Best Heirloom Tomatoes

Doug knew ‘Potato Top' was being planted in more Pittsburgh area gardens each year, but he's been surprised by its growing popularity coast to coast and around the world.The history of this heirloom makes it special, and its widespread success makes...

This church began to suffer substantial financial losses and the land once used to grow vegetables of every kind including the Brevaria was sold to developers to create housing and market stalls.

Little if any attention was paid to how the crops actually tasted. Eggplant from Asia and hot peppers from the Caribbean. Europe was a mess. Hybrid vegetables served a purpose. The harvest was preserved or eaten, and a connection to ancestors long gone...

The goal was to encourage local seed exchanges – and to create a means in which people could meet to exchange those seeds. They felt the need to address what they felt was the lack of diversity and cultural awareness of modern Southern gardeners and...

You'd better be a big-time radish fan to partake in a bite, but they are an easy, excellent over-wintering root crop and stunning to behold once harvested. You can check with the following companies whose catalog photos I used, or try theBlack Sea Man...

The attractive dry beans are slight smaller than pinto beans and are brown to tan in color. I would love to know what your favorite heirloom pole beans are! This European heirloom is an active climber that will grow to amazing heights.

It first appeared in Heirloom Farm , a recent issue of the Popular Farming Series. One colorful combination he sells is a rainbow radish assortment. Growers are just as knowledgeable about Brandywine's lack of productivity and that the fruits sometimes...

With beautiful photos and in-depth articles, Heirloom Farm & Garden is a must-have for every garden and food enthusiast. “Seed savers cite several reasons for preserving the garden's offspring: assuring genetic diversity and thereby ensuring food security;...

Many of the heirloom varieties I grow have a long season and don't ripen until late summer. I grow at least three plants every year. It felt like a waste, but the flavor and texture of this tomato could not be beat.

Dahlias were grown in Mexico and the tubers eaten. The food was hardly primitive in many areas if the people settled down and planted. The wonders of corn were born out ofMayan legend and were eaten from the Inca north into areas ofNew England.

Long Season Peach produces 8 -oz yellow-pink hearty fruits that keep from 1 – 3 months in storage after ripening 95 days after planting. The fruit is great for salads. You can enjoy the history of these heirloom tomatoes as much as their enduring flavors.

Again, I added a cup at the start of the season and then another at the end of July. 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.

You see, the bushes were put in by the gardeners as a request from my mom, and not really part of the landscape picture.Every week, they were subjected to men wielding trimmers, hoes, rakes, giant power mowers, blowers and a tight schedule.Gradually,...

We need to find ways to tap into those traits more effectively.” Jackson, Burke and other organizers of the Crop Wild Relative Genomics meeting held in California in late 2012 wrote the commentary with lead author and Cornell University professor Susan...

The history of many of the heirloom pumpkin varieties is long, and the breeding efforts to develop new boutique choices continue. He also finds that it has moderate resistance to insects and diseases.

Caging or staking tomatoes rather than letting them sprawl could also improve air flow as well as getting the foliage further away from soil that may harbor disease. This year, my tomato seedlings got spotted with early blight before they were even planted...

It is a lovely rose, and one that I grow in my garden (see photo at left).Noisettes as a rule are extremely fragrant. Ruth Knopf, an authority on Noisettes, once told me, "Southeners should not speak French.

Repeat until all the pulp is gone and you have clear water and clean seeds.Drain them well; I pour them through a coffee filter. To separate the seeds, carefully remove the film and mold.

Dating back to the 1800s, its unique shape and size are eye-catching, and it matures in as little as 50 days, making it a great choice for impatient gardeners like me. According to Garry and Wendy Lowe, of Twin Meadows Organics Farm in British Columbia,...

They will produce tomatoes that reflect the parentage of the hybrid.Select your seed source from a healthy tomato plant. Why not give it a try!Questions? Cover the seeded towel with 1/4 inch of the starting mix, water, and place the container in bright...

Planting a row of beet seeds every two weeks through early summer and into early July, allows for continual harvests well into the autumn. Beets are now a staple of my summer garden, and each season, I enjoy experimenting with a different variety.

As you gain credibility as a grower, you will be able to add extra crops and feel more comfortable reaching out to additional customers. Determinate types will stop vine growth after the plant flowers.

Where did they go? Therein lies a tale. Also known as Belle Angevine and Uvedale's St. Germaine, it originated sometime prior to 1690 and may date to Roman days. Perry pears are not for casual munching, although some were eaten and used for cooking in...

Some hybrids won't produce viable seed, but others will. One can't blame the big farmers for growing the hybrid varieties that produce more and bigger vegetables. Photo by Rick Gush Tuscan costoluto heirloom tomatoes are green when ripe.

This is good to eat when you have a sore throat.(This is from an old 16th century recipe used to make ose hip tart)Simmer the prepared rose hips in water until soft -- about 10-15 minutes.

The leafy green hails from all over the globe, has been called everything from "the new beef" to "the new spinach"...and it's even incited a lawsuit.First, let's get one thing out of the way: there is ornamental kale, and there is culinary kale.

There is an iris named that, or there will be---just wait. Will their main focus be the historical or the modern? At one time or another each gardener must make the choice. Plants that were not passed along at some point are gone.