First Look: The Whole Seed Catalog Heirloom Seeds/Winter Sowing Update

Welcome Back. Today I will introduce you to a newly discovered heirloom seed source:

But first, about a week ago I wrote a post on Winter Sowing.

For those of you unfamiliar with this technique, it involves planting cold hardy seeds (including lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, even cold hard flowers) in containers and placing them outside in the cold and snow. My previous post has information regarding more veggies and flowers for which this technique will work.

At this point I might loose some readers. You probably think I am crazy. However, this actually does work!! I have been using this method for 4 or 5 years.

I started with 3 containers, I planted Romaine and Iceberg lettuce, and also 2 types of kale. When I first put them outside, there was quite a bit of snow.

Today I planted Swiss Chard and placed the container outside, This week has been quite mild and the snow has melted some. Tomorrow, however, Winter will return.

The weather changes may seem concerning to some, but the beauty of this technique is that the seeds will survive all of this and finally sprout when the temperatures warm in the Spring. I will post updates as we get closer to Spring.

Heirloom Seeds - The Whole Seed Catalog

Recently I came upon this seeed catalog which features heirloom seeds from The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Started in 1998, this company now sells over 1200 varieties of heirloom vegetable, flower and herb seeds. This is the largest selection in the US. They even offer a smaller free seed catalog.

I have been browsing through the website at the new varieties and have discovered some I want to try. Photos and descriptions are from the website.

Brad's Atomic Grape Tomato - Our Favorite tomato! 75 days. Elongated, large cherries in clusters. The color (and flavor!) is a full-blown assault on the senses—lavender and purple stripes, turning to technicolor olive-green, red, and brown/blue stripes when fully ripe. Really wild! Fruit holds well on the vine or off, making this amazing variety a good candidate for market growers. Olive green interior is blushed with red when dead-ripe. Crack-resistant fruit is extraordinarily sweet! Wispy foliage looks delicate but belies these plants’ rugged constitution and high productivity. This release from Wild Boar Farms won best in show at the 2017 National Heirloom Expo! These range some in size from a large grape to plum-sized. AMAZING!

Get Stuffed Tomato - A spectacular stuffing tomato with gorgeous golden streaked skin. This crisp fleshed and hollow variety is perfectly suited to stuffing, superb when eaten raw but also holds up beautifully when baked. Fruit averages 5-7 ounces each and is similar to a bell pepper in shape. The skin of this variety is gilded in light streaks of gold. Medium large with a strawberry-like seed cluster in the middle that is easy to scoop out. Delicious stuffed with various stuffings raw or cooked. Shaped like a bell pepper with crispy texture but great tomato flavor. Stands up well to powdery mildew. Originally bred by incredible plant breeder Tom Wagner!

Uzbek Golden Carrot - The delectable, lemon-yellow roots have a unique shape! These carrots have a fine-grained texture that is crispy and juicy with plenty of natural sugar. This variety hails from Uzbekistan and is popular across central Asia. Widely adaptable, this variety produced sweet roots even in the hot summer months during our Missouri greenhouse trials, but it is equally vigorous and tasty when grown in cool weather. Called “Mshak” in Uzbek, this variety is easy to grow in a range of soils and temperatures and the flavor is superb. We love this as a snacking or cooking carrot, and in Uzbekistan and Central Asia it is an essential ingredient in plov, or pilaf, a signature dish of that region.

Early Russian Cucumber - 55 days. This early-maturing heirloom was introduced in 1854 and produces loads of short, medium-green fruit over a very long season. Uniformly shaped, mild and sweet, they’re great for salads or pickles. The very hardy vines are perfect for northern areas.

Globo Onion - This award-winning giant exhibition onion has a super sweet complex flavor and is a beauty! The flask-shaped orbs are wrapped in a pale, straw-colored skin, and the flavor is divinely sweet with a spicy finish. It is perfect for raw eating, in salads, or for cooking, and a good storage onion.

Poona Kheera Cucumber - 60 days. The creamy, light green fruit has delicious, crisp and juicy flesh. This sweet and mild Indian variety hails from the city of Poonah, or Pune, the cultural capital of the state of Maharashtra, India. There it is popular in salads or juiced, and Pune street vendors sell these as a snack to beat the intense heat. They are simply divine when sliced and sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper. A potato-shaped fruit with yellow skin, it turns a handsome brown as it ripens. Disease resistant and very hardy, it is one of our best varieties. Vines produce early and the yield is very heavy.

As you can see, this catalog features some interesting varieties. i hoped I peaked your interest to give it a try. It soon will be March and getting closer to gardening season.

Thanks, as always, for reading.