Mid-winter Musings

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is rapidly becoming one of my favorite seed sources. Started by a young man (Jere Gettle) not too many years ago, it has grown into quite the outfit. Not only does he have his catalogue seed business, promoting the propagation of heirloom varieities of fruits and veggies, but he has also established an "old time village" to go with his operation there in Missouri, and now has an impressive shop (The Seed Bank) in an old bank in San Francisco! To top it all off, he also puts out a nice little magazine four times a year, called "The Heirloom Gardener."


When I got my first issue about a year ago, I was disappointed because it was all about Asian vegetables - strange foods that would never grow here in our northern climate. Many of the seeds they sell are also for these exotic veg, which I thought was odd for an American heirloom gardening company. But, just because it's not an American heirloom, doesn't mean it isn't an heirloom in some other country. With the globalization of food, and the seed monopolies that are taking over, it is good to save heritage seeds wherever possible.

The current issue of "The Heirloom Gardener" arrived this week, and it had some great articles (and recipes), like this piece on parsnips:


There was also a good article on hardy kiwis, a fruit that has long gone unnoticed, but is now starting to have its moment in the spotlight. If you like kiwis, you might want to look into growing these, for they are supposedly hardy enough to survive Zone 3!

The bit that always gets me, though, is the FrankenFood column:

Here we are kept up to date on some of the latest breaking news in the burgeoning field of genetically modified seeds/plants/foods and seed monopolies. There's some scarey stuff here - stuff that the Big Companies (like Monsanto) would like to keep under wraps. For instance, one study showed that a particular variety of GM corn killed ladybugs. Developed to be resistant to corn rootworms, this GM corn, should it get out in the field, would have devastating effects on our already suffering ladybug populations. The company forbade the scientists who did the study from reporting these results and got the EPA to approve commercialization of the corn in 2003. Doesn't really sound "late breaking", but it is only recently that one of the scientists had the courage to leak the information. This toxic corn is now out there...killing beneficials without remorse.

Then there's the piece about how another company has admitted that they are unable to control the spread of GM organisms once in the field (this particular case had to do with GM rice contaminating the non-GM rice crops of two Missouri farmers). The company actually admitted that outdoor field trials and commercial growth of GM crops should be stopped IMMEDIATELY before regular crops are irreversibly contaminated. If European countries can ban GM crops, then why can't we?

The last issue had a piece about how these seed giants are devastating traditional farming in India. They are pushing their "latest and greatest" products, stating that farmers will get greater yields with their seeds...and their fertilizers. Oh, and you can't save any of the seeds for next year because the varieties are all either hybrids (which don't produce viable seeds), or are patented and it is illegal for you to save them. So, the great saviour food is now devastating the local farmers, who have a hard time affording the new seeds and fertilizers, which are all chemically based. Organic farming is strongly discouraged (you must sterilize the soil and use our chemicals to grow these great crops) and seed saving is out. Doesn't sound like a sustainable operation to me.

I think most of us Americans are pretty sheltered from the realities of daily life in the rest of the world. As long as we have our chips and dips, our ice cream and cakes, our black angus steaks and Maine lobsters, we are content. The American dream isn't sustainable, and I think more people need to be aware of the realities of the world's food (for starters). I'm not against free enterprise...but when the almightly dollar becomes a diety in its own right, then it is time to step back and take a good long look at the bigger picture.

The Seeds are Ordered!

Despite the tenuous state of things economically, I decided to finish placing my seed orders. I figured that if nothing else I will at least have food this summer!

So, orders went out on Tuesday to Fedco, Baker Creek, Seed Savers Exchange, Turtle Tree Biodynamics, and the Maine Potato Lady (I keeping wanting to call her the Maine Spud Lady).

I decided to stick to the tried and true this year: peas, pole beans, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, greens, squash and pumpkins. No wheat. No broccoli. No cauliflower. No eggplants, peppers, rutabagas, millet or fava beans (although the favas were great for bees and as a green manure). I passed on bush beans, too - the pole beans are just so much better! I'll give beets one more try, but after this year, if they don't grow, I'll bag them, too.

I have to go through my leftover seeds from last summer to see what remains. I probably have some corn left...maybe I'll try it again. After three years of trying corn, though, and only getting four ears that were edible, it seems like a lesson in futility.

