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Show The Park Record C-5 4sk llortfio y Martha Stewart What are Heirloom Vegetables? Saturday, July 15, 2000 r Would you like to grow the same corn that was carried by the Cherokees over the Trail of Tears? How about tomatoes cultivated culti-vated by Shakers in Pittsfield, Mass., or thousand-year-old beans that were found in a cave in Utah? Heirloom vegetable gardening gar-dening allows gardeners and cooks of today to share in the delicious varieties of the past. '. When we think of antiques, we Usually think of objects such as furniture or pottery. Heirloom vegetables are antiques from the garden. They are defined by having hav-ing been cultivated for at least 100 years. They must also carry the unique features of the first plants of their kind. Heirloom varieties are prized not only for their lineage, but also for the beautiful, unusual and flavorful fla-vorful vegetables and fruits their seeds yield. What's more, you can save the seeds of these plants, then grow them year after year. That's because heirloom vegetables vegeta-bles are open-pollinated, or non-hybrid, non-hybrid, varieties. They are reproduced repro-duced from the same plant species. Generation to generation, heirloom heir-loom seeds produce vegetables that look and taste like their parents. par-ents. Most vegetables you find in the supermarket, on the other hand, are hybridized, or formed by controlled cross-pollination. They do not reproduce reliably, so you cannot save their seeds. The hybrid is usually more prolific prolif-ic than either parent and more disease-resistant, but sometimes at the expense of flavor. Vegetables and fruit are also hybridized to withstand the stresses that produce may encounter on the way to the grocer's gro-cer's shelves few shoppers want to buy the bruised tomato or dented melon. Heirloom seeds, however, are hJeal for the home- gardener, or for those interested in small crops that they can grow and nurture for bountiful and delicious results. Since they are so flavorful, most heirloom vegetables require minimum mini-mum preparation. A sprinkle of salt, a grinding of fresh pepper and a drizzle of olive oil may be all that's needed. Here are just a few examples of the kinds of heirloom vegetables vegeta-bles you may wish to grow or TFtife Great H ! ' r M.. t2t J - ' All haircuts are just trabwi look for at your local farm stand. Garden peach tomato: Small and yellow with fuzzy skin; it's very sweet and grow s in clusters. Lillian's yellow tomato: Passed down from generation to generation in the Bruce family of Manchester. Texas, this tomato is lemon yellow. It is sweet, with a hint of citrus, and can weigh up to a pound. Mule team tomato: An all-purpose all-purpose tomato that is bright red and delicious. The vigorous plants produce half- to three-quarter-pound tomatoes until the first frost. Chocolate miniature pepper: Short, stocky 16 inch plants are covered with two-inch fruits that ripen from green to dipped-in-chocolate brown. Sweet Siberian watermelon: Light green, medium-sized oblong melons; they weigh about eight pounds. This variety has extremely extreme-ly sweet and juicy bright yellow-orange yellow-orange flesh. White wonder cucumber: Ivory-white cucumbers grow to about seven inches long. Ideal for both pickli.ig and slicing. Romanesco broccoli: Chartreuse-colored broccoli has excellent taste and texture; does especially well in cooler climates. Savin); seeds Since the turn of the century, thousands of varieties have become extinct. Growing and saving heirloom seeds means genetic diversity will be retained for future generations. And collecting col-lecting your own seeds means that you will save money in the long run. Make sure to save only the seeds of plants that are vigorous vigor-ous and free of disease. Plants that have seedpods. such as peas, should be allowed to go to seed; then you can pick the pods to extract the seeds. Vegetables whose flesh contains seeds, such as tomatoes, squash and cucumbers, shouldn't be picked until they're very ripe even overripe. Remove the seeds from the flesh, making sure to remove any gel sacs in which the seeds are encased. Place the seeds in a fine-meshed sieve, and rinse thoroughly. After you harvest the seed, spread tht.i out on newspaper or paper towels, and let them dry for several dav s. Be sure to label .aircut "V ' J ' 4 ' ' 0; June 28 - July 15 Gnat hair at a price that's muic to your tan. PARK CITY Park City Plaza 1890 Bonanza Dr. (435) 658-2980 yrww.grtmclips.com of GnMt Cli, fcrc I K the seeds on the papers so ou remember which are which. Move them around from time to time to ensure even dn ing damp seeds will begin to germinate. germi-nate. Transfer the dry seeds to airtight air-tight containers, identifying the plant name and date harvested, and store in a cool, dark spot until it's lime to plant. Seeds properly stored should remain viable for five years. Seed sources Seed Savers Exchange of Decorah. Iowa, is a network of gardeners and farmers committed to the preservation and cultivation cultiva-tion of heirloom seeds. Thev offer a wide variety of seeds, as well as information about seed-saving seed-saving methods. One particularly helpful book is Suzanne Ashworth's "Seed to Seed" (Seed Saver Publications. l or more information, contact: Seed Savers Exchange. 3076 North Winn Road. Decorah, Iowa 52101; (319) 382-5990 or w v w.seedsav ers.org. Sale av 1T - r-- i I . . I - -. W t Hi'- , i 7.99 1 PCT0 Ev JAMES VEOPELL Many seed companies also carry heirloom seeds: The Cook's Garden. P.O. Box 535. Londonderry. Vt. 0514s; 1-Sin 1-Sin 1-457-V703 or www cooksgar-den.com cooksgar-den.com Johnny's Selected Seeds. 1 Foss Hill Road. Albion. Maine 04s) 10; ( '07) J 37-430 1 or www johnnyseeds.com Shepherd's Garden Seeds. 30 Irene Street. Tomngton. Conn. 0679(i-665S; ($60) 4S2-363S Questions should be addressed to Martha Stewart, care of The Sew York Times Syndication Sales Corp . 122 E 42nd S: . Sew Ymk. S Y I01(tS. Questions ma also he sent to Stewart b electronic elec-tronic mail. Her address is: mstearn?n ith.is:eart -rr. Please include your name and daytime telephone number Questions of general interest m ill be answered in this column. Martha Stewart regrets that unpublished letters cannot be answered mdn uluaily. For more in formation on the topics covered in the askMartha column, isit www.marthastewart.com. Are you happv S. Scott Kimchc, D.D.S., LLC. Family and Cosmetic Dentistry 645-8500 Call nm for in ippoirmrwm. Convenient evening jnd wrekeni hour. 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