A Look at Varieties

Most of the vegetables we buy in our grocery stores today are infertile and cannot produce another plant from the seed it produced. In addition, these fruits and vegetables are bred for their shelf life and uniformity, not their nutrition or taste (which I find completely backwards). I find it strange that we need to have seeds called "heirloom varieties" which basically mean that they are normal seeds that can produce a plant year after year (not necessarily a perennial, simply meaning that if you save the seeds properly, you can have another plant just like it the next time you plant the seed). For more on heirloom varieties, check out the wiki page. Another great resource is the Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa.

Without going into a long lecture, suffice it to say that I've chosen all heirloom varieties because I believe in the importance of preserving our food freedom (more on how seed manufacturers are working for a monopoly here). I ordered my seed from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in February, a company that does not carry Monsanto or GMO seed.

Of course I completely over-purchased - February in Minnesota is pretty cold, and all the plants looked like so much fun! Below is a list of what I plan to plant. The categories are probably not botanically correct, just how I separate them in my mind. Also, I will only be planting a few of each of the varieties, as my goal is to have variety through the winter.

Root Vegetables
Beets: Detroit Dark Red, Golden
Carrots: Danvers 126 Half Long, Lunar White, Muscade, St. Valery
Celeriac: Giant Prague
Parsnip: Hollow Crown
Radish: China Rose, Miyashigi Diakon, Round Black Spanish
Rutabaga: Laurentian
Turnip: Navet Des Vertus Marteau, Purple Top White Globe

Melons/Squash
Cucumber: Himangi, Uzbekski (believe it or not, these are storage cucumbers! We'll see...)
Gourd: Dishcloth or Luffa
Melon: Casaba-Golden Beauty, Eden's Gem (Rockyford Green-Flesh), Valencia Winter Melon
Winter Squash: Thai "Rai Kaw Tok", Iran, Lady Godiva, Pipian from Tuxpan, Queensland Blue, Sugar Loaf Delicata, Tennessee Sweet Potato
Watermelon: Ice Cream, Stone Mountain

Leafy Greens
Chard: Rainbow (Five Color Silverbeet), Oriole Orange
Endive: De Meaux
Kale: Dwarf Siberian
Lettuce: Val D'Orges
Spinach: Gigante D'Inverno

Green Vegetables
Broccoli: Early Purple Sprouting, Waltham 29
Brussel Sprouts: Long Island Improved
Cabbage: Mammoth Red Rock, Premium Late Flat Dutch
Celery: Tendercrisp
Fennel: Di Firenze
Kohlrabi: Early White Vienna
Leek: Giant Musselburgh

Herbs
Parsley: Hamburg Rooted
Cilantro: (no variety name)
Parsley: Giant of Italy
Tarragon: Russian
Oregano: Vulgare

Miscellaneous
Tomato: Dad's Sunset, Moonglow, Thessaloniki, Egg, Rev. Morrow's Long Keeper, Green Skin Long Keeper
Amaranth: Love-Lies-Bleeding-Red
Sunflower: Mammoth Grey Striped
Garden Berries: Hardy Kiwi

Whew! As always, I'm overly ambitious. I may not be planting all of these, we'll see what space allows. I hope to get my garden plan posted soon.