This Just In!

Alert! Join Seed Savers Exchange in helping to save the Pavlovsk Station from development
A Russian court recently ruled that one of the world's most important seed banks near St. Petersburg, Russia may be destroyed in order to make way for a housing development. If allowed to stand, this decision will have a catastrophic impact on global plant diversity. Called a "living library", the Pavlovsk Experimental Station is widely considered the crown jewel of agricultural biodiversity, since 90% of the collection's varieties are not found anywhere else on the planet.


Join scientists and concerned people around the world in petitioning President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin to overrule the court decision. To learn more about this issue and to sign the petition, click on this link to the Global Crop Diversity Trust .

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!

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!

Can Spring Be Far Off?

Seeds are coming in! I placed most of my orders 2-3 weeks ago, and the seeds have been rolling in. It's very exciting! Soon I will have to dust off my growing lights, get some seed starting soil, bring in the seed trays, and start planting the ones that need a few weeks' head start.

This year I'm going to try something new: grains. I've placed an order for some wheat and oats, with the great idea of producing my own flour. Far fetched? Perhaps, but I'm dreamin' big here. According to the folks at Ecology Action (formerly Biointensive Gardening, or some such name), 300 sq. ft. of grain is enough to produce one loaf of bread a week for a year. Hm. We'll see. I'm not planning to plant that much, but I will give it a try. Of course, I will have to purchase a grain mill, too...maybe if this works out it will pay for itself in a few years, eh?

I've had my paper and pencil out and have been trying to draw up the schematics of what will go where this year. I really should be better organized - this would greatly enhance my crop rotation. Still, haphazard works, although not quite as well.

I've also ordered five more apple trees, as well as a variety of native shrubs (nannyberry, grey-stemmed dogwood, staghorn sumac, serviceberry, hawthorne) to replace the honeysuckles that were cut down last fall. This should make all the birds very happy.

Spring can't come too soon this year!

Catalogues Already!

It's hard to believe, but the seeds catalogues have already started arriving in the mail! First I got one called "Pinetree" - a new one. Then came "High Mowing Seeds", followed by Fedco and "Totally Tomatoes." And it isn't even Christmas yet!

Last year I ordered seed from several different companies, just to spread the wealth and see what some of the smaller heirloom outfits had to offer. This year, though, I will probably be sticking to three major sources: Fedco, High Mowing, and Johnny's. All three come highly recommended from me as sources for heirloom and organic seeds.

So, I sat down the other night and started to fill out order forms. Fedco (despite the rather clinical name) is one of the best seed catalogues out there. I get my seed potatoes from them (Moose Tubers), as well as most of my vegetable and flower seeds. The prices are among the best, the service is great, and their catalogue is a riot to read. Some of their seeds are in limited quantity this year due to crop failures or seed producers going out of business, so you'll want to place your orders early if you use them!

Johnny's Selected Seeds is my source for gardening supplies, as well as some seeds. I usually get my ground covers/mulches from them, as well as row covers, hoops, etc.

So what am I going to do differently next summer? Well, looking at my order forms, it looks like a lot of pole beans! I'm not a big bean eater, but for some reason I feel the need to grow them! Toby likes beans, though, so they are good to put in the freezer for his meals all winter. I had lots of peas this last summer, and I want to have lots next summer, but I haven't found any organic shell peas in the catlogues yet. It seems that lots of people like to eat the pods, so snap peas are the popular ones.

I've almost given up on corn - but I will try one more time. Maybe the third time will be the charm. The celery was a complete bust this summer, but I will give that another try in '09. Hey - you never know.

I'm increasing my potato plantings next summer, and am actually going to order seeds for zucchini! It is great to grate and freeze for breads. Mmmm! The pumpkins did very well, so I am going to plant more of them, and two different varieties. Maybe I'll try the gourds again next summer, too - plant them directly in manure like the pumpkins.

Onions - no more by seed. The sets I got last year, however, were very good and I will get more this year. Leeks, well, I've given up on them. No great loss, though. And hopefully all the garlic I planted will do well. And even if only half does well, I will still be ahead!

So, bring on the rest of the catalogues - I'm ready!!!