Growing Organic Heirloom Vegetables Which Sometime Come Out Looking Like Alien Vegetables
April 5, 2012 By
What Planet Did These Vegetables Come From?
We grow organic heirloom varieties of vegetables. Heirlooms are the vegetables our ancestors grew, before people decided to hybridize them. They are much more delicious, and more nutritious, and as you can see, grow somewhat irregular.
Over the past few years, we have grown all sorts of vegetables. Carrots, peas, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes…you name it, we’ve probably grown it. We’ve had some cross pollinate. That’s okay, we ate those. The better ones go to the farmers market.
So, as you look at the pictures up above, one may ask what kind of fertilizer we use to grow such alien vegetables. Just for the facts, we use only manure from our rabbits, and chickens, and composting for fertilizer. We are an organic farm after all. We use no chemical or other fertilizers.
I have no idea why they grew as they did. I mean, have you ever in your life seen a radish that looks like that. No, me either. How about a carrot that has tentacles or legs. Nope, didn’t think so. Oh, and that mortgage lifter tomato grew so large, it almost met itself and merged together. And, how about a gigantic carrot. You’ll never see one of those in a store produce aisle. We grew carrots so large, they were a meal by itself. Unbelievable vegetables.
While alien vegetables don’t tend to sell well at the farmers markets because they aren’t very pretty, they taste the same, and are good eatin’.
Heirloom Veggies
July 23, 2009 By
Tonight, I did a presentation at Green Mountain Conservation Group (www.gmcg.org) on heirloom veggies.
We specialize in organic heirloom here at Cloverleaf Farm, and I wanted to share the knowledge that I have found over the last several years of farming.
Heirloom vegetables are known as old fashioned or vintage vegetables. They are vegetables grown from seeds that have been passed down from one generation to the next.
Heirloom varieties are open pollinated, which means they are pollinated by insects or the wind, and will produce “true” the following season if seeds are saved. True means that the offspring will be the same as the parent. With hybrids, you never know what you will get the following year, if you get anything.
By planting heirloom veggies and saving the seed you will be helping to safeguard the genetic pool of our vegetables of old—and hence the food supply of our future generations.
All who attended seemed to have a good time. After the presentation we enjoyed some of my home made tomato preserves with crackers and our own apple cider.
Embracing the Past While Living in the Future
June 29, 2009 By
Growing Organic Heirloom Vegetables
Growing organic is not a new concept. Farmers have been doing it for centuries. Before WWII, there were no such things as chemical fertilizers, or insecticides.
After WWII, there was a surplus of chemicals that they had used during the war, and needed a way to use them.
Someone had the bright idea of using them as insecticides. Remember, these chemicals were originally meant to kill. They were not meant to be used in gardens across the U.S.
Before WWII, farmers for centuries used the rotation method as one way to stave off disease. By rotating crops each year or so, it helped cut down on diseases in the soils, and in the crops. Each crop has a different benefit to the soil. For example, beans and clover add nitrogen to the soil.
Heirloom vegetables are also known as old fashioned or vintage vegetables. They are vegetables grown from seeds that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Heirloom varieties are open pollinated, which means they are pollinated by insects or the wind, and will produce “true” the following season if seeds are saved. True means that the offspring will be the same as the parent.
Hybrids came into existence in part as the U.S. grew. A hybrid is an intentional cross between two varieties to capture the best characteristics of the two different varieties. If a hybrid plant is allowed to open pollinate, and the seed saved, the offspring will bear little resemblance to the parent plant. Because of this characteristic, varieties can be patented by seed companies, and gardeners have to buy new seed every year instead of saving their own.
As the country grew after WW II, consumers wanted bigger and better. Farmers and growers needed a way to be able to transport their produce to a further distance, while still remaining fresh, and not bruised or have them rot.
Although, the consumers may have gotten bigger, they did not necessarily get better. The new hybrid produce didn’t have as much flavor, some nutrients got lost, and you could no longer seed save for the next year’s crop. People didn’t seem to care, as it was more convenient. Buying from local farms was starting to wane, and these farmers had to choose between going under or joining the band wagon. Most joined in and grew hybrids.
While hybrids became the norm in grocery stores across America, vegetables that we now know as heirlooms were becoming a thing of the past. It is now seeing a come back across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
By planting heirloom veggies and saving the seed you will be helping to safeguard the genetic pool of our vegetables of old—and hence the food supply of our future generations.
