be quite happy out of the cold frame right now. I just haven't needed to plant more lettuce outside of it yet and the coldframe keeps the soil from drying out as quickly. with this 3' by 4' cheap coldframe I have been eating salad almost every day for the whole winter.

Here are a few plants that are doing well ourside of the coldframe in the ground at this time of year about two months before the last spring frost.

Purple top white globe turnip greens.

A yellow potato onion with a bunch of new onion bulbs forming beneath the soil.

German red garlic growing nicely.


In a pot sitting unprotected in the yard with some horseradish plants already growing.

Our last spring frost isn't for about 2 months and all of these plants are growing and thriving at freezing temperatures. Yah, the coldframe plants are protected from frost settling on the leaves, but it still gets down into the 20's at night especially when I leave the lid partially open overnight.

About every place I have ever lived the locals complain about how horrible the weather is and how short the season is (even if it is more than half the year long). It doesn't matter where you live, but people will find an excuse not to grow anything or put in the effort. I think 3 months is an awesome growing season. It could be a lot worse at no frost free days each year or only a month of frost free days.

No matter where you live the climate will always be oh so much better on the other side of the fence, whether it be the next town or just across the state line, etc. I think that most of us have great growing climates we just need to choose our plants very wisely and we will be rewarded with an excellent harvest. So get out there and start planting those late winter/early spring vegetables that can tolerate frosts and hard freezes without damage.

The California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act Submitted to the California State Attorney General

2011-12-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

I really hope that this ballot initiative passes in California so that we can have the freedom of informed choice in America. Many countries require labeling of their food if it is genetically modified. Companies could easily label now with little to no increased cost.

All companies would have to do is slap a sticker onto the package that says contains genetically modified ingredients like they often do for sales and specials as part of their marketing strategy. When companies routinely update their packaging information they could add a few words to the package or a symbol specifying that it contains genetically modified ingredients. The only reason companies don't label now is that they want to continue to sell their genetically modified food to unassuming consumers.

We lack the freedom to choose the food we want and are held hostage by the lack of information. In this information age it is amazing that something as simple as the information about the foreign genes in our food is kept secret. I hope that this ballot initiative passes and has little opposition.

Here is the press release.

You can read more about this ballot initiative at this website.

2012 California Ballot Initiative to Label GMOs

2011-12-03T13:53:00.001-08:00

Amazing things are happening that will hopefully turn our food system for the better. A California Ballot Initiative to let voters decide whether they want their food labeled when they are genetically modified is gathering petitions and may be on the 2012 election ballot. Shouldn't we have the freedom to know what is in our food, apparently about 80% of Californians in a poll agreed. It makes sense, many countries label GMO foods, of course then they don't have nearly as many on their shelves as they would otherwise.

We are being held hostage by the corporate food industry and corporate chemical seed companies. We are the customers that buy the food they grow, yet we have very few choices in terms of GMO-free and have no idea what we are eating. It may as well be sewage sludge based on the information offered to the consumer. In deciding on which product to buy many that contain corn, canola, and soybeans are genetically modified with unknown and potentially negative health effects. Let's reject being human guinea pigs in this potentially disastrous experiment.

Here is the official website for the campaign to Label GMOs and here is their facebook page if you are into that. I don't use facebook.

No to GMOs.

A Cold Frame and Winter Gardening

2011-11-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

I decided to make a temporary cold frame this winter to test the concept. I built a simple wood frame and used a staple gun to staple 6 mil plastic sheeting to the frame. I wanted to test the idea and work out the kinks, so that I will know the features to include in a more permanent cold frame. I am planning to someday make a more sturdy cold frame with wooden sides and sloped top either with clear glass or plastic. Here are some pictures of my first homemade cold frame and some of the vegetables that we have been eating from the cold frame. It pick from the cold frame about every other day, which is pretty amazing since it gets down below freezing every night. The frame keeps the frost off the plants and warms them to 75F or higher in the day, which initiates strong growth despite the cold night time temperatures. I planted several types of lettuce and a number of other greens.

1. Lettuces:

black seeded simpson
paris island cos
red sails
freckles
green and red oakleaf
lolla rossa

2. Endive
3. Long Orange Improved Carrot
4. Monstrueux viro flay spinach
5. Fordhook giant swiss chard
6. Cherry belle radishes

I also have been doing a bit more reading and found that both carrots and parsnips are extremely cold tolerant. I recently planted some of the crop in the ground surrounding the cold frame as it gets warm enough in the day for them to sprout and grow.

Flavor Grenade an Amazing Pluot

2011-09-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

My wife doesn't particularly like fruit. She is more of the meat and veggies type, but pluots are one fruit that she can't pass up. Yes pluots, you know those interspecific hybrids of apricots and plums. She actually doesn't like apricots or plums, but loves pluots for some reason. It gets me. Her all time favorite fruit (a pluot of course) is Flavor Grenade that was bred by the famous Zaiger's Genetics.

You can see what the trees will grow to look like at this video about the fruit.

The pluot is distributed through Dave Wilson Nursery. Just look up interspecific plums (pluots) and you can see where they supply the pluot in case you want to order one for your yard like I do. I am thinking that I will need to order it soon to get it this fall or maybe I'll wait a bit to order it for the spring. Maybe in a few years we'll have some delicious Flavor Grenades on a tree of our own.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

2011-09-08T23:16:00.000-07:00

I stopped by my local CSA/local produce store to see what they had to offer and the prices that they were charging. They stock locally grown food besides the CSA part of their business and they were interested in stocking and selling my seeds and vegetables at their store. I may have to plan to grow something extra to sell this winter. I was planning to make some cold frames and grow radishes, lettuce, peas, and onions for fresh salads all winter. If I make a few extra cold frames, then I can grow a lot more radishes and lettuce to supply the store. I was thinking that I could also start tomatoes in the spring and sell them through their store. I would love to start my own seed business, but now is not the right time in my life to start that venture due to multiple conflicting factors. Maybe in 10-15 years I can start up a real seed business. For now I may just have to build a local reputation and supply some seeds to the local CSA store. Anyway, it might be a good idea to sell through the CSA and make a bit more spending money for the garden.

The Best Freeze/Frost Tolerant Peach Variety

2011-07-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

I recently found out about this peach variety called Intrepid that blooms late and has blossoms that are resistant to freezing temperatures. The tree's blossoms have survived freezing temperatures even at full bloom. That is pretty amazing and might make it worth growing peaches in areas prone to late spring frosts. It will survive in zones 4-8.