Now I'll just have to remember to order my onion sets (I've finally given up trying to grow them from seed). This year I think I will pass on the ciprolini - they may be gourmet, but they are a pain in the butt to peel and cut. The walla-wallas will probably get passed, too - they have a very short shelf life! Copra, the tried and true storage onions, will be the onion of choice. Maybe I'll look try a new variety. Hm...maybe a red onion...

I had great plans to get a greenhouse up and running this year, thanks to the wonderful posts and encouragement of El over at Fast Grow the Weeds. I even contemplated getting some other gardeners in town to chip in, making it a group effort. But I need to wait and see if employment is still on the horizon before I make a large financial committment like that.

In the meantime, it'll soon be time to clean off the kitchen counters and table, check the grow lights, clean out the seed starting trays and purchase some seed-starting soil. Before long I'll be starting the tomato seeds. Here's hoping late blight is a thing of the past this year!

Beauty

Is there anything more beautiful than a stockpot full of summer?

I had a yen for chicken soup, so yesterday I cooked up a batch. The peas, carrots, beans, spuds (red, white, and purple) and onions were all from my garden, and they looked so vibrant and full of life that I had to take their picture.

Add some celery (I've never even had celery seeds sprout in my garden), and the chicken, of course, with some chicken broth and seasonings, and let it cook. Later on I put in some cream - I prefer a thicker soup.

Serve with fresh bread. Mmm!

Update on the Battle of the Fruit Flies

Things are look up in the worm bin. Well, actually, nothing is physically looking up: the worms are buried in their dark and damp home, and it seems like I just may have succeeded in wiping out the fruit flies (um, I mean vinegar flies).

I took the bin outside four or five weeks or so ago, before we had our snow, and lifted the lid to check on the progress. The worms had eaten all the papers I'd put in, and the sides of the bin were coated with oblong white specks - more maggots. I wiped them off, chucked the paper towel into the regular compost bin (which is outside by the garden), and closed the lid again. At least this time nothing flew out.

A couple weeks ago I took another peek, this time being brave and lifing the lid inside. No new specks had appeared. I left the lid ajar, in hopes of getting some air circulating in the bin, for things are very damp in there. This doesn't seem to have made much of an impression on the moisture level, though.

Concerned that the poor worms might be rather hungry by now (it's been over two months since I've given them any real food), I tossed in some expired greens. This time I buried them - why give the flies any more advantage than necessary?

A couple days ago I looked inside - a good number of the greens had been consumed and there were still no more signs of fly maggots. I had some more expired greens in the 'fridge, so I dug a hole, stuck them in, and covered them up.

The lid remains partially open - trying desparately to dry things out. No luck there, yet, but as long as nothing is flying in and out, I think I can safely leave it open.

Is it too soon to claim success? Will putting this in print jinx the whole operation? Let's keep our toes crossed that this time the battle was won.

Waiting for Spring

A lonely garden decoration waits for spring to return.

The Real Stuff

Now, is that a beautiful omelette or what? This photo is completely un-retouched. This is the color you get when you use REAL eggs, from happy, free-range chickens. No factory fowl here, no sirree. By comparison, store-bought eggs are so pale and anemic-looking. Not only that, but REAL eggs, from happy chickens, are also full of flavor. I'll take the real thing any day.

The Catalogues are Coming, the Catalogues are Coming!

Imagine my surprise this week when I opened my mailbox to see my first seed catalogue already there. And it's not even winter yet!

It was from High Mowing Seeds, a seed farm in northern Vermont that specializes in heirloom and organic seeds. I thumbed through the pages and made out my order - popped it in the mail two days later. My theory is if I get my order in early, I will get first dibs on seeds that are sparse.

The next day, the Pinetree Seeds catalogue arrived. Pinetree isn't an organic seed source, but they did have a tortilla press in the back, and I've had my eye on one of those for a few months now (after the disasterous attempt at making corn tortillas by pressing them between plates).

So, the grass may still be green, and the days somewhat balmy (where IS the snow?), but the seed companies are getting their sales pitches out to us early. So much for waiting until the cold, snowy, grey days of February to curl up with the seed catalogues. I suppose I could wait, but with my housekeeping skills, that would probably mean losing the catlogues!