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Show ' V- i - mail-ord- Many 1 heirloom seed .catalogs offer er seeds, and one of the richest t f ' sources is The Seed Savers Exchange t i, .V ; ' 'r : .nj V (SSv a nonprofit organization whose " . . J ' - fijOOO mem- - n f ben grow arid d'mributaheirloom vegetable, .s fruit and wain seeds.' Some ' 'Vi j . ; i ' 2QJOOO rare uqg . - 1 ecable varieties are maintained at SSEk Her- ' ; , .v In Decorah. Iowa. For Information ; hagefarm --v. V v ; -- ' : - v '"i on the exchange, or to get Its annual seed eat ,, alog, I wrfcato the SSE at3076 North Winn ' Road, DeoondvIA 52101; cal (3 19)383n599ft p or vbk Its website at wwiKseetfsovertorg Z: - Tb find other sources, search the Incemet K using the key words, "hdrioomseed." Or, - simply drop by your local garden supply cen- ' tar and pick up your seeds there. Whatever varieties you choose, the pleasure les in growing them yourself si I ed cnthe island ofJamaica. The Aztec Indians, he ays, grew a similar pepper to spice their chocolate drink. Some plant were named for tbe person who bred rtuNw, such as Jimmy Nardclloi Sweet Pepper; Ktrmghr to America from Italy in 1887 by Guiseppe Nardello. Others take names from physical cfaarac- pu-- h ts the Queensland Blue squash and Ball lettuce, known for small, tight rosettes cooks pick- ty leaves that of light-greled in brine, he says. The Garnet Chili Potato, first grown in Utica, N.Y., in 1833, now has the same nutty, flavocfulcasce of a century ago. Spring is a busy time for Weaver, as hundreds of M anil yr? planted in hia gardens, nr from his greenhouse. seedlings April 13 to June 13 is my planting season, so ' it's madnrsa until everything b in die ground, he en 17th-centu- After that, I can glide into summer planting second crops. When one crop ripens to harvest, he plana anoch- er 30 varieties of tomatoes and peppers in any one year; plus tfac com, cucumbers, beans, and so on, with his own labor and that of two part-tim- e helpets. 1 do it forthe love, he explains. "Well, actual-ite- m ly, it's mote like madness." Weaver doesn't sell the produce he raises, but . keeps the best vegetables of any variety to save for seeds and eats whats left. "I grow otganicaUybeaaae I don't need chemical fer-albert," he explains. My grandfather was that way. I ux compost and fish emulsion. Oiganic produce is mote robust, and I have no teal problem with pests or diseases. Seeds fix the 3,000 vegetable, herb, and flower varieties Weaver saves and plants in hb gardens says. make up what he calls the Rmighwood Seed Collection (in reference to his homes name in die 1880s). These he shares with other gardeners through the nonprofit Sad Savors Esahangt Ytarbook, which includes listings of some 12,000 plants from member growers all over the country (see sidebar). To Weovct; this stock of seed represents both a national treasure and a peisonal one, in knowing that he can eat die 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 Elya Rabin is Now York City. a folk-a- rt historian and writer American Profile in Pago 7 |