I found one place that sells this variety. I am sure that there are others.
Stark Bro's

Another variety that came up in my browsing was the Ranger peach. It also is a late bloomer and more winter hardy for northern climates than the Intrepid peach, but is probably not quite as frost resistant in terms of full bloom. It grows in zones 3-7.

I saw it listed here.
Sanhedrin Nursery

I am still interested in trying the White Heath Cling peach and the Indian Iowa White Freestone Peach. I just made peach pie today and boy was it delicious.

Using Dirt Instead of Potting Soil to Start Seeds

2011-05-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

For quite some time I have been a bit disappointed with the traditional store bought potting soil. It presents a few problems when starting seeds.

One is that potting soil often contains a lot of shredded wood which invites fungus gnats to make their abode in your potting soil. The gnats also munch on nice little roots sometimes killing the seedlings. Dirt from outside is usually denser, has less wood particulate for the fungus and gnats to grow, and the dirt seems to deter the fungus gnats.
I have been concerned for some time about the difference in soil environment between the commercial seed starting soil and the real soil that the plants will be growing in the garden. The idea behind potting soil is that it provides the optimal conditions that will allow more seeds to sprout and is sterile so the seedlings will avoid soil borne diseases and be healthier. In the case like mine where I save and start my own seeds I am more concerned about them growing well in my soil. What if the potting soil encourages the growth of certain seedlings over others that may thrive better in my real soil? On occasions in the past where I used commercial seed, I have noticed that many commercial seeds that are typically started early in the season in potting soil don't sprout readily in the open garden soil. I am afraid that these seeds are bred and conditioned to only grow well in the cushy potting soil conditions and are not hardy enough or adapted well enough to grow and survive if planted directly in the ground. Why not plant the seeds in real dirt and let natural selection proceed eliminating the plants that are less tolerant of fusarium wilt and soil borne diseases? Over a few generations of seed saving, the plants should improve their ability to grow in your soil and adapt more perfectly to your real conditions. Starting seeds in sterile potting soil may confound the selection process.
Dirt is Free! Why spend lots of money on potting soil? This was the fundamental changing point for me. I got tired of the high prices for potting soil when similar and possibly better long-term generational results might be obtained with just plain old dirt from my yard.

Here are some pictures of onion starts that I planted last week in just plain dirt from my garden. They seemed to have started to sprout just fine. I expect more to continue to come up over the next week. I am hoping that the weak or poorly adapted seeds don't sprout as I would prefer to select for the hardy onions that are adapted to my soil. It just makes sense to me to start them in the soil that they will be exposed to in the garden.

Typically it is a good idea to chop onions back to an inch or two, like these below, until you harden them off and plant them outside in the garden.

Cold Hardy Grapes -40 to -50F

2011-05-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

I remember as a kid in Idaho, that the grape vines never took in our marginal zone 3 climate. They always died each year that we tried. After a couple of years we gave up on growing grapes in such a cold windy climate.

If we had known about the more recent cold hardy grape selections, then we probably would have had no problem growing grapes back then. We originally tried concords and himrod grapes and planted them in somewhat sheltered spots.

Instead we should have planted something like Somerset Seedless, Bluebell, King of the North, Sabrevois, Prairie Star, Louise Swenson, or Valiant. These are hardy grapes that can take -40^oF to -50^oF weather. These northern hardy grapes are often hard to find, but are available at St. Lawrence Nurseries, which is a great place to find cold hardy fruit varieties. Now it is a bit late to plant grapes this year, but there is now plenty of time to plan for next spring's edible landscaping.

Frost Dates and Garden Planning

2011-05-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't gotten your garden in the ground and growing, then this is the perfect time in many parts of the country. The first week in June is after the last frost date in most locations and is ideal for planting corn, beans, and tomatoes, which are frost sensitive plants. Your peas, radishes, onions, lettuce, and carrots should all be growing readily.

When you are planning your spring, summer, and fall gardens you need to pay attention to timing to make sure that you miss the spring frost for your summer plants and get the sensitive ones finished up before the first fall frost. This will also give you an idea of when to plant your fall garden to start harvesting when the frosts start occurring. If you are not sure when your first and last frost dates look up the dates closest to you in your state with this Frost Date Selector from Victory Seeds.

Blackberry Seedlings

2011-03-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the blackberry seedlings. This picture really doesn't do them justice. They look much better than the picture and have a reddish hue to their stems and petioles.

Update: Growing Fruit Trees from Seed

2011-02-26T23:24:00.000-08:00

This is an update from a previous post. The tree seedlings are really starting to take off and here are a few pictures.

This is a picture of some almond seedlings.

I wasn't sure if the almonds would grow because I had heard so much about chemical treatments and irradiation of almonds for the "pasteurization" process required for U.S. almonds. All I did was take a few of the leftover almonds from Christmas, cracked the shells carefully to remove the kernels, placed them on a damp paper towel, sealed in a ziplock bag, and left them in the fridge until they started to germinate. I think the two look pretty good. There might be a third in a few days, we'll see.

Spitzenburg Apple Seedlings.

I started a few of these seedlings from one of my favorite apples. I'm hoping that they are at least decent tasting. If not I'll graft onto them.

Old Fashioned Red Delicious Seedlings.

These are seedlings, rather a lot of them from some 100+ year old red delicious trees. These trees have apples that are large and somewhat red, although not nearly as red and tasteless as the store-bought red delicious apples of today.

Bartlett Pear Seedlings.

These Bartlett Pear seedlings look rather haggard and mostly destroyed by fire blight and other seedling problems. I'm purposely allowing the disease to take over so that only the strong disease resistant/immune trees will survive for my orchard. I am a bit disappointed with these seedlings and am surprised since Bartlett has been used as a rootstock in the past. It doesn't look very hardy in the least.

Seckel Pear Seedlings.

I am much more impressed with the Seckel Pear Seedlings than with the Bartlett. These almost all look strong and vigorous. I've heard they can sometimes come nearly true from seed. I'll have to wait a few years to see if it is true. They look like they would make a better rootstock than Bartlett. I think I'll be planting out a number of Seckel seedlings.

Starkrimson Pear Seedlings.

