Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

from another list
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Several weeks ago I was invited to speak to the Frankfort Garden Club
on Heirloom Tomatoes. Susan, a member of the group, interviewed me
for an article to be publisshed in the State Journal. I hope you
enjoy it.
Gary/Louisville, Kentucky

You Thought They Were Just Tomatoes:
Saving the Planet One Seed At A Time
Susan Carson Lambert

Ever wonder where the seed comes from for all those Heirloom tomatoes
you see at the Franklin County Farmer's Market? Many of those
tomatoes are ancient. To be labeled an heirloom the lineage must be
traceable for 50 years. The women of the Garden Club of Frankfort
were curious about heirloom tomatoes so they invited Gary Millwood –
otherwise knows as the "Tomato Man" to come talk with them at their
August 10th meeting. The moniker is well deserved after hearing his
talk about old tomato varieties. Millwood now lives in Eastern
Jefferson County


Millwood learned about farming from his grandparents who were tenant
farmers in South Carolina and his parents who were city folks, but
still grew flowers and vegetables. His life's work was in service to
the church. He worked for children's homes as an administrator and
stockman and gardener. He grew vegetables to feed the children and
staff at the home. In the 90's he had health problems which
eventually required him to retire from his staff position.


By 2000 he was recovered enough to begin growing again, but not on
the same scale as before. He began to focus on heirloom tomatoes. A
friend got him started by giving him some seed for the "Granny
Cantrell's German" tomato. He loved the tomato and that was it. He
was off trying to find more heirloom seeds. Once word got out that he
was collecting Kentucky tomato seeds people began sending him seed.
Gary shared a lot of source material with me to for writing this
article. It is amazing how many varieties of heirlooms there are just
here in Kentucky. Here are a couple examples: Kentucky Plate- potato-
leaf plant with a smooth pink beefsteak fruit, 1-1.5 lbs each.
Excellent taste and good yield. Resembles Brandywine. Indeterminate.
Here's another – Kentucky Amish Oxheart - Casey County Heirloom, very
large, red oxheart, great flavor, variable shape, regular leaf, solid
texture, good production. These are just two examples out of many
pages of reference material. This guy knows his heirloom tomatoes!

There are several organizations for saving seed, the one of the most
prevalent is the Seed Savers Exchange see: http://www.seedsavers.org/
SSE is a nonprofit organization that saves and shares the heirloom
seeds of garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed
down through generations. When people grow and save seeds, they join
an ancient tradition as stewards, nurturing our diverse, fragile,
genetic and cultural heritage.

The SSE organization is saving the world's diverse, but endangered,
garden heritage for future generations by building a network of
people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds
and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and
cultural diversity. Few gardeners comprehend the true scope of their
garden heritage or how much is in immediate danger of being lost
forever.

There are other organizations Millwood works with, the Appalachian
Heirloom Seed Conservancy AHSC is dedicated to preserving
Appalachia's edible heritage, this young non-profit has already added
50 regional varieties to its seed bank, and is preserving several
hundred more. Since so many of these rare heirlooms came as just a
few seeds from a single source, the AHSC is currently building
inventory. In time, they plan offer these seeds to AHSC members and
others. They published a quarterly newsletter, with info on what they
grow and how you can help preserve heirlooms from the Appalachians.
Their email is: KentuckySeeds@hotmail.com ACHS will have a conference
this fall Oct 5 – 7 in Berea at the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture
Center.

Gary is active in another organization the Cincinnati Heirloom Open
Pollinated Tomato Associate Growers CHOPTAG see:
http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/estech/mark/garden/choptag.htm They are an
organization specifically devoted to share their appreciation for
heirloom tomato gardening. They have plant swaps in the spring and
tomato tastings in the late summer. The most recent was August 18th.
Each grower puts all of her/his tomatoes on a picnic table and
everyone tastes the tomatoes.

According to the International Seed Saving Institute see:
http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi.html We are on the verge of losing
in one generation, much of the agricultural diversity humankind
created in the last 10,000 years. The International Seed Saving
Institute, a non-profit, non-governmental educational organization
was founded as a response. Central to their strategy is the seed
saving ritual, a ritual as old as civilization, a ritual in many ways
responsible for civilization. Saving heirloom seed, not just
tomatoes, is very important. Biodiversity in the agriculture
community is vital for all the same reasons as in natural
communities. If we grow only a few varieties of anything there is a
good chance the variety could be wiped out if some killing disease
came along which affected it. If there are many kinds of plants
growing with different strengths and proclivities - where one variety
may fail, another might be unaffected and flourish. Monocultures of
anything are generally not a good idea. For the welfare of our future
and to maintain our genetic heritage saving heirloom seeds is
imperative. If you save your own heirloom seeds you are saving money
because you don't have to purchase seed next spring, you can give
them as gifts (other gardeners love this) and you know what kind of
tomato you're going to get when you grow them next year - because
they are your own seeds. AND in a small way you are contributing to
the welfare of the planet.

Here is a site that tells how to save tomato seeds:
http://www.seedsave.org/issi/904/beginner.html#anchor005 .

Like Gary Millwood, I am a gardener. I have first hand experience
with heirloom tomatoes as I grew 5 varieties from seed in my
greenhouse this spring. They are coming in right now. They start and
grow well. They are not fussy and grow on strong vines and produce
like crazy. Unlike some hybrids I've grown that demand water and pout
and wilt when they don't get enough, these heirlooms have survived
this wretched summer we've all lived through and are pumping out so
many tomatoes its overwhelming.

If you have not experienced heirloom tomatoes (note I did not say
EAT) go down to the Franklin County Farmer's Market Tuesday, Thursday
or Saturday morning and pick some up. Heirloom tomatoes compared to
the insipid tomatoes available in the grocery store is like the
difference between driving a `66 GTO and a '66 Dodge Dart. Go for the
GTO and the Heirlooms!