[Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Henry Osborne
hosbornejr at gmail.com
Mon Aug 8 12:02:53 UTC 2016
Good Morning Nella, very informative. Thanks for sharing.
henry
-----Original Message-----
From: Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 6:35 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Cc: Nella Foster
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Here is another definition with more information. It also explains the
difference between organic and GMO plants. I found this information at
www.underwoodgardens.com
Heirloom seeds, heirloom vegetables and heirloom gardening are becoming
increasingly popular today. Many people are turning or returning to home
gardening for a variety of reasons, and heirloom seeds figure prominently.
Some of these include an interest in fresh, local and healthy foods, others
need to stretch the family food budget, some need additional exercise -
preferably outdoors, and still others are searching for the lost flavors of
the family garden when they were growing up.
All of this interest has created some confusion as to what an heirloom seed
truly is. Some think that the term "heirloom" is the same as "organic".
Other folks think that anything that is not organic or heirloom means that
it is GMO. To make matters worse, some larger seed companies sell both
heirloom and hybrid seeds that are certified organic, further confusing the
matter.
Let's take a look at a few definitions so we can better understand what an
heirloom seed is compared to a hybrid or genetically modified seed.
An heirloom is anything of value (though not necessarily economic) to a
person, family or group passed down from one generation to other. Examples
are furniture, China, silver or seeds. An heirloom is generally considered
something worth passing down. An heirloom seed, therefore, is seed from a
plant that has been passed from one generation to another, carefully grown
and saved because it is considered valuable. The value could lie in its
flavor, productivity, hardiness or adaptability. Many heirlooms have been
grown, saved and passed down for more than 100 years. Some have history
reaching back 300 years or more. To have been saved and preserved for so
long, these seed varieties have shown their value to many people and
families for an extremely long time.
Most heirlooms have been saved and selected because they have the best
flavor and production in home and small market gardens. We get the benefit
of this long development cycle, as only the best producing, most flavorful,
most memorable and most dependable varieties have made the selection
throughout the years. Delicate, weak or fickle varieties are no longer with
us.
Open-pollinated is another term sometimes used interchangeably with
heirloom. They do not mean the same thing, as an open pollinated seed is
simply a variety where the seed can be harvested from the plant, saved,
replanted, and the same variety will re grow year after year. This is how we
have the heirloom varieties that we have today is because they are
open-pollinated. All heirloom seeds are open pollinated, but not all open
pollinated seeds are heirloom, as there are new open pollinated varieties
being introduced that are obviously not old enough to be considered
heirlooms. An example of this is the Oregon Spring tomato developed by Dr.
Baggett, Oregon State University through traditional plant breeding for
early germination and productivity in the cool Oregon spring.
Organic certification is the process of certifying a crop grown to a strict
uniform set of standards. The certification process includes inspections of
farm fields and processing facilities, detailed record keeping and periodic
testing of soil and water to ensure that growers and handlers are meeting
the standards which have been set. The USDA sets the standards, and the
criteria for meeting those standards. The certifying agency such as Oregon
Tilth, CCOF, QAI and OCAI verifies that the grower is meeting the standards
set by the USDA. In short, "organic" means only that a crop was grown to a
specific set of standards.
A hybrid seed is produced by artificially cross pollinating two genetically
different plants of the same species, such as two different tomatoes or two
varieties of corn. The cross pollination is done by hand, and a seed that is
saved will not grow true to either parent. Thus the farmer or gardener has
no choice but to purchase new seed each year. Hybrids are typically bred for
commercial use and profit to change the characteristic of the resulting
plants, such as higher yield, greater uniformity, more even ripening,
improved color and disease resistance. Flavor has only recently begun to be
addressed when selecting characteristics for new hybrids.
Hybrids originated in the 1920s and 1930s for small local commercial growers
who shipped their produce less than 50 miles to market, and needed more
consistent production for a steady supply of fresh produce to the markets.
Taste and freshness were still important than, as many people living in the
city were recent transplants from the country, and still remembered what
fresh produce tasted like. This is completely different from the hybrids of
today with the selected characteristics that have resulted in the iconic
colorful yet flavorless supermarket tomato that looks and tastes the same
year round.
Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO seed have been altered using DNA from
completely different species and organisms to give different traits such as
resistance to herbicides and acceptance of chemical fertilizers. Some GMO
corn, for instance, manufactures its own herbicide in its root structure.
Some DNA donors have come from fish, frogs and bacteria. The major crops
that are genetically modified are corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat. Sugar
beets and alfalfa have recently been deregulated, and potatoes are being
studied. Most common garden vegetables are not yet genetically modified
simply because the financial return in the market is not present yet.
Two of the better known benefits of heirloom seed include adaptability and
flavor. Some varieties of heirloom tomato have been known to adapt to a
specific location within as little as 2 to 3 growing seasons, showing better
vigor, better production, better flavor and increase disease resistance.
This is a result of saving the seed and replanting it year to year. Many
people come to heirlooms in search of flavors that they experienced as a
child. One of the leading characteristics of heirloom varieties is defined
by the depth of flavor that they produce. This single characteristic has
been one of the major reasons for the preservation of specific varieties
over great spans of time. This is probably one of the biggest reasons for
the resurgence of heirlooms in home gardens in the past 10 years, as once
people experience the amazing range and depths of flavors that heirlooms
offer, they are hooked. Taste is once again becoming a viable characteristic
in variety selection for the home garden instead of only production
quantity, uniformity, and disease resistance.
People are celebrating the fact that taste trumps volume. It's the classic
quantity vs. quality conundrum, with quality making a comeback.
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Joyce Kane via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 3:45 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Cc: blindhands at aol.com
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Very interesting. Do tell us more if you can.
Joyce
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2016 3:45 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists' <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nella Foster <jellybeanfarm at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Joyce:
Certain plants are classified as heirlooms. I will have to look up the
exact definition, but know it has something to do with how many years a
particular variety of plant has been used. There are many heirloom tomatoes
and other vegetables as well.
The Zebra tomato is one and so are my Arkansas traveler variety. I believe
the Cherokee Purple is to. Many gardeners are into saving seeds from plants
to keep old varieties around. There are heirloom corns, pumpkins and well
just about everything. There are also hybrid varieties. When you plant a
seed from a hybrid plant most likely you won't get the same type of plant
the next time.
I will look for more information about this to share with the group.
Nella
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Joyce Kane via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2016 11:52 AM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Cc: blindhands at aol.com
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
OK I'm not a farm girl. So you lost me when you asked about heirlooms,
tomatoes. And then you tell me the zebra is an heirlooms,, too! What the
heck does that mean???
Joyce
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Saturday, August 6, 2016 9:49 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists' <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Nella Foster <jellybeanfarm at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Henry, I think all the tomatoes I planted this year are heirlooms, but one
kind. I have already canned some diced tomatoes.
Even the Zebras are heirlooms.
Nella
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Henry Osborne via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2016 4:24 PM
To: List for blind crafters and artists
Cc: Henry Osborne
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Hi Nella, have you ever tried the Heirloom tomatoes, and are you going to
can or make sauce out of those different types of tomatoes?
henry
-----Original Message-----
From: Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2016 4:31 PM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Cc: Nella Foster
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
Courtney, sorry my phone died. I think there may be something wrong with
the battery.
The zebra tomatoes are a yellow color with green stripes when ripe. They
also have a different taste. I don't think I like it as well as the red
tomatoes. Last year I planted small yellow pear shaped ones that had a very
nice flavor.
This year I'm trying a variety call Cherokee Purple, but so far none are
ripe. They should be a mid-sized fruit that is a dark purple color. I'm
told the flavor is amazing, but don't know yet.
Nella
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Courtney Fulghum Smith via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Friday, August 05, 2016 2:30 PM
To: List for blind crafters and artists
Cc: Courtney Fulghum Smith
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] nella is a naughty girl!
>
> I just got off the phone with Nella, & she said she had just picked 10
> tomatoes while she was talking to me & that was just her first row. I
> think I'm gonna have to get a trip to Northwest Arkansas. Y'all have
> to ask her about her zebra tomatoes. Interesting!
> Cindy,
Where do you live? I need directions to your house, too. Lol
> Courtney
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