Starkrimson is my favorite pear variety. I really like the taste, the thin skin, and the red color. These are somewhat damaged by blight and disease, a few have fallen over and are in the process of dying, but they are much less affected than Bartlett. Some of them look like they are going to make it, while many will not.

Red Bartlett Pear Seedlings.

These are Red Bartlett seedlings. They look pretty good so far, I'm guessing that they will be somewhat obliterated by fire blight due to the relationship to the Bartletts that already died. Maybe they have somewhat better genetics. They aren't as crowded. Maybe I'll have to induce some disease by touching them to the infected plant to kill off the weak ones and only keep the immune trees. I've done that with the others to make sure that they all were at least exposed to disease from the Bartletts.

That is the latest update on growing fruit trees from seeds. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the blackberry seedlings came up and look good. They are a little small so I haven't taken a picture of them yet. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities of some of these trees. Time will tell if they are any good.

Great Article about Elevita, Poverty, and Self-reliance

2011-02-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

I recently read this great article about Elevita in the Mormon Times. Elevita is an organization that is working to help improve the lives of the poor in developing countries around the world by putting their crafts out in the global marketplace. They work to connect these often skilled artisans with the global marketplace to allow them to provide for their own needs and to help them provide for themselves. This is by far one of the best ideas that I have seen in recent years. Rather than just giving away money to the poor, this provide a way for the people to work for their own living. The organization just provides the medium of exchange or connection to the global market. This is amazing! My wife bought a beautiful tablecloth after I showed her the article and website Elevita where you can view the artisans goods.

What Are Your Favorite Apple Varieties?

2011-01-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to decide what varieties of apples to plant in the next year or two. I know a few of my favorites, like Cortland and Northern Spy, but thought I'd try a few new varieties. Luckily the local health food store has a wide variety of apples to try. I've tried a number of apples and made a list of some of the ones that I like and don't like.

Like:
Cortland
Northern Spy
Esopus Spitzenberg or just Spitzenberg
Arkansas Black
Golden Delicious
Fameuse

Still Looking to Try These:
Ashmead's Kernel
Winesap
Duchess of Oldenberg
Ginger Gold
Black Limbertwig

Ambivalent:
Braeburn
Fuji
Yellow Transparent
Lodi
Dolgo Crab Apple
Rome Beauty
Jonathan
McIntosh

Dislike:
Gala
Pinova/Pinata
Red Delicious
Empire

There are lots of other apple varieties that I would like to try and may in the future. Tom Brown is a great conservator of rare and once thought to be lost apple varieties. He has found apples like Junaluska, Ten Ounce, Stump the World... You can see the list of the varieties he has found at the Apple Search website and can even order trees if you want to try something really unusual or nearly extinct. I think I just might.

Growing Ginger Root

2011-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

I started this ginger plant about a month ago. It is a little lanky probably due to not being in a bright enough location. I started a ginger plant once before. I chopped it down when I moved and it regrew a number of stalks, but it eventually died when I left it outside during a freeze. I plan to keep this ginger and start a significant colony to harvest regularly. I might even plant some outside in the summer.

You can find ginger root at most grocery stores. Just look for one with a bud and plant it with the bud pointing up. I planted mine with the root shallow enough that it would photosynthesize until it grew a shoot, so the top of the root is a bit green with chlorophyll. I might add more dirt now that it has leaves. I decided to move it to a brighter location today. Hopefully brighter light will keep it a bit shorter. My last one was in a really sunny window, had four or five stalks that were about 18" tall and it even bloomed. Too bad that I don't have any pictures of that one in bloom. I am thinking about starting turmeric from the root as I have never tried that.

Ginger start

Growing Fruit Trees from Seed

2011-01-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

I've had a habit of growing trees from seed for a number of years, but only recently about two years ago started growing fruit trees from seeds. I stratified the seeds from quite a number of pears of different varieties by putting them in a damp paper towel or napkin in a ziplock bag in the fridge for a couple of months. After a month or two many of them started sprouting in the fridge. I planted the seedlings that had their root just sprouting out of the seed in a small pot and kept planting them as they sprouted. Eventually every single spot was covered with pear seedlings. It looked like a little mini pear forest. Of course they were in a cold window sealed in a bag during the winter which lead to disease that ravaged the mini pear forest. A few survived unscathed and I kept them and planted them in a large pot. Now these pears are about a foot to two feet tall. They were immune to fireblight and other disease and survived harsh conditions.

I've started more pear seedlings this winter, following in my newly started tradition, and have been keeping better track of the varieties. I really like the taste and thin skin of the Starkrimson pear and am trying to grow some of those along with many others. Bartlett seedlings have in the past been used as rootstock, so if you don't like the fruit from the seedling just graft another variety onto the hardy tree you've grown. My decision to grow more fruit trees from seed was bolstered when I tasted wild dewberries and wild huckleberries. The wild plants were generally very productive. They all had different sizes, shapes, sweetness, and tart zingy tastes. I like them all and especially the small variations in taste from plant to plant. I think I enjoy the variety more than a monoculture of one variety. I enjoy getting a surprise. I'm trying to grow blackberries from seed to see if I can get a nice mix of flavors in my blackberry patch.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my recent pear sprouting project.

Bartlett seeds in a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag in the fridge stratifying.

These are the Bartlett seedlings that I've transplanted from the fridge to this little pot. I'm just getting started and have a lot more to plant.

If you are interested in growing your own rootstock, then you might grow Bartlett, but I'm sure that other varieties would work well too. Seckel pear has been reported to come nearly true from seed and is said to often be better than the original in taste. I just bought a bunch of Seckel pears to eat and thought that I'd try some of them this year. If you want apple rootstock, then you might try Northern Spy. Northern Spy seedlings have been used as rootstock for apples quite a bit and it is the progenitor of the MM106 apple rootstock, which is a semi-dwarfing rootstock. In some markets in the U.S. you can find Northern Spy apples at the grocery store. You might try Whole Foods or a specialty market as they often have better old fashioned apple varieties. Northern Spy is one of my favorite apples, so if the tree you grow tastes good just grow it on its own roots without grafting it. Why not try it first? You will possibly have a stronger more resistant tree without a graft and who know you might grow the next Ashmead's Kernel.

Glyphosphate: A Common Weed Killer Sprayed on Your Food Linked to Severe Birth Defects

2011-01-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

I recently read this journal article about glyphosphate based herbicides titled, "Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling." It reports a link between the common crop weed killer used in conjunction with glyphosphate resistant GMO crops and severe cranial birth defects. It is an interesting read and may make you wonder about what you ate for lunch.

