Evaluating Hundreds of Heirloom Seeds

Each year at Heritage Farm we grow a portion of our collection—family heirlooms passed down generationally and given to Seed Savers Exchange for safekeeping.

Part of the responsibility that comes with maintaining this unique collection of fruit and vegetable varieties is understanding as much as we can about each one.  To gain this understanding, every summer—in addition to growing varieties that are in need of refreshed or increased stock—we also grow a portion of our collection for evaluation purposes.

This year we are growing more than 400 varieties of heirloom seed in our evaluation gardens—from amaranth to watermelon—with beet, carrot, celery, collard, corn, cowpea, cucumber, eggplant, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, lima, melon, mustard, okra, pea, pepper, radish, rutabaga, squash, Swiss chard, tomato, and turnip in between.  

Why do we evaluate these varieties?

The evaluation crew spends their summer documenting and describing each variety we grow. The crew collects data on traits such as plant height, flower color, days to maturity, and fruit size, to name a few. We also evaluate how a variety might do in the marketplace, considering taste and culinary usage. For example, this year we are evaluating 40 varieties of beans and will classify them as snap beans, shelling beans, or dry beans.

Evaluation data not only helps us make informed collection management decisions, it also gives us the information we need to write detailed plant descriptions. Plant descriptions are key to promoting our collection in the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook and other publications, increasing the distribution of collection varieties to our members’ gardens and bringing more active participants into our preservation efforts. It is our hope to see more and more of our collection being grown, enjoyed, and preserved in gardens across the country.

We are one of the few organizations doing this important work with heirlooms.  And with thousands of varieties in our collection, this is work we do each summer, year after year.

You can help by supporting this work essential to our preservation efforts.

 A tax-deductible donation to Seed Savers Exchange will help us continue to maintain genetic diversity through projects like the evaluation program. Support our effort by making a donation or becoming a member online today, or call us at (563) 382-5990 (M-F, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm Central Time).

Thank you for helping us maintain these heirloom varieties for future generations to come.

John Torgrimson                                                              Diane Ott Whealy Executive Director                                                           Co-founder and Vice President

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Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization, with a mission to conserve and promote America's culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.

Life Cycles

The Teaching Garden at Seed Savers Exchange demonstrates important seed saving concepts. Throughout the growing season, we'll discuss these concepts by taking a closer look at different beds in this garden. In a previous blog post, we looked at How Your Plants Pollinate. Our second stop on the tour is at the Life Cycle beds.

A plant can have one of three different life cycles depending on when it produces flowers and seed: annual, biennial, or perennial. To properly save seed, it's important to know the life cycles of the plants in your garden - it's not always as obvious as it seems!

The first bed contains some annual plant types: lettuce, radish, and pea (pictured below). An annual plant will germinate, grow, flower, and fruit in one growing season. When an annual has finished producing seed, the plant dies. To flower, lettuce will grow a large flower stalk and shed the lower leaves, producing white fluffy seeds. Radish roots enlarge, becoming too bitter and tough for eating. The above-ground radish plant will become big and bushy, producing white and purple flowers and edible seed pods. Pea plants will decline after flowering has finished, and the seeds will harden as the pods and vines turn yellow and dry out.

The second bed contains kale, Swiss chard, and onion, examples of biennial plant types. A biennial plant completes its life cycle over two growing seasons. In the first year, the plant focuses on vegetative growth by producing leaves and roots that store energy and nutrients. Most biennials (i.e. onion and kale) are harvested for eating during the first year of their life cycle. During winter, the plant conserves energy for the next growing season when it will flower and produce seed. Because biennials must overwinter, extra steps should be taken in colder climates to prevent damage to the underground parts. In this bed (pictured on the right), the onion were overwintered with straw mulch and are now flowering. The kale and Swiss chard will not flower and produce a seed crop until next year.

A perennial has a continuous growth cycle that can persist for many growing seasons. In general, a perennial will flower and fruit every year, but a tremendous amount of variation exists within perennials. Some perennial plants are woody and will flower and fruit after several years of juvenile growth, while others are herbaceous and die back every winter to newly flower and fruit in the spring. "Tender perennials" are very sensitive to cold temperatures and are grown as annuals in most climates. Several of our beds feature tender perennials like tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and okra that will die back at the end of the season due to cold weather.

Below you will find a list of common annuals and biennials, with tender perennials listed among the annuals. Use the following list as a guide, and refer to Suzanne Ashworth's Seed to Seed for information on specific crop types.

Until next time, happy gardening!

