This years varieties, at least as planned, include a vast array of heirloom veggies as usual, some are stand-by old friends, and some are new and exciting. The list so far includes (most seed is heirloom, all seed is organic):

• Bean, bush: Bountiful (1897) [47-50 days]
• Bean, bush: Empress (re-named 1979) [55 days]
• Bean, bush: Pencil Pod Golden Wax (1900) [50-65 days]
• Beet: Carillion [58 days]
• Beet: Chioggia aka Candy Stripe (1840) [50 days]
• Beet: Detroit Dark Red (1892) [60-65 days]
• Broccoli: Romanesco [75-100 days from transplant]
• Broccoli: De Cicco (1890) [48-85 days from transplant]
• Cabbage, red: Mammoth Red Rock (1889) [98 days from transplant]
• Carrot: Danvers Half-Long (1871) [65-87 days]
• Carrot: Minicor
• Cucumber, pickling: Double Yield (1924) [50-60 days]
• Endive: Galia
• Fennel: Florence
• Leek: Blue Solaize [100-120 days]
• Lettuce, romaine: Forellenschuss [55 days]
• Lettuce, looseleaf: Lollo Rossa [55 days]
• Lettuce, butterhead: Tennis Ball (1850) [50 days]
• Melon: Sakata’s Sweet [85-95 days]
• Onion, sweet-storing: Walla Walla (day neutral)
• Onion, scallion: Summer Bunching
• Pea, snap: Amish Snap [60 days]
• Pea, shelling: Sutton’s Harbinger (1898) [52-60 days]
• Potato, yellow storing: Yukon Gold [100-120 days]
• Pepper, sweet bell: Orange Bell (1989) [90 days from transplant]
• Pepper, sweet bell: Sweet Chocolate (1965) [58-86 days from transplant]
• Raddicio: Indigo
• Rhubarb: MacDonald
• Shallot: French Demi-Long
• Spinach: Monnopa [45-60 days]
• Squash, winter: Waltham Butternut Cucurbita moschata [83-100 days]
• Tomato, paste: Amish Paste [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, slicing: Cherokee Purple [80 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, beefsteak: German Pink [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Tomato, paste: Opalka (1900) [85 days from transplant] indeterminate
• Flower, Sweet Pea: Cupanis
• Flower, Nasturtim: Black Velvet
• Flower, Hollyhock: Nigra
• Herb: Provincal Lavender
• Herb: Dill
• Herb: Winter Savory
• Herb: Rosemary
• Herb: Marjoram
• Herb: Thyme
• Herb: Oregano
• Herb: Hot and Spicy Oregano
• Herb: Peppermint
• Herb: Lemon Balm
• Herb: Basil
• Fruit, Fig: Hardy Chicago
• Fruit, Strawberry: unknown variety

Remember how we mentioned that those local to the Ether Garden can benefit? Your first opportunity is right now! If any of the veggies or flowers above interest you, drop us a line! The Ether Garden is offering packets of seed in small numbers to local reader-gardeners. We will also be offering seedlings in May, and you can place dibs on seedlings at this time as well! Unfortunately we cannot offer herbs or fruit seed/starts at this time, but this may change later in the season. This is a great opportunity for those of you who simply don’t need a full packet of seed, but want to start your own. This is also a great way to get heirloom seedlings raised organically and locally.

• Early Girl: Bears heavy crops extremely early, continues longer than most varieties
• Big Beef: Extra large, 10-12 oz., red fruits are firm, juicy and highly flavored
• Big Boy: Rich, tangy flavor, extremely juicy, solid texture
• Better Boy: Huge, delicious, red fruits, many 1 lb. each. Good leaf coverage

All of these are good tomatoes and great choices for someone not as interested in maintaining heirloom lines. I grew these and other conventional tomatoes for many years, and they definitely have the advantage of being available at almost any garden center or commercial nursery.

Gradually I began swapping out my conventional seedlings for heirlooms. My local food co-op happens to carry a variety of heirloom and organic vegetable seedlings in the spring and early summer, which really helped me get started with these wonderful plants. I still grow heirlooms, but now I go a step further and start my own seeds, rather than purchasing seedlings.

2006 was the first year I grew exclusively heirloom tomatoes. I was still using chemical fertilizers such as Miracle-Gro, but that’s a discussion for another day. I chose four heirloom seedlings from my co-op based on nothing other than what sounded tasty and interesting. I’d never grown potato-leaf tomatoes before, so I made sure to choose a few of those. My choices that year were:

• Brandywine: red steak tomato, potato-leaf, late 1800’s amish
• Chianti Rose: pink brandywine and italian cross, potato-leaf, unknown date
• Garden Peach: small yellow with a soft “peach fuzz”, native origin is peru
• Ruby Gold: large variegated red and yellow steak tomato

The Ruby Gold and Brandywine both produced very large, heavy, meaty fruit in a modest quantity. The flavor was lovely- perfect for slicing and eating on sandwiches or in a salad. the Chianti Rose gave me average sized tomatoes, of an average yield, and an average flavor. They were very soft-fleshed and mostly ended up in my tomato-sauce pot. The Garden Peach gave me such a bounty of tomatoes that they would fall off the vine before I got a chance to pick them all! These tomatoes were lovely little ping-pong ball sized golden yellow beauties covered in a soft fuzz. I gave many of these away as gifts, sauced some, and ate even more just as they were. I have a special place in my heart for these little guys, as they bring back fond memories from my childhood. I can’t help but reminisce over watching Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (the cartoon version of course), and how similar these sweet tomatoes are to the adorable FT, short for Furry Tomato.