Great Article "Sprouting Evil: How Monsanto Endangers Heirlooms"

2011-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

I read this great article titled "Sprouting Evil: How Monsanto Endangers Heirlooms" that pretty much sums up our awful situation in terms of the loss of the control over what we eat and who controls our food supply and livelihoods. You can also read about the atrocities committed against American families and their small family owned farms by corporate agriculture here at the Organic Consumers Association, Millions Against Monsanto link.

Heirloom Vegetable Seeds and Where to Find Them!

2010-12-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

I just had a random thought that one of the biggest hurdles to planting an heirloom garden is really not just planting and tending it, but finding the quality seed to plant it in the first place. I thought about this a bit and decided to make this handy list of heirloom vegetables with links to buy the seed at numerous seed companies. This is the first list and will focus primarily on the varieties listed in Taylor’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables by Benjamin Watson's. I plan to make another list with links to varieties in William Woys Weaver's two books, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master's Guide to Planting, Seed Saving, and Cultural History and 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From. It will take me a while to get all of the links added to the varieties, so be patient. The companies are not listed in any particular and with no special recommendations. I'm sure that there are also more suppliers out there somewhere. One place to check if no company is listed is Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook, which requires a membership to get access to their full catalog.

1) Amaranth

a. Elephant Head (1880s) - Seeds of Change, Wild Garden,

b. Hopi Red Dye (Komo) - Native Seed SEARCH, Terroir Seeds, Wild Garden,

c. Joseph’s Coat - Terroir Seeds,

d. Loves-lies-bleeding - Terroir Seeds, Seeds of Change,

e. Merah (coleus leaf salad) -

f. Mercado (dreadicus) -

g. Molten Fire (summer poinsettia) - Terroir Seeds,

2) Artichoke, Globe

a. Green Globe - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

b. Purple Sicilian

c. Violetto - Reimer Seeds,

3) Asparagus

a. Argenteuil Early (1885) - Cherry Gal, Gourmet Seed, Grow Italian, Trade Winds Fruit,

b. Conover’s Colossal (1870) - Cherry Gal,

4) Snap Beans

a. Black Valentine (before 1850) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heirloom Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Bountiful (1898) - Pinetree Garden, Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Reimer Seeds, Cherry Gal,

c. Burpee’s Stringless Green Pod (1894) - Pinetree Garden,

d. Canadian Wonder (1873) - Heritage Harvest,

e. Fin des Bagnols (1800s) - Seed Savers Exchange, Cooks Garden, Cherry Gal,

f. Masterpiece (1907)

g. Red Valentine (1832) - Heritage Harvest,

h. Tendergreen (1922) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden,

i. Triomphe de Farcy (1892)

5) Snap Pole Beans

a. Blue Coco (1775) - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Heritage Harvest,

6) Wax Bush Beans

a. Brittle Wax (round pod kidney wax’s 1900) - Sandhill Preservation, Heirloom Seeds,

b. Buerre de Rocquencourt - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Dragon Lingerie (dragon’s tongue) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Heirloom Seeds,

d. Golden Wax (1871) - Heirloom Seeds,

e. Mont D’Or (1880s)

f. Pencil Pod Black Wax (1900) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Heirloom Seeds,

7) Wax Pole Beans

a. Kentucky Wonder Wax (1901) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heirloom Seeds,

b. Meraviglia di Venezia (wonder of Venice)

c. Yellow Annelino

8) Horticultural (or Shell) Bush Beans

a. Chevrier Vert (1880)

b. Dwarf Horticultural (late 1700s)

c. Tongue of Fire (horto) - Victory Seeds,

d. Vermont Cranberry Bush (1700s) -Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

9) Horticultural (or shell) Pole Beans

a. Lazy Wife (white cranberry’s 1810) - Heirloom Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,

b. Vermont Cranberry Pole - Heirloom Seeds,

c. Wren’s Egg - Heirloom Seeds,

10) Dry (or Field) Bush Beans

a. Arikara Yellow - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

b. Black Coco

c. Black Turtle (turtle soup; before 1806) - Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Heirloom Seeds,

d. Cannelloni (cannelone’; before 1900) - Victory Seeds,

e. Great Northern (Montana white) - Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Hutterite (1750s) - Heirloom Seeds,

g. Jacob’s Cattle (trout) - Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Heirloom Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

h. Low’s Champion (dwarf red cranberry) - Heritage Harvest,

i. Santa Maria Pinquito

j. Soldier (Johnson bean) - Victory Seeds,

k. Sulphur (china yellow’; before 1870) -

l. Swedish Brown (1890)

m. Yellow Eye (molasses face)

11) Dry (or Field) Pole Beans

a. Mostoller’s Wild Goose (1865)

b. Ruth Bible (1832) - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,

12) Fava or Broad Beans

a. Aquadulce Claudia (1885) - Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Broad Windsor (1863) - Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

c. Castillo Franco

d. Crimson-flowered (1778)

13) Lima or Butter Bush Beans

a. Henderson (1885) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds,

b. Hopi Orange

c. Jackson Wonder (1888) - Southern Exposure, Heirloom Seeds,

14) Lima or Butter Pole Beans

a. Black (1892)

b. Christmas (1840s) - Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure, Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds,

c. Civil War (1860s)

d. Dr. Martin

e. King of the Garden (1883) - Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds,

f. Red Calico (1790)

g. Willow Leaf White (1891) - Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

15) Runner Beans

a. Aztec Dwarf White

b. Blackcoat (black runner) - Heritage Harvest,

c. Czar

d. Painted Lady (1855) - Heirloom Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

e. Scarlet Runner (before 1750) - Hometown, Southern Exposure, Heirloom Seeds, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Seneca Indian Bear Paw

g. White Dutch Runner (before 1825)

16) Soybeans

a. Agate (1929) - Heirloom Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Lammer’s Black

17) Tepary Beans (for Native American varieties see Native Seed SEARCH)

a. Mitla Black - Seeds of Change, Fedco Seeds,

b. Sonoran Gold Bush - Seeds of Change,

18) Beet

a. Albina Vereduna

b. Bull’s Blood - Wild Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

c. Chiogga - Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

d. Crosby’s Egyptian (1880) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

e. Cylindra (formanova; 1990s) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

f. Detroit Dark Red (1892) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

g. Early Wonder (1911) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

h. Golden Beet (before 1828) - Pinetree Garden,

i. Lutz Green Leaf (winter keeper) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Heritage Harvest,

j. Macgregor’s Favorite (dracaena beet) - Cherry Gal, Wild Garden,

k. Yellow Intermediate Mangel (yellow mangel)

