Last night I attended the monthly Gardens for Life meeting lead by Debbie Barr. They invited a great guest speaker, Debbie Bier who is an experienced gardener and seed saver. Debbie shared her knowledge of heirloom seed and seed saving/purchasing strategies. She not only spoke about how to select seeds to grow in the Concord area, but also the talk covered the definition of heirlooms, why they are important to plant, how they are collected and shared and which are the easiest for beginners to save. She had a tremendous selection of catalogs not only for heirloom seeds but also other seed catalogs around New England. Finally, she gave us 11 great tips on seed selecting which grow the best in the Concord area. Below, with her permission, I am reprinting her tips.
11 Tips for Selecting Seeds to Grow in the Concord Area
Choose open pollinated seeds. Only open pollinated seeds (OP) can be saved and bred true; many are heirlooms. Seed cannot be saved from hybrids. Get off the treadmill of always buying seeds for everything you plant by opting for OP varieties. Save their seeds and regrow your successes!
Think variety. We don’t know what climate change will bring us; don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Planting a wide array of types of plants (also, more than one variety of any single veggie) is like an insurance policy. Look at cold and warm, dry or wet tolerances for different plants and go for a broad range of capabilities.
Expand your harvest. Add more cold weather crops so you can plant and harvest during the frosty months. Multi-season planting takes practice; it’s vital for food security.
No peat moss. The peat fields of North America sequester more than 50% of the soil carbon pool for our entire planet. They are a non-renewable resource. Instead, use a combo of compost, sand and garden soil for indoor seed starting and transplanting.
Focus on New England sourcing. Locally grown seed means the parent plants did well in our area. Ditto for heirlooms originating in New England (climate change aside).
Look to neighbors. What do folks on your block plant that does well? Try the same!
Consult the “Ark of Taste” for New England from the US Slow Food folks. Plant some of the varieties "boarded" on the Ark to help save New England agricultural treasures from extinction. http://bit.ly/fbZps8
Plant some RAFT seeds. Renewing America's Food Traditions (RAFT) of the Chef's Collaborative (located in Boston) conducted an annual “grow-out” of around 10 fabulous-but-threatened heirloom veggies. Try some of last year’s varieties (no grow-out for 2011): http://bit.ly/dA1bCz
Look slightly south. With global warming, plants have to deal with higher temps and longer seasons. Try heirlooms with a long history in, say, the mid-Atlantic states. Also among similar climates across the world.
Take some chances and try seeds you've never grown (or eaten, or maybe even heard of!) before. They could become future favorites!
Buy from seed companies doing great work -- There are some wonderful companies working to save our food and agricultural heritage -- support them! Here are three in our region that grow their own seeds, and focus on preserving heritage seed stock: Fedco (www.fedcoseeds.com); Comstock, Ferre & Co (oldest seed company in New England; only open-pollinated seed – www.comstockferre.com). Also Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org) does amazing seed saving work world wide – become a member and get seed through their mind-blowing “yearbook”.
