Heirloom plants play an invaluable role in our history, and in spite of the fast that many are lost each year, these varieties may well be the key to our future. Imagine never having the choice to savour the guava-like flavour of a Roxbury Russett, one of America's olders apple, or living in the world where the only sweet corn is the super sweet hybrid developed for the global food system. Plant genetic riches are lost with each heirloom's extinction, but, science aside, when it comes to the garden and orchard, diversity enhances the interest, intrigue and flavour.
Many heirloom are but a phone call away at your local seed house; many more are available in abandoned orchards and gardens, or in the hands of heirloom enthusiasts everywhere. If you're looking to grow something old and really unusual, you might even need to do a bit of detective work, but the work will be paid off. You will be growing a piece of history :]
Eight easy steps to plant your own Heirloom seeds:
Instructions:
1. Purchase heirloom seeds that are adapted to your growing conditions. Your county extension office, a nursery or an heirloom-seed catalog are all sources of information on seeds that grow where you live.
2. Prepare the growing medium for your heirloom seeds. The easiest way is to buy some seed-starter mix. It is light and sterile, just the way seeds need the soil to be. But the master gardeners at Ohio State University also offer a recipe you can make at home by mixing equal parts of sterile soil, sand and peat moss. Sterility is important to prevent fungal diseases that seeds and seedlings can't fight off.
3. Fill your seed tray with the starter mix of your choice. Leave about 3/4 inch of space between the soil line and the rim of the container so it doesn't overflow when you water the seeds.
4. Moisten the growing medium thoroughly. By pre-watering the soil, you avoid dislodging the seeds with a strong water flow right after you sow them.
5. Insert a pencil into the soil to the depth recommended for planting each seed. Sow the seeds in the pencil holes. In general, the ideal planting depth for seeds is equal to twice their size. But seed companies usually print that information on their seed packets.
6. Cover the planting holes with seed-starter mix and spray the surface with water.
7. Place a clear lid or a piece of plastic film snugly over the seed tray to keep the environment warm and humid. Moisten the soil as you notice the surface becoming dry.
8. Remove the lid as soon as the first seedling sprouts. Maintain the seed tray in indirect sunlight or place a grow lamp 6 inches above the tops of the seedlings to raise your new plants.
5. Insert a pencil into the soil to the depth recommended for planting each seed. Sow the seeds in the pencil holes. In general, the ideal planting depth for seeds is equal to twice their size. But seed companies usually print that information on their seed packets.
6. Cover the planting holes with seed-starter mix and spray the surface with water.
7. Place a clear lid or a piece of plastic film snugly over the seed tray to keep the environment warm and humid. Moisten the soil as you notice the surface becoming dry.
8. Remove the lid as soon as the first seedling sprouts. Maintain the seed tray in indirect sunlight or place a grow lamp 6 inches above the tops of the seedlings to raise your new plants.
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