19) Broccoli

a. Calabrese (1880s) - Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. De Cicco (1890) - Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

c. Early Purple Sprouting (before 1835) - Victory Seeds,

d. Romanesco - Heritage Harvest,

20) Brussels Sprouts

a. Bedford Fillbasket -

b. Long Island Improved (1890s) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Seeds Trust, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Victory Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seed, RH Shumway, Burrell Seeds, Cooks Garden,

c. Rubine Red - Territorial Seed, Cherry Gal,

21) Green Cabbage

a. Brunswick (before 1880) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

b. Christmas Drumhead (1903) - Victory Seeds,

c. Couve de Tronchuda (before 1877)

d. Danish Ballhead (1887) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

e. Early Jersey Wakefield (1840s) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Glory of Enkhuizen - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

g. Late Flat Dutch (premium late flat ducth; before 1840) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

22) Red Cabbage

a. Mammoth Red Rock (red Danish; before 1906) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

23) Savoy Cabbage

a. Drumhead Savoy (before 1885) - Pinetree Garden,

b. January King (before 1885) - Heritage Harvest,

24) Carrot

a. Chantenay Red Cored (1929) - Victory Seeds, Veseys, Heritage Harvest, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Seeds of Change, Terroir seeds, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seeds, Bountiful Gardens, Burrell Seeds,

b. Danvers Half Long (1871) - Hometown, Heritage Harvest, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Victory Seeds, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, RH Shumway, Burrell Seeds, Cooks Garden,

c. Dragon - Heritage Harvest, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Seeds of Change, Terroir Seeds, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Bountiful Gardens, Cooks Garden, Sandhill Preservation,

d. Early Scarlet Horn (before 1610) - Heritage Harvest,

e. Imperator (1928) - Hometown, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Pinetree Garden Seeds, RH Shumway,

f. Long Orange Improved (1850) - Heritage Harvest, Reimer Seeds,

g. Oxheart (Guerande’; 1884) - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,

h. Rondo (‘paris market’) - Seed Savers Exchange,

i. St. Valery (1885) - Sandhill Preservation, Seeds of Change, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Cherry Gal, Seed Savers Exchange, Bountiful Gardens,

j. Topeweight

k. Touchon - Veseys, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seeds, Cooks Garden,

25) Cauliflower

a. Early Snowball (1888) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Purple Cape (1834) - Territorial, Cherry Gal, Reimer Seeds,

c. Veitch’s Autumn Giant (before 1885)

26) Celeriac

a. Giant Prauge (1871) - Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

27) Celery

a. Golden Self-blanching (before 1885) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Red Stalk - Heritage Harvest,

c. Solid Pink (1894)

d. Zwolsche Drul - Heritage Harvest,

28) Spring or Cutting Chicory

a. Catalogna - Wild Garden,

29) Radicchio and Heading Chicory

a. Castelfranco - Wild Garden,

b. Rossa di Treviso -

c. Rossa di Verona -

d. Sugar Loaf - Wild Garden,

30) Witloof and Root Chicory

a. Large-rooted Magdeburg (‘coffee chicory’)

b. Witloof (‘belgian endive’) - Victory Seeds,

31) Sweet Corn, White

a. Black Mexican (black aztec’s; before 1860) - Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure,

b. Catawba (1909)

c. Country Gentleman (1890) - Pinetree Garden, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

d. Hooker’s Sweet Indian (1930s)

e. Howling Mob (1905)

f. Luther Hill (1902) - Sandhill Preservation,

g. Stowell’s Evergreen (1848) - Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

32) Sweet Corn, Yellow

a. Golden Bantam (1902) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Sandhill Preservation, Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Golden Early Market (1925)

c. Mandan Red Sweet (nuetta; 1912) - Sandhill Preservation,

33) Dent Corn

a. Bloody Butcher (1845) - Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

b. Hickory King (before 1900) - Southern Exposure, Victory Seeds,

c. Nothstine Dent - Sandhill Preservation, Johnny's,

34) Flint Corn

a. Garland Flint - Sandhill Preservation,

b. Longfellow Flint - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Rhode Island White Cap (1860) similar to the variety named Narragansett

35) Flour Corn

a. Anasazi - Sandhill Preservation,

b. Mandan Bride - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Taos Pueblo Blue Corn - Native Seed SEARCH,

d. Tuscarora (before 1712)

36) Popcorn

a. Pennsylvania Butter-flavored (before 1885) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

b. Strawberry (dwarf strawberry) - Victory Seeds,

c. Tom Thumb Yellow - Heritage Harvest,

37) Corn Salad (Mache)

a. A Grosse Grraine (big-seeded)

b. Coquille de Louviers (coquille)

c. D’Etampes (verte d’etampes)

d. Verte de Cambrai (green de cambria)

38) Pickling Cucumbers

a. Boston Pickling (before 1880) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

b. Chicago Pickling (1888) - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Early Cluster (1778) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

d. Early Russian (1850s) - Heritage Harvest,

e. Vert de Maíz (1800s)

39) Slicing Cucumbers

a. Boothby’s Blonde - Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

b. China Long (1862) -

c. Japanese Climbing (1892) - Sandhill Preservation,

d. Lemon (1894) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

e. Long Green Improved (1842) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Longfellow (1927) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

g. Straight 8 (1935) - Victory Seeds,

h. Suyo Long - Heritage Harvest,

i. West Indian Gherkin (1793) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

j. White Wonder (before 1890) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

40) Eggplant

a. Black Beauty (1902) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Listada de Gandia - Heritage Harvest,

c. Pintong Long - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden,

d. Rosa Bianca - Sandhill Preservation,

e. Thai Green - Sandhill Preservation,

f. Turkish Orange (turkish italian) - Pinetree Garden,

g. Violetta di Firenze

41) Endive

a. Broad-leaved Batavian - Sandhill Preservation, Wild Garden, Victory Seeds,

b. Green Curled Ruffec - Victory Seeds,

c. Grosse Bouclee

d. Tres Fine Marachiere (frisee) - Wild Garden,

42) Florence Fennel (Finocchio)

a. Romy

43) Hardneck (Ophio) Garlic

a. Rocambole Type

i. Carpathian

ii. Germain Red

iii. Spanish Roja

b. Purple Stripe Type

i. Chesnok Red -

c. Procelain Type

i. Romainian Red

44) Softneck Garlic

a. Artichoke Type

i. Inchelium Red

ii. Lorz Italian

b. Silversking Type

i. Nootka Rose

ii. Silverskin

45) Jerusalem Artichoke (Sunchoke)

a. Dave’s Shrine (judy’s red, wolcottonian red)

b. Maine Giant

c. Smooth Garnet (garnet)

