OCR Text |
Show 0 5tw & . fpi h Soim 20jC5Drrt maintained f , 1. re form alog, writ to the its website To find ' , Her- - in Decorah, Iowa. For Information SSE at 3076 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52tOI;cafl or visit 2 ytj (319)382-599- 0; at www.seedsavers.org. other sources, search the Internet using the key words, heirloom seed. Or, I simply drop by ter and your pick up local garden supply cen- your seeds there. Whatever varieties you choose, the pleasure lies in growing them yourself. On Weavers two acres of garden, the best plants are saved for their seeds. The rest are saved for dinner. ed on the island (Jamaica. The Aztec Indians, he says, grew a similar pepper to spice their chocolate drink. Some plants were named for the person who bred them, such as Jimmy Nardellos Sweet Pepper, brought to America from Italy in 1887 by Guiseppe Nardello. Others take names from physical characteristics, such as the Queensland Blue squash and Tennis Ball lettuce, known for small, tight rosettes cooks pick-le- d leaves that of light-gree- n in brine, he says. The Garnet Chili Potato, first grown in Utica, N.Y., in 1853, now has the same nutty, flavorful taste of a century ago. Spring is a busy time for Weaver, as hundreds of seeds are planted in his gardens, or transplanted as seedlings from his greenhouse. April 15 to June 15 is my planting season, so its madness until everything is in the ground, he 17th-centu- ry says. After that, second crops. 1 can glide into summer planting When one crop ripens to harvest, he plants anoth30 varieties of tomatoes and peppers in any one year, plus the com, cucumbers, beans, and so on, with his own labor and that of two part-tim- e helpers. "I do it for the love, he explains. "Well, actually, its more like madness. Weaver doesnt sell the produce he raises, but keeps the best vegetables of any variety to save for seeds and eats whats left. I grow organically because 1 dont need chemical fertilizers, he explains. My grandfather was that way. I use compost and fish emulsion. Organic produce is more robust, and I have no real problem with pests or diseases. Seeds for the 3,000 vegetable, herb, and flower varieties Weaver saves and plants in his gardens er make up what he calls the Roughwood Seed Collection (in reference to his home's name in the 1880s). These he shares with other gardeners through the nonprofit Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook, which includes listings of some 12,000 plants from member growers all over the country (see sidebar). To Weaver, this stock of seed represents both a national treasure and a personal one, in knowing that he can eat the exact same beans, tomatoes, peppers, and melons that his grandparents ate, and their grandparents before them, in a priceless chain of flavor and variety that only the backyard gardener can know. Cynthia Elyee Rubin is New York City. a folk-a- rt historian and uriter in American Profile t Page 7 |