2007 was a bad year for tomatoes for the home-gardener in my area. Across the board, tomatoes were maturing very late, and producing poorly. I had the deck stacked against me as I also had to container-garden my tomatoes rather than planting them in their usual spot along the garage, as I was moving mid-summer. I decided to grow only three varieties last year. I grew a a pink, a white, and Black Krim. Unfortunately, I cannot recall what the white and pink tomatoes were. These poor tomatoes, they did really try their best. I got a few large fruit off the Krim, a couple fleshy pinks, and a few small but adorable whites. Nowhere near the amount I needed for my yearly canning endeavors, so I resorted to farmers market tomatoes for that.

This year will be better. The tomatoes will be grown in one spot, with plenty of room this year. They will be planted in rich yummy soil and watered with the finest of fish-tank water. All I need is for mother nature to be kind and do her job well. I’ve chosen to grow a minimum of four varieties this year and, as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m likely to pick up a few seedlings locally. I’d like to try my hand at a white tomato again as they are quite lovely and sweet.

While I’m on the subject of tomatoes, there are a few interesting links I’d like to share. First, for those of you interested in growing heirloom tomatoes yourself there is Garden Desk’s handy post- The Pros and Cons of Heirloom Tomatoes. There is also a wonderful blog dedicated to that favorite fruit of mine, Tomato Casual. Lastly, a sad bit of tomato news for the state of Pennsylvania. Our top tomato farmer for direct-to-market tomatoes is quitting the tomato business, citing lack of labor.

I’d like your advice on a few things regarding gardening. I’ve secured at least one plot at a nearby community garden that’s in a raised bed 3.5/ft wide and probably 15 feet long. I’m so excited about it!

I picked up Square Foot Gardening and it seems like I can do pretty well with three square foot rows going the length of the raised bed. I still need to spend a couple hours out there and see what the sun does–I have a feeling, though, that we’ll have some issues with it being too shady.

I was wondering what you might suggest growing for a first-timer. Should I go all-out and try to grow three seasons spring, summer, fall? When’s the earliest I can start in this climate and what crops should I choose? Finally, I was just reading your post about heirloom varieties and the health benefits and such, and I’m wondering if you have a favored mail-order source for great seeds.

Just want to make sure I’m ahead of the game before the season is suddenly upon us!

Blake [The Paupered Chef]

Congrats on your new gardening plot! Community gardens are great ways for those of us who live in the concrete jungle to still have healthy, local, inexpensive produce. I’ve been lucky the past few years, having rented in a house with a patch of grass in which I grew tomatoes, broccoli, and the odd pepper. Now that we’ve moved into our new house with a full yard I’m rather excited to be able to resume the type of growing I grew up with.

You’re starting off on the right foot. A good gardening book is always handy. I have a whole shelf full. Square Foot Gardening is my suggestion for anyone who is an urban gardener or is working with a small space. With the Square Foot Gardening method you can even garden if you only have a paved patio and no grass space!

You’ll want to check the sun patterns where you are planning your garden. Most vegetables need long hours of sunlight to produce their best. You can make do with less sun, but you’ll get fewer and smaller vegetables. You’ll want to keep in mind the sun patterns over the various areas of your garden if it’s a long-skinny plot. Plant the sun-loving veggies such as tomatoes in the sunniest area, and put those plants likely to bolt, lettuces and other cool-temperature veggies in your shadier areas.

For first-time gardeners I suggest only trying for a single crop season with some light succession planting of lettuces. This won’t mean that your garden will produce everything all at once. Everything has a different period of maturity. Your squash and melons will take a while to fully mature, whereas your lettuces with be in and out pretty quickly. Generally, planting in the late-spring for a summer crop is the best bet for beginners. You’ll have a mix of hardy and tender plants to care for, and a bit less unpredictability in the weather. To determine exactly when you should start planting your transplants and seeds you’ll want to determine your hardiness zone. Many seed packets will say when to plant them or when to start them indoors based on your hardiness zone. Other seed packets and nurseries will go by the date of last frost. This date is the average when your garden will be safe from deep killing frosts. To determine the date of last frost you can either keep track on your calendar for a number of years or you can check some of the handy charts out there such as Clyde’s Garden Planner. Clyde conveniently keeps the list of last- and first-frost dates online, as do many seed companies and gardening websites. You can always contact your local USDA co-operative extension office for information on your zone, frost dates, as well as for soil testing.