46) Kale

a. Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Lacinato - Hometown, Wild Garden, Heritage Harvest,

c. Pentland Brig

d. Red Russian (ragged jack) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

e. Thousand-headed (before 1863)

f. Walking Stick

47) Collards

a. Georgia (before 1880) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

b. Green Glaze (before 1860)

c. Morris Heading - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

48) Kohlrabi

a. Early Purple Viena (before 1860) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Early White Viena (before 1860) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

c. Gigante (gigant winter)

49) Leek

a. Blue Solaise (blue de solaise) - Heritage Harvest,

b. Giant Caretan (1874) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

c. Giant Musselburgh (1870) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

d. Lyon (prizetaker; 1886)

50) Looseleaf Lettuce

a. Black-seeded Simpson (1850) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

b. Bronze Arrow - Heritage Harvest,

c. Deer Tongue (1740) - Pinetree Garden, Wild Garden, Heritage Harvest,

d. Grandpa Admire’s (grandpa’s; 1860s)

e. Oak Leaf - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

51) Heading Lettuce

a. Brune d’Hiver (1855) -

b. Hanson (before 1855) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

c. Iceberg (1894) - Pinetree Garden, Wild Garden, Victory Seeds,

d. Limestone Bibb (bibb; 1850)

e. Merveille des Quarter Saisons’ (four seasons) - Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Mescher (schweitzer’s mescher bibb)

g. Speckled (spereckled) - Heritage Harvest,

h. Tennis Ball (before 1804) - Heritage Harvest,

i. Tom Thumb (1830) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

52) Cos (Romaine) Lettuce

a. Ballon (ballon; before 1885)

b. Paris White Cos (romaine blonde marachiere; before 1868) - Heritage Harvest,

c. Rouge d’Hiver (red winter; 1840s) - Victory Seeds,

53) Melon

a. Banana (1883) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

b. Casaba, Golden Beauty - Pinetree Garden,

c. Collective Farmwoman - Heritage Harvest,

d. Golden Champlain (1923)

e. Hale’s Best (before 1923) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden,

f. Hearts of Gold (1917) - Victory Seeds,

g. Honey Dew (1915) -

h. Honey Rock (sugar rock) - Pinetree Garden,

i. Jenny Lind (before 1846) - Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

j. Nutmeg (1830s)

k. Perfection (1892)

l. Rocky Ford (eden gem; 1881) - Victory Seeds,

m. Vedrantais (charentais) - Victory Seeds,

54) Mustard Oriental Greens

a. Michihili (Brassica rapa, pekinensis group; 1870s)

b. Mizuna (kyona; B. rapa, japonica group) - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Osaka Purple

d. Red Giant (giant red) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

e. Southern Giant Curled (17402) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

f. Tendergreen (B. rapa, chinensis group) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

55) Okra

a. Cow Horn - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, New Hope,

b. Louisiana Green Velvet (1930s)

c. Red Okra (purple okra)

d. Star of David - Sandhill Preservation,

56) Onions

a. Common (Globe) Onions

i. Red- and Purple-Skinned Onions

1. Red Torpedo (Italian red bottle)

2. Red Wethers field (ca. 1800)

3. Southport Red Globe (1873) - Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

ii. Yellow- and Brown-Skinned Onions

1. Ailsa Craig Exhibition - Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

2. Australian Brown - Heritage Harvest,

3. Yellow Ebenezer (1906)

4. Yellow Globe Danvers (before 1850)

iii. White-Skinned Onions

1. Southport White Globe

2. White Portugal (silversking; before 1800) - Sandhill Preservation,

b. Bunching (Welsh) Onions

i. Evergreen White Bunching (he-shi-ko; 1880s)

ii. Red Welsh Bunching -

c. Egyption (Topset) Onions

i. Catawissa Onion

ii. McCullar’s White Topset

d. Multiplier (Shallots and Potato) Onions

i. Odetta’s White Shallot (before 1900)

ii. Yellow Potato Onion (hill onion, mother onion, pregnant onion; before 1886)

57) Parsley

a. Gigante d’Italia - Kitchen Garden, Fedco, Jung, Thompson and Morgan,

b. Hamburg Root Parsley (P. crispum var. tuberosum) - Terroir Seeds, Victory Seeds, Cherry Gal,

c. Moss Curled - Victory Seeds,

58) Parsnips

a. Hollow Crown (1850) - Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Pinetree Garden Seeds, Reimer Seeds, RH Shumway, Sandhill Preservation,

b. Offenham -

c. The Student (1860) - Cherry Gal,

59) Peas

a. Shelling Peas (P. sativum var. sativum)

i. Alaska (1880) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

ii. Alderman (tall telephone; 1891) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

iii. American Wonder 91878)

iv. Blue Pod Capucijners (ducth grey, Holland capucijners; P. sativum var. arvense; 1500s) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

v. Champion of England (1846) - Heritage Harvest,

vi. Dwarf Telephone (1888)

vii. Laxtonian (blue bantam, hundredfold, before 1907

viii. Lincoln (homesteader; before 1908) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

ix. Little Marvel (improved American wonder; 1900) - Hometown, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

x. The Pilot (before 1903)

xi. Stratagem (ca. 1879)

xii. Thomas Laxton (freezonian; 1898)

b. Edible-Podded Peas (P. sativum var. macrocarpon)

i. Dwarf Gray Sugar (before 1773) - Heritage Harvest,

ii. Golden Sweet - Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

iii. Mammoth Melting Sugar (before 1906) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