Annuals: amaranth, bean, broccoli*, corn, cowpea, cucumber, eggplant, fava, gourd, ground cherry, lettuce, lima, melon, mustard, okra, pea, peanut, pepper, poppy, potato, radish (non-daikon), runner bean, sorghum, spinach, squash, sunflower, tomatillo, tomato, watermelon

Biennials: beet, broccoli*, Brussels sprout, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chicory, Chinese cabbage, collard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, onion, parsley, parsnip, radish (daikon), rutabaga, Swiss chard, turnip

*Broccoli is a biennial crop, but short season varieties act as annuals when planted early in the spring.

Tomato Tasting and Seed Saving Workshop

Seed Savers Exchange near Decorah, Iowa, is hosting a free Tomato Tasting and Seed Saving Workshop on Saturday, September 1, 2012. The Tomato Tasting will run from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, offering visitors the opportunity to sample a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes and learn how to save tomato seeds.

The event will be held at the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center. More than 40 varieties of tomatoes of all colors and sizes will be available, including yellow cherry, pink beefsteak, striped stuffing, red grape and green roma’s. This year’s tasting will include 10 rare varieties from Seed Savers Exchange’s seed bank collection. Last year, Dester, a beefsteak tomato from the rare varieties was voted most popular.

The Oneota Food Co-op in Decorah is sponsoring this year’s Salsa Contest. Limited to 25 entrants, applications are available at the Co-op, by calling 563-382-4666, and online at www.oneotacoop.com. The registration deadline is Monday, August 27. The co-op will also be providing food for purchase during the event.

There will be tomato seed saving workshops beginning at 12:00 noon featuring Seed Savers Exchange staff as well as tomato advisor and expert Craig LeHoullier. LeHoullier will give two talks, Tasting the Biodiversity of Tomatoes and Tomatoes with Great Stories and Great Flavors. Visitors will be able to tour Seed Savers Exchange’s tomato gardens. Guided hayride tours begin at 12:00 noon and are scheduled for every 45 minutes.

“This family event gives people the opportunity to experience the wide diversity of tomatoes available, and learn how to improve their own gardening experience,” says Diane Ott Whealy, co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange. The event will include music with special activities planned for kids.

All events are free to the public.

Founded in 1975, Seed Savers Exchange operates an 890-acre farm in northeast Iowa where thousands of rare fruit, vegetable, and other plant varieties are regenerated and preserved in a central collection. Its non-profit mission is conserving and promoting America’s culturally diverse but endangered food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants. For information visit www.seedsavers.org

For more information contact:

Shannon Carmody Seed Savers Exchange shannon@seedsavers.org 563-387-5630

Seed Savers Exchange announces Harvest Lecture Series

Decorah, Iowa – Seed Savers Exchange, Inc., a leading non-profit organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds, announces its Harvest Lecture Series. The series is designed to connect everyday gardeners and eaters with professionals in the food and seed industries. The Harvest Lecture Series is based on the Science Café model of engaging the general public in a casual setting, an atmosphere where everyone joins in. These lectures and discussions are meant to involve people who may not typically have these conversations.

The lecture series, which will take place in the barn loft at historic Heritage Farm near Decorah, feature

• September 7: Dr. Bill Tracy, "Public Plant Breeding and the Role of Land Grant Universities"
• October 13: Dan Carmody, "Developing Regional Food Systems" and Emily Torgrimson, “Eat for Equity: using community meals to support charitable organizations” (rescheduled from August 17)
• October 19: Dan Bussey, "Our Apple Heritage"

Dr. William Tracy, Ph.D., Professor of Agronomy at UW-Madison, is a sweet corn breeder. To improve eating quality and pest resistance, Bill works with corn varieties from around the world. He creates and releases improved populations, inbreds, and hybrids.

Dan Carmody is the President of the Eastern Market Corporation, Detroit, MI, where he leads the non-profit charged with converting one of the nation’s oldest and largest public markets into the nation’s most comprehensive healthy metropolitan food hub.

Carmody will be joined by Emily Torgrimson, founder and Executive Director of Eat for Equity, a non-profit that stages community meals and uses the donations to fund the work of charitable organizations. Featured on the Today Show, Eat for Equity has branches in Minneapolis, Boston, Portland, Washington D.C. and Phoenix.

Dan Bussey is the Orchard Manager at Seed Savers Exchange. Apple historian and orchard keeper, Bussey has written a book on 14,000 apple varieties grown in North America since the 1600s which is scheduled to be published later this year. He owns a four-acre orchard in Wisconsin featuring more than 250 apple varieties.

