The weather has been cold enough for me to engage in a time-honored activity ...leafing through seed catalogs!Ok. So I´m a little early; usually people do that in the dead of winter.
But I´m a terrible procrastinator ...and I´ve blown the opportunity for a couple of gardens before.
Not only that, but it´s mid-summer in the USA ...the home of heirloom seeds ...and their catalogs have been drivin´me crazy for months!
What´s an heirloom seed? Well, the definition can get a little sticky. We´re basically talkin´about old-timey varieties of plants that have disappeared over the decades. The vegetables in particular have become highly sought because their flavor is superior to supermarket varieties that have sacrificed deliciousness for standardized beauty and the ability to withstand the rigors of truckload shipping.
One other thing that all "heirloom" varieties have in common: they are open-pollinated. That means you can save the seeds from the plants themselves and re-plant them the next year. Hybrids don´t work that way.
That means that I might not have to import seeds from the US ever again!
Consider the tomato.
The vaguely pink things we buy in the supermarkets have more in common with potatoes ...you could hurt somebody with one of those!
Real tomatoes are juicy and so tender that it is sometimes difficult to slice them without a very sharp knife. They are a seasonal delight and, when summer´s over, they are gone for the rest of the year. For the last 30 years, they have been replaced with varieties that grow almost all year long, are ripened by gas, and are hard and flavorless.
When I first came to Argentina, I was hoping that at least some tomato growers here still catered to folks that love a real tomato in summer. Apparently, not.
It´s not just tomatoes. There are cantaloupes and honeydews that consistently disappoint. Watermelons that seem to be made of styrofoam. They travel well by railcar and semi-tractor but that´s about all you can say for them.
With a little luck and a lot of hard work, I should have hundreds of these traditional summer deelights come early 2011! I promise to bring some back to Capital for anyone curious about these almost forgotten wonders.
6 comments:
We have a large vegetable garden, and I brought a packet of heirloom tomato seeds (a mix of five varieties) back from the U.S. to sow in our veggie patch last season. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in how they performed. The native seeds that we used seemed to do much better. I hope you have more success!
I´ve heard several people say that. Hybrid vigor is no myth! There´s also the problem of less resistance to diseases.
How did you prepare your beds? I´d love some advice from an Argentine gardener!
I can ask Daniel's stepdad for his secrets. He's the expert in quintas and the one who prepped our beds.
I put out my blessings vibe to support your efforts on the all consuming efforts involved in becoming a "truck garden farmer"....the frustration is endless {not enough water one year, too much water another, animals ransack the produce,,,,etc. ) but what an ethical and all consuming use of one's time on this fragile planet? besos to you
I found a great way to prepare beds....in the winter or early spring, bring in as much OLD manure as you can get ....6 inches to cover the ground is ideal...add 3 to 6 inches of straw, (not hay, as then you will get alot of hay growing)...then rent or get a tractor to turn the whole mess under at least 12 inches....then cover the whole thing with black plastic sheeting held down with boards or rocks until you are ready to plant...that way if there is sunny weather, the weeds and any weird bugs are mostly killed)...i could go on and on about how to be organic and reduce bugs and especially weeding and watering once you have the seeds in, but i await your next steps...besos, studiodio
This one for me is very informative! I've got a lot of tips in raising heirloom seeds better. Why don't you try some heirlooms that is offered over the internet! It will surely get your interest. they are available online. Try some!
Post a Comment