60) Cowpeas

a. Calico Crowder (Hereford pea, polecat pea) - New Hope,

b. Papago - Sandhill Preservation,

c. Susanne (Susanne cream)

d. Whippoorwill - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

e. Zipper (zipper cream crowder) - Sandhill Preservation,

61) Peppers

a. Hot Peppers

i. Arledge Hot (Louisiana hot)

ii. Chiltepine (C. annuum var. aviculare) - Native Seeds SEARCH,

iii. Chimayo - Heritage Harvest,

iv. Czechoslovakian Black

v. De Arbol (arbol; tree chili)

vi. De Comida (zapotec di comida)

vii. Grandpa’s Home Pepper - Heritage Harvest,

viii. Karlo

ix. Long Red Cayenne (long cayenne; before 1827) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

x. Pico de Gallo

xi. Red Squash (mushroom pepper)

b. Sweet Pepper

i. Aconcagua (giant aconcagua)

ii. Bull Nose (large bell, sweet mountain; 1759) - Heritage Harvest,

iii. Cherry Sweet (red cherry; before 1860)

iv. Corno di Toro - Baker Creek,

v. Golden Summit

vi. Merrimack Wonder (1942)

vii. Nardello (jimmy nardello’s sweet frying pepper)

viii. Sweet Banana (Hungarian wax sweet, yellow banana; 1941) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden,

ix. World Beater (ruby giant; before 1912)

62) Potato

a. All Blue (blue marker) - Seeds of Change,

b. Anna Cheeka’s Ozette (ozette; late 1700s)

c. Beauty of Hebron (ca. 1900)

d. Bintje (1911) - Seeds of Change,

e. Cow Horn

f. Early Ohio (1871)

g. Early Rose (1861)

h. Garnet Chile

i. Green Mountain (1885)

j. Lady Finger

k. Russet Burbank (netted gem; 1874)

l. Russian Banana

63) Radish

a. China Rose (ca. 1850) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

b. French Breakfast (1879) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

c. French Golden

d. Long Black Spanish (before 1828) - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

e. Munchener Bier - Baker Creek,

f. Rat’s Tail (mongri, snake radish; before 1860) - Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

g. Round Black Spanish (before 1824) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

h. Tokinashi (all seasons)

i. Violet de Gournay (gournay violet; before 1885) - Baker Creek,

j. White Icicle (lady finger; before 1896) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

k. Wood’s Frame (ca. 1870)

64) Rhubarb

a. Glaskin’s Perpetual - Pinetree Garden, Territorial Seed, Baker Creek, Cherry Gal, Thompson and Morgan,

b. German Wine

c. Paragon

d. Victoria (myatt’s Victoria; before 1873) - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

65) Rutabaga

a. Bristol White

b. Laurentian - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

c. Macomber (sweet german)

d. Pike

66) Salsify

a. Mammoth Sandwich Island (1860) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

67) Scorzonera

a. Geante Noire de Russie

68) Spinach

a. Bloomsdale Long Standing (1925) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Wild Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

b. Giant Nobel (long-standing gaudry; 1926) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

c. King of Denmark (1919)

d. Norfolk (1880s) - Heritage Harvest,

e. Virginia Savoy (old dominion; 1921)

f. Viroflay (1866) - Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest,

69) Cucurbita maxima

a. Blue Banana (ca. 1893)

b. Boston Marrow (before 1831) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

c. Buttercup (1925) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

d. Hubbard (green hubbard, true hubbard; 1798) - Hometown, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

e. North Georgia Candy Roaster - Heritage Harvest,

f. Queensland Blue (before 1932) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Baker Creek,

g. Red Kuri (orange Hokkaido) - Pinetree Garden, Baker Creek,

h. Rouge Vif d’Etampes (etampes; 1883) - Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

i. Turk’s Turban - Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

70) Cucurbita mixta

a. Green-striped Cushaw (1820s) - Pinetree Garden, Baker Creek,

b. White Jonathan Cushaw (1891) - Baker Creek,

71) Cucurbita moschata

a. Butternut (1944) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

b. Cheese Pumpkin (1824)

c. Kikuza Early White (1927)

d. Neck Pumpkin

e. Seminole Pumpkin (1916) - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

f. Tromboncino (rampicante zucchetta) - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

g. Upper Ground Sweet Potato - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

72) Cucurbita pepo

a. Acorn, Table Queen (1913) - Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

b. Benning’s Green Tint Scallop (1914) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

c. Black Zucchini (1931) - Sandhill Preservation,

d. Cocozelle (1934) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

e. Connecticut Field (before 1700) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

f. Delicata (1894) - Hometown, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

g. Early Yellow Summer Crookneck (ca. 1700)

h. Ronde de Rice - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

i. Small Sugar (new England pie; before 1860) - Pinetree Garden,

j. Vegetable Spaghetti (spaghetti squash; 1890s) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

k. White Bush Scallp (before 1722) - Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

l. Winter Luxury (luxury pie pumpkin; 1893) - Sandhill Preservation,

m. Yellow Bush Scallop (before 1860) - Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

73) Sunflower

a. Arikara - Baker Creek, Heritage Harvest,

b. Havasupai Striped

c. Italian White (H. debilis var. cucemerifolius) - Baker Creek, Heritage Harvest,

d. Mammoth Russian - Heritage Harvest,

e. Maximilian (H. maximiliani)

f. Tarahumara White - Baker Creek,

74) Sweet Potato

a. Nancy Hall - New Hope,

b. Porto Rico Bush - New Hope,

c. Red Wine Velvet

d. White Yam - New Hope,

75) Swiss Chard

a. Argentata

b. Fordhook Giant (1750) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

c. Lucullus (1914) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

d. Perpetual Spinach (spinach beet; 1869) - Baker Creek,

e. Rainbow Chard (five color silver beet) - Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

f. Rhubarb Chard (ruby chard; 1857) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Wild Garden, Victory Seeds,

76) Tomatillo

a. Purple de Milpa

b. Toma Verde (tomatillo verde) - Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

