Best Heirloom Sweet Corn

By Tom Meade A Scholar with Mud on His Boots Discover what inspires internationally known and respected food historian, professor, plant breeder and seed saver, William Woys Weaver.

Many of the heirloom varieties I grow have a long season and don't ripen until late summer. The fruits remain green, even when ripe, and have a subtle striping on the skin. Early Girl, however, is my stand-by for early season production.

The round sweet red ½” fruits are great for salads and are a prolific producer. Introduced in 1923, the Abraham Lincoln is a red sweet tomato that produces clusters of round 1 – 3 lb.

I use a product called ReVita Compost Plus with an N-P-K ratio of 3-3-3. Here are my results (unscientific as they may be): Truthfully, there were only subtle differences in the growth rate and production of all the fertilized plants.

Many of the wonderful gifts of the garden that we take for granted were unknown to the east before the conquest of the land now called the Americas.The native people from the Americas had a wonderful and healthy variety of foods to consume, many of them...

My mom reached out to me across the Rainbow Bridge with a special rose to help me through the worst time of my life. I miss her funny way of dressing and the way she wore curlers and bobby pins in her hair.I miss her cooking, as much as we could stand...

“Because they're well-adapted to growth under extreme environmental conditions, the wild relatives of our preferred crops have the potential to fuel ongoing plant breeding efforts,” Burke said.

The fruits can be either round or elongated and weigh 15 to 20 pounds each on average. They weigh 10 pounds or more and have hard, bumpy skin. It's a novelty pumpkin with an excellent flavor.

Many rose hybridizers used the rose in their breeding programs. Ruth Knopf, an authority on Noisettes, once told me, "Southeners should not speak French. The first Noisette was found on a plantation in Charleston, South Carolina in the 1800s.In case you...

This is not a time for "waste not, want not." You want the best. Whatever you want, just choose the best examples of what you're saving. Add a half-cup of water to the container and set it aside in the garage or shed, for 3 to 5 days.

Gary passed away on May 29, 2013, but his legacy and love for tomatoes will live on in those who learned from him. In Romania, people can their own tomato juice for the winter. My family and I don't crave fresh tomatoes tomatoes until summer, when we...

Tags Apiaceae family , carrot , celery , heirloom , Lists , parsnip It's one of my favorites. According to Garry and Wendy Lowe, of Twin Meadows Organics Farm in British Columbia, it's one of the sweetest carrot varieties and can be used for multiple...

Bubonic plague was carried by rats and humans; malaria by mosquitos; brucellosis (undulant fever) in cows, goats and buffalo and then becomes tuberculosis in humans.) Inhabitants of the Americas relied more heavily on a plant-based diet than Europeans...

They're nice, but my heart belongs to two varieties of heirloom beets: Chioggia and Golden. Beet the Competition To grow the best beets on the block (no matter which variety strikes your fancy) here are a few growing tips: Each beet seed is actually a...

Within this niche, one of my most successful crops has been heirloom tomatoes. Each variety is truly unique, exhibiting a special taste, color, texture or shape. All these factors, and more, go into setting a price.

Named by the Carmelite monks who first grew this luscious fruit, it's at its succulent best at the Feast of St. Madeleine in France and mid- to late July in North America. Discovered as seedlings growing wild in Berkshire, England, it was distributed...

Some examples areMedium-sized rugosas grow approximately four to five feet tall; includingIn addition to their recurrent blooms, most rugosas also set lots of rose hips in late summer that remain on the plant until spring.

Another similar type is 'Atlantis.'If you choose to grow your own kale from seed, you can treat it much like you do cabbage. This is especially true for the thick-leaved types.Many people don't like the bitter overtones in the taste of kale which, for...

She is tied into each and every one of the iris that I have here now from her garden. They have been here, they are going to be here, and they are here to stay.These plants bloom. This goes for style, colors, plants, and yes, even the iris they choose...

Summertime, with lots of time on our hands, found us doing a lot of spending. Once the spending started it was like a slow leak. He was trying to teach us to save. We got some jars, put slits in the lids, and made our first deposits.

It then takes someone like Bill Best to make it his life's work to collect them and make them available to us.Bill Best is well-known in seed saving circles for his dedication to Appalachian food ways.

A light colored mold will start to form on the surface, and when this coat gets really thick or bubbles start to rise, add water to double the mixture and stop the process. National Seed Swap Day is the last weekend in January.

We thought that a feature spotlighting some of our member's favorites would make a nice Saturday article for our readers. For those unfamiliar with the diversity of tomato flavors, there are even detailed descriptions of how each tomato tastes.

Corn starch is used as a binder in products such as energy bars. It is also the source of high fructose corn syrup that is often added to many foods that don't really require extra sweetners.

Before planting iris in the garden, make sure you have visited thefor advice. Also make sure to check out all vendors you are thinking about buying iris from in theto ensure that you are buying the best you can get.- This maroon historical Iris was bred...

The fruit is open at the bottom exposing five seed boxes. The branches may be contorted or very angular and the wild varieties may have thorns. The Medlar is a small, deciduous tree of about 20 feet in height and width with a broad crown and heavy foliage.

Growing up, I'd see the Farmer's Almanac floating around during garden planning. For someone like me, this can become very complex. Biodynamics can be both challenging and rewarding, but thinking of the soil as another organism that must be cared for...