Each lecture begins at 7:30 pm and costs $10 ($5 in advance). Refreshments will be served by Oneota Food Coop in Decorah beginning at 6:30.  Register here.

Founded in 1975, Seed Savers Exchange operates an 890-acre farm in northeast Iowa where thousands of rare fruit, vegetable, and other plant varieties are regenerated and preserved in a central collection. Its non-profit mission is conserving and promoting America’s culturally diverse but endangered food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants. For information visit www.seedsavers.org.

This event is co-sponsored by the Leopold Center.

For more information contact: Shannon Carmody, Public Programs Manager shannon@seedsavers.org 563-387-5630

Illinois gardener to lead Seed Savers Exchange board

Decorah, Iowa – Seed Savers Exchange, Inc., a leading non-profit organization dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds, announces the election of Keith Crotz as chair of its board of directors. The decision was made at the board’s July 19th meeting.

Crotz succeeds Amy P. Goldman, who is stepping down after serving on the board for more than 10 years, half of that time as board chair. Goldman will become a special advisor to the board of directors.

Mr. Crotz, 58, has served on the board of directors since 2008 and has been active in board committees related to finances and publications. He is an agricultural literature historian and rare book dealer and owner of American Botanist Booksellers, which does collection development for colleges, universities and individuals. While on the board, Keith has been instrumental in the development of the rare books collection at Seed Savers Exchange, which includes historic seed catalogs and related ephemera. He lives in Chillicothe, Illinois, and has been a member of Seed Savers Exchange since 1984.

"This change in leadership comes at a time of unprecedented growth at Seed Savers Exchange,” Crotz said, noting that Seed Savers Exchange has more than 13,000 members in all 50 states and 40 countries. “I am proud to be asked by my colleagues to help lead this organization into the next phase of its development.”

Crotz credits Ms. Goldman of Rhinebeck, New York, the author of three books on heirloom varieties, for helping to transform Seed Savers Exchange, saying, “During Amy’s tenure as board chair, SSE doubled its membership, brought focus and professionalism to its operations, and strengthened programs that fulfill its mission.” 

“Seed Savers Exchange is in excellent hands,” Goldman said. “The board and staff have just completed a strategic long range plan and share a common vision for the future. This is the perfect time to transition to new leadership.”

Founded in 1975, Seed Savers Exchange operates an 890-acre farm in northeast Iowa where thousands of rare fruit, vegetable, and other plant varieties are regenerated and preserved in a central collection. Its mission is conserving and promoting America’s culturally diverse but endangered food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants. For information visit www.seedsavers.org

For more information contact John Torgrimson, Executive Director john@seedsavers.org 563-387-5631

Everything You Need to Know About Radishes

Flowering Radishes at Heritage Farm

The radishes at Heritage Farm are in full bloom! Our flowering beauties may no longer be edible, but they are well on their way to producing seed. Luckily, most radishes grow quickly and will produce seed in one season.

Cool Radishes Radishes are wonderfully diverse with many different colors, shapes and sizes! Spring and summer varieties can be pink, red, white, golden, or purple. They can be shaped like bulbs, be more elongated like fingers, or even taper like carrots. Winter varieties are much larger, often black, and need a longer growing season to mature. Daikon radishes, an Oriental winter type, have long white roots prized for their crisp and tender flesh. Some radishes, such as the Rat-Tailed radish, are grown for their edible seed pods rather than their roots. The entire seed pod is edible, and has a lighter radish bite. Who knew?

This season, we grew a very special radish in the Diversity Garden named 'Colony Summerrettig'. Charles Hoehnle of Homestead, Iowa donated the seed of this variety in 1995. It originated from the Amana Colonies of central Iowa, which were settled in 1856 by a group of German Pietists. These settlers lived a self-sufficient communal life until the mid-1930s. This radish was grown in the colony gardens, prized for its purple roots and ability to reseed for a fall crop. Our planting in the Diversity Garden grew to be quite big before flowering!

How to Grow Radishes Not only are radishes easy and quick to grow, but you can plant them all season long. Direct seed radishes 1" apart and 1/2" deep as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. Rows should be 12" apart for proper root development. When seedlings are about 1" tall, thin to 2-3" apart. Most radishes are ready to eat when their root tops peak out of the soil. Plant successively every 2-3 weeks for a constant supply of radishes.