77) Tomatoes

a. Red Tomatoes

i. Abraham Lincoln (1923) - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

ii. Amish Paste - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

iii. Burbank (1915) - Sandhill Preservation,

iv. Chadwick’s Cherry (Camp Joy) - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

v. Costoluto Genovese - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

vi. Cuostralee - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

vii. Dad’s Mug - Heritage Harvest,

viii. Garderner’s Delight (sugar lump)

ix. Marmande - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

x. Old Brooks - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

xi. Red Pear - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

xii. Risentraube (before 1847) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

xiii. Super Italian Paste

b. Pink-Purple Tomatoes

i. Anna Russian - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Baker Creek,

ii. Brandywine (1885) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

iii. Brimmer Pink (ca. 1905)

iv. Cherokee Purple (before 1890) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

v. Eva Purple Ball - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

vi. King Umberto (humberto pear) - Sandhill Preservation,

vii. Oxheart (ca. 1925) - Sandhill Preservation,

viii. Pruden’s Purple - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

ix. Zapotec Ribbee (zapotec pleated) - Heritage Harvest,

c. Yellow-Orange Tomatoes

i. Banana Legs - Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

ii. Djena Lee’s Golden Girl (1920s)

iii. Golden Queen (1882) - Sandhill Preservation,

iv. Goldie (1870s) - Sandhill Preservation,

v. Verna Orange - Heritage Harvest,

vi. Yellow Pear (before 1805) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

d. Other Tomatoes

i. Big Rainbow - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, New Hope, Victory Seeds,

ii. Black Krim - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest,

iii. Evergreen - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

iv. Tigerella (mr. stripey) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Baker Creek, Victory Seeds,

v. White Beauty (snowball) - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest,

vi. Yellow Currant (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden,

78) Turnip

a. Gilfeather^TM

b. Golden Ball (orange jelly; 1859) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds,

c. Purple Top White Globe (before 1880) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

d. Red Milan (de Milan rouge; before 1885)

e. Seven Top (1845) - Hometown, Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds,

f. Waldoboro Greenneck (1780s)

79) Watermelon

a. Cole’s Early (harris early; 1892) - Sandhill Preservation,

b. Cream of Saskatchewan - Sandhill Preservation, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

c. Georgia Rattlesnake (rattlesnake) - Sandhill Preservation, Baker Creek,

i. Garrisonian is the improved variety of Georgia rattlesnake 1957

d. Ice Cream (peerless; before 1885) - Baker Creek,

e. Kleckley Sweet (monte christo; wonder melon; before 1900) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

f. Moon and Stars (before 1910) - Sandhill Preservation, Pinetree Garden, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Victory Seeds, Heritage Harvest, Baker Creek,

g. Nancy (ca. 1885) - Southern Exposure Seed Exchange,

h. Red-seeded Citron (C. lanatus var. citroides) - Sandhill Preservation, Cherry Gal, Heritage Harvest,

i. Tom Watson (before 1900) - Pinetree Garden, Victory Seeds, Baker Creek,

The US Government and Their GMO Propaganda in Africa

2010-12-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

I generally love our government system especially the constitution, but not necessarily the possibly murderous thugs at the top. Yep, corruption runs high in our government as shown time and time again by multiple sources. How do you think people get to the top of the government; it is with cut-throat tactics.

I recently read about our government's unfortunate international policy to push genetically modified agriculture on Africa. I think that the IMF and other countries have pillaged Africa enough. Does our government really need to make them debt slaves to the companies that sell them patented seeds. No, we don't need any genetically modified crops. GMO crops have largely been a failure as standard hybrid varieties typically outperform them. The huge failures and hundreds of thousands of deaths due to GMO crops is one attestation of their huge failure. If you go in debt to buy the seed and the cotton crop is an American variety not adapted to India it I would say has a good chance of failing. Then if you send your livestock out in the field and they eat the cotton plants engineered with a protein toxin and they die. You are left with nothing buy a huge debt and no crop to sell. I think the failure of GMOs is so big we should outlaw the practice completely. The genetics for superior production, drought resistance, and disease resistance already exist within the plant population.

For example look at Native American corn varieties. They are highly tolerant of salt stress, can be dry farmed in the desert, and can sprout more than from a foot deep in the soil. Most commercial corn has only been bred for production and is highly disease and drought prone. These problems could be easily solve using marker assisted selection for new commercial varieties and by not growing a monoculture.

I avoid genetically modified food like the plague. If you are smart you would also avoid GMO food, most new prescription drugs, etc., until they have been thoroughly tested for a number of year preferably many more than 10 years to assure safety. Engineering plants with protein toxins, pesticides, and herbicides is a risky business. It is way too soon to know the long-term effects of GMO foods on health. Hey, maybe that is one reason why Americans as a society have generally become deathly ill in the last ten years.

Food Prices Are Going to Dramatically Rise

2010-11-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard the news, food prices are likely going to dramatically increase in the next six months or so. The futures prices for many food commodities are at or near their recent highs which will mean that will have to be absorbed into the production system or passed on to customers. Since most food companies have absorbed most of the rising input costs up to this point it is likely with larger increases that they will pass them on to consumers. Get ready it may be double the price for or more for milk, meat, and cheese. Additionally, the dollar may lose 20% of its value due to quantitative easing (the fed printing money out of thin air - a hidden tax on us all) in the escalating currency rift with China.

A few items are in low supply including sugar, white wheat, corn, and cotton. All of these prices will probably continue to increase over the short-term and possibly long-term especially in the U.S. if the dollar is depreciated.

Here are a few recent articles about the future of rising food costs.

Rumblings of Inflation Grow Louder
Did I Mention that a Wheat Shortage Is Imminent?
Cotton Shortage Means More Expensive Clothing
Cotton Advances to a Record in New York on China Shortages, Global Supply
Rice shortage to jack up prices next year: Report
Sugar Is in `Goldilocks Economy' on Possible Shortage, According to Licht

Wheat flour shortage; WFP cuts rations

Venezuela: a different kind of food crisis

Food price fears as US warns on crop yields

So what can you do about the rising cost of food and clothes? How can you feed a family on an ever decreasing budget?

Here are a few solutions.
1) Grow a garden - this is almost a must
2) Save your own garden seeds
3) Take better care of your clothes
4) Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.
5) Buy food staples in bulk from a company like Azure Standard (west), Walton Feeds (west), Barry Farm Foods (midwest), Sam's Club, and of course the LDS Church Store (everywhere)
6) Cook from scratch

Some of these will ship for free if you have it delivered to a designated drop point in or near your town. You show up on the day of delivery and help unload or sort the boxes and bags by name and then take yours home. It isn't very hard and can save a fortune on shipping costs. Azure Standard has free shipping to a drop point if the order is large enough. The LDS Church ships free to your house. It is cheaper if you can it yourself at the closest LDS cannery, but you would need to schedule that and be a member or go with a member of the church. Even so, the LDS Church prices online are still pretty good and they are packaged in convenient to use #10 cans. Sam's club is a great place to get deals on white and brown sugar from sugar cane.

You might also try making your own laundry soap and other cost cutting measures.