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Archive for the ‘Heirloom Garden’ Category

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Recently my friends have been asking me for a good place to buy organic and heirloom seeds and plants. I thought this was a great topic, so here are my favorite 7 suppliers.

Johnny Seeds Offers a wide selection of seeds and plants. They have heirloom, organic, fruit, herbs and vegetables for your garden. They have OMRI-approved pest and disease controls and fertilizers. This is one of the larger seed suppliers in the world, and they are employee owned.

Miller Nurseries -J.E. Miller, Dept 4102, 5060 West Lake Road, Canadaigua, NY, 14424- They have dozens of strawberries, raspberries, fruit, and shade trees. Over 60 varieties of apples, many old-fashioned “heirloom” apples. Winter hardy blueberries. 39 varieties of grapes, including wine making varieties. They have a wide variety of unique fruits such as Pawpaw, Persimmon, Kiwi, Honeyberry, Asian Pears, Cranberries and more.

Bountiful GardensBountiful Gardens sells untreated open-pollinated seed of heirloom quality for vegetables, herbs, flowers, grains, green manures, compost and carbon crops. Offering Bio-intensive and Grow Biointensive sustainable organic seed. Specialties: Rare and unusual varieties. Medicinal herbs. Super-nutrition varieties. You may be interested to know that Bountiful Gardens is a non-profit organization and a project of Ecology Action which does garden research and publishes many books, information sheets, and research papers, some in other languages. Ecology Action operates a research mini-farm in Willits, CA and promotes the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method of food production which teaches people in 130 countries around the world to grow food and build soil with less work, water, and energy by natural methods. Find out more at www.growbiointensive.org

Fedco Fedco Seeds, is an excellent source for cold-hardy seeds and plants especially adapted to the demanding Northeast climate. Each year they observe hundreds of varieties, selecting only the best for inclusion in their catalogs. Through their product lines and cultural hints, they encourage sustainable growing methods. They offer a large selection of certified organic cultivars and regional heirloom varieties. We buy products from all over the world. Fedco is a cooperative, one of the few seed companies so organized in the United States. Because they do not have an individual owner or beneficiary, profit is not their primary goal. Consumers own 60% of the cooperative and worker members 40%. Consumer and worker members share proportionately in the cooperative’s profits through their annual patronage dividends.

A Few Good Seeds Vegetable seeds,Fruit plants or seeds. Specialties: Heirloom Vegetables. All of their plants and seeds are grown without any chemical inputs. Their goal is to test and adapt vegetables for our regional climate and growing conditions.

Territorial Seed Company Currently they find themselves in good company “capital-O Organics”, excited about taking leadership in advising the evolution of organic agriculture from a movement into a mainstream market. There are 20 full-time and 25 seasonal employees locally, strategic alliances with universities and European plant breeders, and a zillion worms making compost and plant teas. They are experts in Organic and Biodynamic seeds and plants.

Willhite Seed They have over 400 varieties of seeds including watermelon, cataloupe, cucumber, bean, corn, okra, peas, squash etc. They have a wide selection of of unusual Indian seed.

Propagating of Plants From Seed
By John Yazo

Plant propagation by the method of seed is also known as sexual plant propagation. It is the least expensive, easiest and quickest way to produce a large amount of plants quickly.

This is a method that is a essential part of heirloom gardening. The seeds are open pollinated and are saved year after year from that years parent plant. This helps to create for a healthier plant when good organic gardening practices are used. Planting from the same plant generation after generation helps to strengthen the plant, making it healthier and better adoptable to the area.

The proper care needs to be taken when harvesting and storing the seeds. The seeds need to be saved from the healthiest plants to avoid disease from being carried to the next generation. When purchasing seeds each year the plants don’t get the opportunity to adopt to the area that they are planted. Commercially sold seeds are produced under controlled conditions and it is very unlikely that the conditions are going to be the same in the garden that they get planted.

Once the seeds are harvested they need to be properly dried. If they are not dry before they are stored they will mold and rot. These seeds will no longer be any good for planting. The properly dried seeds then need to be stored in an airtight container and a then labeled. Most seeds will keep for up to five years.

When the time comes to start planting you should use the oldest seeds that you have stored first. If you have any doubt that the seeds are to old you can simply do a germination test on then. This is a simple test and can be done by soaking a few seeds and then placing them on a damp cloth in full sunlight and they should germinate in seven to fourteen days. You should always store more seeds than you need so if you have a year with a bad crop you wont run out and have to start all over from bought seeds.

Some seeds have a tough exterior shell and you can use a technique call scarification to help the seeds germinate. This can be done by two methods. The first is soaking the seeds for twenty four hours before planting to soften the exterior shell or by the second method of scratching or cracking the shell to allow moisture to penetrate the shell.

There are also other seeds that need to go through a low temperature change in order for them to break out of there dormant state. This period of going through this temperature change is known as stratification.

With the proper potting soil mix, atmosphere and lighting propagation with seeds is a simple and easy way to produce the plants you will need for your gardens.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Yazo
http://EzineArticles.com/?Propagating-of-Plants-From-Seed&id=1766025

Heirloom Gardening
By John Yazo

Heirloom gardening is a type of gardening that is in a class of it’s own. There are many unique features in the heirloom varieties of bot vegetables and flowers. This method of gardening is one that has usually been past down from generation to generation along with the seeds.

Once you start heirloom gardening and discover all the unique features that heirloom varieties have over hybrid varieties you will most likely be hooked and never change back. The flavor, juiciness and sweetness of heirloom vegetables have no comparison to hybrid varieties.

The seeds used for this method of gardening are open pollinated. This means that the plant will produce seed naturally. When replanted the seed will reproduce the same plant as it’s parent plant for generation to generation to come. Hybrid seed will not reproduce the same plant when there seeds are saved and replanted. This means the gardener is dependent on the seed companies every year.

All heirloom gardeners have one thing in common. They choose this type of gardening to keep these types of crops and flowers fro going extinct. Every year more and more varieties of heirloom flowers, fruits and vegetables are lost. There are plant seeds that were brought to our country by our ancestors from all parts of the world.

When we save heirloom seeds we are saving apart of history and culture. When choosing seeds that you want to plant you can trace back your family tree and choose varieties that were the ones that your ancestors would of planted.

Choosing to grow heirloom vegetables in your garden will give you the assurance that your crop is pure and natural. There are not produced by genetic changed hybrid seed.

There is a growing interest in heirloom gardening. There are seed companies that are devoted in just heirloom seeds along with many seed exchange groups. These groups are where you can share your seeds with others along with your experience.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

http://www.organicheirloomgardening.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Yazo
http://EzineArticles.com/?Heirloom-Gardening&id=1773145