How to Eat Radishes Radishes have a spicy bite that makes a wonderful addition to salads and veggie platters. If you're looking for something different, try sweet and sour radish pickles! Put sliced radishes in a jar with green onions or garlic, and enough vinegar, sugar, and oil to cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to eight hours, making sure to shake the jar every so often. When chilled, you'll have a tangy treat to enjoy that cuts some of the radish bite but packs a bunch of flavor!

How to Save Radish Seed Most radish varieties are annuals that will flower and produce seed within one growing season. They are insect-pollinated out-breeders, meaning they will cross with any and all varieties of wild and domesticated varieties. Varieties should be separated by 1/2 mile or more to prevent cross-pollination. If distance or isolation is not possible in your own garden plant a single variety, and be aware if neighboring gardens have different radish varieties flowering at the same time.

Because radishes require that pollen be transferred from one plant to another for successful pollination, a fairly large population size is best for good seed production. Seed pods will develop on the large flower stalks (up to 3′) and tan as the seed matures and plant begins to dry. Harvest the seed stalks when all parts are fully dry. Seeds are tricky to remove from dried seed pods and may require a bit of force.

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Let us know what your radishes look like this season! If you're looking for something different, check out the Seed Savers Exchange collection of radishes in the online catalog. Happy gardening!

Seed Savers Exchange Welcomes Folk Music Legend Greg Brown

Singer-songwriter and longtime friend of Seed Savers Exchange Greg Brown will return to Heritage Farm for a benefit concert under the stars on July 14, 2012! Joining Greg will be special guest Bo Ramsey. This acoustic performance marks Brown’s ninth stage appearance at Seed Savers Exchange (SSE), a favorite venue of the Iowa superstar.  This benefit concert will support SSE’s mission to maintain and distribute heirloom varieties.

“It was always hard to do other shows after Seed Savers,” Greg is quoted as saying in SSE co-founder Diane Ott Whealy’s memoir, Gathering, “None of them were in the middle of a big garden full of nourishment and sunflowers, and the sun going down over those mysterious old hills.”

Pre-order your tickets online or by calling 563-382-5990 ($25). Tickets and Will Call will be available the day of the event for $30 at the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center until 4 p.m. After 4 p.m., tickets and Will Call will be at the gate located near the SSE offices, 3094 North Winn Road (second driveway on the right north of the visitors center entrance). Tickets purchased after Friday, July 6, will be available at Will Call.

See you at the show!

Taste a little of the summer

Not familiar with Greg Brown's music? Check out this video of his song 'Canned Goods'. As Greg himself says, "taste a little of the summer"—July 14, 2012 at Seed Savers Exchange!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-0ZCqga48&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

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The details

Parking for the event is limited. A shuttle will be available from the corner of River and Heivly Street from 5 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., returning after the show. Parking at the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center will be limited to campers and attendees with limited mobility. General parking will be available near the SSE offices at 3094 North Winn Road (second driveway on the right north of the visitors center entrance).

Concert-goers may arrive early to take a garden tour and enjoy home cooking from McCaffrey’s Dolce Vita. A limited number of primitive campsites will be available on-site for those who preregister. Only ticketholders will be allowed at the concert.

What:  Greg Brown Benefit Concert When:  7 p.m., July 14, 2012. Gates open at 5 p.m. Garden tours at 5 and 6 p.m. Where: Lillian Goldman Visitors Center Seed Savers Exchange, Heritage Farm 3074 North Winn Road Decorah, Iowa 52101 Map

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Order your tickets today!

From the customer service desk

One of the most common questions we get here at the SSE customer service center is "Do I have to be a member to order from the Seed Savers Exchange catalog?" The quick answer: no!

Supporting SSE by becoming a member is greatly appreciated, not to mention beneficial. Members have access to the SSE Yearbook, which lists thousands of varieties not otherwise available. Members also receive a 10% discount on orders from our print and online catalog, as well as the latest news from SSE's international seed saving community through our membership publication, the Heritage Farm Companion. However, you don't have to be a member to order from our award-winning catalog, which is free upon request. Whether you order your seeds through the Yearbook or our commercial catalog, you are supporting our non-profit mission of preserving our garden heritage for future generations—Thank you!

Please pass the peas

The SSE preservation garden crew finished planting over 64 varieties of peas this week for evaluation, public display and seed regeneration. In a few short weeks these peas will take over the trellises here at Heritage Farm. But climbing skills aren't the only interesting thing about peas, here are a few more facts and growing tips that might leave you thinking Pass the Peas! [uds-billboard name="peas-please" ]