With the information on your hardiness zone and your frost dates, you’re ready to start looking for your plants. This is when you decide if you’re going to start your seeds indoors, or buy seedlings either via mail-order or from your local nursery. Seed starting is fun, cheaper in the long-run, but a little bit trickier than buying seedlings. It’s nothing to be afraid of though. I start my own seeds, and my seeds generally come from Seed Savers Exchange, purveyors of heirloom vegetable and some fruit seeds. I find that most varieties which Seed Savers carries are suitable for my area, though most vegetables will grow throughout the U.S. just with differing care requirements. Seed companies are very knowledgeable about the varieties they supply. So feel free to contact them with hardiness questions.

When choosing what to grow, the first thing to remember is: only grow vegetables that you will eat. If you don’t like zucchini then don’t grow it! I see plenty of first-time gardeners growing tomatoes and zucchini because they think they have to, even though they detest eating them. Tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, strawberries, beans, and peas are all good choices for a first garden. I plan the number of varieties and the number of plants in each variety to grow based on my intended usage. I’m a big tomato eater, and I do a lot of canning of tomato products, so I grow both paste/sauce tomatoes and steak tomatoes in abundance. I’ve never had too many tomatoes in my garden. I like to grow a number of varieties in each category when I can, though this isn’t always cost-effective for me. I do try to save seed, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

For an expanded list of garden planning resources including books, charts, and seed suppliers, check out the resources page.

The seeds have begun arriving! This is the first of what should be two shipments from Seed Savers Exchange. Later on mid-march we should be getting a shipment of seed potatoes, but right now we’ve got seeds. Previously I posted about the varieties we’re planning on growing this year, so let’s take a look at what we got in the mail today.

From left to right we have:
Forellenschuss- a lovely spotted romaine lettuce
Tennis Ball- a petite buttercrunch
Monnopa- a pretty standard spinach
Lollo Rossa- a pretty pink toned ruffle looseleaf lettuce

We should be (hopefully) getting the strawberry spinach which Jeremy is quite excited about- it’s a bizarre and unique little plant and hopefully we can get our hands on it.

Next we have our peas, beans, and beets:
Amish Snap- as the name says, an amish variety of snap peas
Suttons Harbinger- a prolific shelling pea
Empress- a bush bean, don’t know much else about it
Bountiful- another bush bean, very prolific and is supposed to be a good canning bean
Detroit Dark Red- A good keeper of a beet, your standard red beet
Chioggia- also known as the ‘candy stripe’ beet is a sweet and pretty salad beet

And here we have our tomatoes:
Opalka- a rich tasting paste tomato
German Pink- a sweet steak tomato
Amish Paste- a standard paste tomato
Cherokee Purple- a dark fleshed steak tomato

Now- this isn’t to say I won’t get more tomatoes. My local food co-op carries local organic heirloom seedlings, and I’m likely to see something which sounds tasty and ending up picking a few more varieties. We’ll see how that goes.

Not everyone has a detail shot yet- we’ll get to the rest of them when it comes time to start or plant them. It looks like I’ll be starting my first batch of seed mid-march, and then again in early april. I’ve got some which need the extra time prior to transplant, and some which don’t quite need as much tender loving care indoors as the others.

The article opens with the tag-line “A person would have had to eat three apples in 1991 to supply the same iron content as one in 1940.” It continues on to illustrate how, through the pursuit of our beautiful and high-yield crops, that we have lost a significant amount of nutrition over the past 50 or so years. For example

• “Spinach’s potassium content dropped by 53 percent, its phosphorus by 70 percent, its iron by 60 percent and its copper by 96 percent.”
• “The iron content of meat products declined by an average of 54 percent.”
• “The higher tomato yields (in terms of harvest weight), the lower the concentration of vitamin C, levels of lycopene (the key antioxidant that make tomatoes red) and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor.)”
• “High production dairy cows produce milk that is less concentrated with fat, protein and other nutrition-enhancing components and are also more vulnerable to a range of metabolic diseases, infections and reproductive problems.”

Guess I’m not so crazy about growing my own food the good old fashioned way. Guess I’m equally not crazy for wanting to grow heirloom varieties over hybrids. A lot of comments on the article are about eating organic fruit and veg, which I think are missing the boat. Just because something is grown organically doesn’t mean the seed isn’t a hybridized or GMO variety. If you look at what was being grown prior to 1940, you’ll see that it was primarily that which is now known as heirloom. WWII is when most of the hybrids were created in the name of increasing yield for the victory gardeners.

Think back as far as you can. Do you remember eating strawberries as a child? Have you eaten one lately? Do you notice a difference? I do. I’m hunting high and low for a good heirloom or similar variety of strawberry for my garden. I’m sick of the gigantic glossy mealy tasteless fruit you find in stores these days. Even the seedlings from my favorite garden centers are depressingly bland. I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve let the succulent and juicy, if somewhat more seed-filled, fruit of our childhoods die out.