The Garden Begins

Basil

There are three reasons why I started seeds early this year. First of all, because some plants take longer to make food than the growing season in Wisconsin allows for. So, I need to have little plants, not seeds, ready to go into the ground after that last frost - which is projected to happen in early May. Secondly, I chose to start my own plants instead of buying them because I found some very specific kinds of food I'd like to try that I may not be able to find for sale. And finally, who doesn't want fresh basil as soon as humanly possible?

I ordered most of my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (based in Missouri) and Jung's (based in Wisconsin). Some of my seeds are heirlooms, and some are hybrids.

A little about Baker Creek and this "heirloom seed" concept. In the past, I've found myself intimidated by super cool garden people who throw the this word around, but no longer! Fancy word, simple concept. With an heirloom seed, you can save the seed from the plant one year, plant it the next year, and get the same thing. There is another type of seed called a hybrid (remember freshman bio) which is a cross between two different parental varieties which will produce seeds that can't reproduce themselves exactly. If you plant the seed of a hybrid seed, it may be sterile and not grow fruit at all, or it may grow fruit with only the attributes of one of it's grandparents. Hybrids are popular because plant breeders create them for very specific attributes like resistance against a certain disease, or very uniform fruit. So, if you get hooked on a specific hybrid tomato, you have to buy the seeds each year - a great way for seed companies to make money - fair enough. With Baker Creek, if you buy a seed packet from them, you will theoretically never need to order that same seed again because you can save it yourself! It sounds like a self-sacrificing business model, and yet their business is expanding rapidly. The owners of Baker Creek travel the world looking for traditional varieties of fruits and veggies, along with discovering heirloom varieties in little known pockets of our own country. Not only will an heirloom seed produce itself all over again, but it is also typically a older variety that our grandparents grew, Thomas Jefferson (a lettuce enthusiast FYI), or perhaps even the Pilgrims.

Most seed companies sell a few heirloom varieties along with the hybrids they've developed like Jung's or Burpee. Local farmer markets are a good place to buy heirloom transplants, if you want to save yourself some work.

About two weeks ago, I dropped some seeds into a "seed starting mix" and let them warm up in the sun room. With the unusually warm spring weather we've had, I've been able to bring the seedlings outside during the day for them to grow in the sunlight and get strong in the breeze.

Amish Paste Tomato seedlings - from Baker Creek - and originally an Amish heirloom from Wisconsin!