09
Jul 10heirloom
I’ve been thinking about the next place we are going to live. I’d love to have a garden space to grow some vegetables!
The idea is inspired by a visit to our cousins in Austin, who are figuring out the finer points of composting and box gardening in their new house. I am also inspired by my father in law’s rose garden, which has been putting out for the past three months. I harvest 10-25 blooming roses 3 or 4 times every week.
One thing I learned to love right before we left Massachusetts is heirloom tomatoes in different delicious colors. It was a guilty pleasure of mine to stop by Wilsons Farm in Lexington on the way home from photo shoots and load up on colorful produce. There’s something about the flavors you get out of heirloom varieties that puts those tomatoes on an entirely different level than the perfectly homogeneous genetically mutated cousins in the grocery stores. The big ugly shapes, crazy color patterns, and split seams mean that heirlooms actually taste much better than they look. Which is the complete opposite of the stuff you get at Stop and Shop.
My mind wanders to an interview I heard on NPR awhile back by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, who are creating a self-sustaining goat farm. They made a show about it called “The Fabulous Beekman Boys”. Ok, it is a little ridiculous to watch a reality show about a former drag queen trying to balance life commuting between a cubicle in NYC and a rural farm location, learning to raise animals and harvest crops while maintaining a partnership. It’s the type of thing that tv producers love to juice for the drama… Charming? Or stupid? I’ve only seen the first episode so I really can’t say.
Despite the frivolity of the form, this whole farm project is an interesting concept that probably appeals to many dissatisfied urbanites. The part of the NPR segment that caught my fascination was when Brent and Josh talked about partnering with a local company to distribute the seeds from heirloom vegetables. Antiques! I love the idea of growing a garden full of almost-extinct produce! The genetic engineering that has made our food bigger but less tasteful really bothers me.
Here’s the 1802 website, which started as a blog and is now a shop that sells antique varieties of seed and the soap made from goat milk. LINK
I’m guessing it’s not the most economical choice to buy the seed packets at retail cost of $8-20, so I don’t plan on buying from Beekman1802, but it’s at least a point of comparison in the research stage. I found that googling “heirloom tomato seeds” brings LOTS of results, including this helpful info packet (PDF download link) about how to best care for the crop for huge tomatoes vs. huge yields. Also, here is more information about getting started growing heirlooms. [ed. note: while I was writing this blog post, the seed packets from 1900-1950 sold out, so I've appended the contents of the 1850-1900 packets below for my future reference and research.]
I’m also interested in the other heirloom / antique vegetables and would love to learn more about acquiring seeds to grow them. BTW, did you know that carrots used to be purple? (reference)
Here’s a post about the Beekman Boys’ project with edible heirlooms. (link)
The Mid-Beekman Garden Collection representing the years 1850-1900
When William Beekman built The Beekman Mansion in 1802 he was almost certainly selling Landreth Seeds in his mercantile located across the road. Landreth was the largest seed producer of the time, and is currently celebrating its 225th anniversary. This collection of heirloom seeds represents a few of the varieties that were likely sold in the mercantile and grown in the Beekman garden from 1850-1900.
Each packet is illustrated with vintage seed illustrations from the Landreth Archives.
IN THIS COLLECTION:
NANTES SCARLET HALF-LONG CARROT – A French variety introduced to America in the second half of the 19C.
GOLDEN BANTAM CORN – Sweet flavor and longer ears made this a mainstay of late 19C American gardens.
DWARF GREY SUGAR SNAP PEAS – Very early producer, thought extinct until the late 1970′s.
FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISH – Introduced in 1879, rosy red with a bright white tip.
GREEN HUBBARD WINTER SQUASH – Originally from the West Indies or South America, distinctive Hubbard flavor.
July 9th, 2010 at 8:12 am
Roger & I have been participating in a farm share the past month or so & we love it! There is something wonderful about vegetables & fruits straight from a local farm & it has also widened my horizons of eating good stuff! Of course I objected to the dirt & bugs, but I have to say, it’s been one of the best ideas from Roger. If we had a green thumb, we would try our hand at growing our own, but until then, we are loving the farm share thing. Hope you guys are basking in all the lovely fruits & veggies on the west side!
July 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
We’ve been blasted by rain the last week or two, which has sent the tomato plants into a production frenzy, and the basil (which had been slowly but surely drying out) bounced back as if it were March! Oh, and we harvested some purple carrots this week
It has been a fun project, but for a beginner I think volunteering on a farm or starting rather small with easy-growing vegetables is the way to go. Whenever you decide where you’re going to live, find out what varieties grow best there.