Seed Advice, Heirloom Seeds, Plant Lists

Purple carrots, blue corn, spotted lettuce and rose pink beans. These are just some of the unusual and delicious vegetables you can grow from seeds in your garden.

Nest in Style Podcast: Eager to learn more about seed starting? Have questions about heirlooms and hybrids? Or, just want more professional garden design tips? Don't miss this Nest in Style podcast episode and hear from three nationally-recognized gardening experts: Nan Sterman, Chris McLaughlin and Rebecca Sweet.

What I'm Growing: While you're listening to Nest in Style, why not look over some of the seeds that I'm growing in the garden this year? You'll see they aren't your average grocery store vegetables.

Beans - "I was determined to know beans," wrote Henry David Thoreau in the late-19th century. And I know just what he means. I love growing beans from seeds. Here are a few beans I've grown in my garden already or that I'm trying this year for the first time.

Bean, Purple Podded Pole - Shown in picture above; purple heirloom bean of northern European origin. Turns green when blanched.

Bean, Ideal Market Pole - Very productive, stringless green pole bean, shown in picture above from harvest 2009.

Bean, Red Swan Bush - Beautiful dusty, red-rose snap bean, which I'm eagerly trying for first time this year. Just think how lovely it will look with purple podded pole beans.

Bean, Pencil Pod Wax Bush - Stringless yellow wax bean that is great for freezing or canning. Trying this one for first time. As you can probably tell, I prefer my beans in unusual colors.

Bean, Painted Pony Bush - Dual purpose bean with long stringless green beans, which later grow to become attractive dry beans in brown and white. These dry beans are highly recommended for soups and stews. I'm trying this variety for the first time, because I'm eager to taste and compare both types of beans.

Bean, Dragon's Tongue Bush - Wax bean with cream-colored pods and thin purple stripes, which disappear when blanched. Below is a picture of some beans I grew in 2009.

I'm growing a lot more than beans, of course. Below are just a few vegetables I'll sow in my garden this year.

Carrot, Cosmic Purple: Bright purple carrots with shades of yellow and orange. Trying for first time.

Carrot, Jaune Obtuse Du Doubs: Lemon-yellow carrot with fine, sweet taste. Trying for first time.
 
Carrot, St. Valery: French variety dating back to at least 1885, handsome bright, red-orange carrots. Trying for first time.

Carrot, Tonda di Parigi: Round in shape, these orange, 19-century Parisian heirloom carrots are 1 to 2 inches long. Ideal for rocky soil. Trying for first time.

Radish Helios: Yellow, olive shaped radishes; Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company reports this heirloom came from Alzbeta Kovacova-Pecarova of Kosice, Slovakia (very near the village where my grandfather was born!) Trying for first time with great delight.

Radish, Purple Plum: Bright-purple skin with crisp white flesh. Trying for first time.

Radish, Long Scarlet: Long and slender, bright red radish that dates back to pre-1870s.  Radish that looks a bit like a carrot -- How cool is that! Trying for first time.

Plus, I can't wait to try ...

Corn, Blue Jade: Steel-blue cobs that become jade-blue when boiled. Dwarf plants that grow 2 to 3 feet bear 3 to 6 ears of corn. One of the few sweet corns that can be grown in containers. Trying for first time.

Squash, Lebanese White Bush Marrow: Rare variety of cream, oblong summer squash, which is delicious baked or fried. Trying for first time.

Speaking of squash, I loved this winter squash I grew last year:

Squash, Musquee de Provence: Averaging 20 pounds, this French variety of winter squash has orange, blue and green colors that ripen to a deep, rich brown. The deep orange flesh is great for baking.

Salads will be made with greens such as these:

Lettuce, Merveille Des Quatre Saisons (Marvel of Four Seasons): With a name like that, how could I not grow this French variety? This bibb letuce has ruby-red leaves with tightly folded green hearts. I've grown this tasty heirloom several years.

Lettuce, Forellenschluss: This old Austrian heirloom is a favorite of mine. The green romaine leaves are speckled with deep rose, and stand up well to salad dressings.This lettuce is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Arugula, Apollo: Productive variety of domesticated rocket; high in vitamin C; excellent in salad mixtures.

That's not all I'm growing this year either. They'll be more cool-season and warm-season plants, which I'll start inside from seeds, direct seed out in the garden, or buy as transplants from local nurseries or farmer's markets. We're lucky here, for instance, to have many unusual varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants available for purchase.

Whatever you decide to grow this year, just remember, it's important to rotate your vegetable crops each year. Want more information? Read the Seasonal Wisdom post on crop rotation.

Happy growing!

Happy Lady Day, Happy New Year

While you're out enjoying your spring garden, consider this cool fact. Today was the start of the year for many gardeners in past centuries.

It's true. From the twelfth century until the calendar changed in 1752, March 25 began the year (not Jan. 1) on the Old Style calendars in England and Ireland. In the Italian cities of Florence and Pisa, this day held the honor until 1749.

Today is also called 'Lady Day' or the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, it was said the Archangel Gabriel proclaimed to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son nine months later. In the ancient Roman calendar reformed by Caesar, this day was mistakenly considered the spring equinox. 

When you look around the garden, it's easy to see why so many different religions and cultures have celebrated new beginnings around this time. Seeds are sprouting all over the place right now.

Speaking of seeds, have you started yours yet? Prefer hybrid seeds? Or heirlooms? Want to see what seeds I'm sowing in 2009? What's growing in your garden?

Update: See some of the seeds I'm sowing in 2010.

For more information on seasonal folklore, consider the two sources used for this blog post:

• The Oxford Book of Days, B. Blackburn, Oxford University Press
• The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore, C. Kightly, Thames and Hudson

Thoreau on Seeds

"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

Henry David Thoreau

Why Heirloom Seeds?

Excellent flavor. Colorful histories. Funny names. Unusual varieties. Heirloom seeds offer these benefits and more. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider heirloom seeds:

• Heirlooms are open-pollinated plants with seeds that reproduce true to type year after year – unlike hybrids.

• Heirloom seeds can be saved for the next growing season – unlike hybrids. So, when you plant heirloom seeds, you are actually helping to preserve our vanishing garden heritage for future generations.

• Heirloom plants offer a much wider selection of unusual plants than hybrids. You can grow everything from white egg-shaped tomatoes to purple carrots and candy-striped beets. Not your typical edibles.

• Heirlooms are bred for their superior flavor. Unlike common hybrids that are typically bred for shipping and traveling long distances – not flavor.
  

• Heirlooms often have colorful histories and charming names – like ‘Aunt Ruby’s German Green’ tomatoes and ‘Dragon’s Tongue’ beans. When you grow heirlooms, you help keep this history alive.

• Heirlooms can be quite old. Some experts believe heirlooms must be more than 100 years old. Others 50 years. Still others believe heirlooms can be created from crossing two or more heirlooms. These are called “created heirlooms.” Here's what the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension had to say on the topic.
  

Need another reason to grow heirloom seeds? Well, planting heirlooms helps ensure the survival of some very special plants. What could be better than that?