Comments on: Expats: save those seeds! http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/ filosofia da una fattoria Umbra Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:27:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: admin http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2369 admin Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:23:25 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2369 It's always nice to make friends with a dog. All positives and no negatives.... so far. It’s always nice to make friends with a dog. All positives and no negatives…. so far.

]]> By: Dermott http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2368 Dermott Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:22:27 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2368 Speaking of green, there's also now a Cherokee Green, the result of yet another spontaneous colour gene mutation. Never grown it, but. You can have heirloom seeds galore next year. Heirloom seedlings even, if you couldn't be ducked starting the seeds yourself. Speaking of green, there’s also now a Cherokee Green, the result of yet another spontaneous colour gene mutation. Never grown it, but.

You can have heirloom seeds galore next year. Heirloom seedlings even, if you couldn’t be ducked starting the seeds yourself.

]]> By: admin http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2351 admin Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:01:21 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2351 <----- paint green <----- paint green

]]> By: Dermott http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2350 Dermott Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:50:59 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2350 Scrumptious ... scrumptious ... and scrumptious ... not to forget scrumptious ... The best thing about the US tomato contacts was access to the (as it were) new heirloom varieties. A guy called Craig LeHoulier, one of THE specialists, I think in one of the Carolinas, found a mahogany-coloured fruit on one of his heirloom Cherokee Purple plants. It was the result of a spontaneous mutation of a colour gene. He saved seeds, grew it out over about five years, stabilised it, and Cherokee Chocolate came into being as a variety. Grew some this year. Gorgeous. Scrumptious … scrumptious … and scrumptious … not to forget scrumptious …

The best thing about the US tomato contacts was access to the (as it were) new heirloom varieties. A guy called Craig LeHoulier, one of THE specialists, I think in one of the Carolinas, found a mahogany-coloured fruit on one of his heirloom Cherokee Purple plants. It was the result of a spontaneous mutation of a colour gene. He saved seeds, grew it out over about five years, stabilised it, and Cherokee Chocolate came into being as a variety. Grew some this year. Gorgeous.

]]> By: admin http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2344 admin Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:13:59 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2344 Tell us how good they were! :( Tell us how good they were! :(

]]> By: Dermott http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2343 Dermott Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:38:26 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2343 The US is the home of heirloom tomatoes, that's for sure. There are heaps of dedicated growers and some real specialists. And they're incredibly generous with both seeds and knowledge. I acquired most of my seeds, originally, from US growers. The US is the home of heirloom tomatoes, that’s for sure. There are heaps of dedicated growers and some real specialists. And they’re incredibly generous with both seeds and knowledge. I acquired most of my seeds, originally, from US growers.

]]> By: admin http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2341 admin Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:26:10 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2341 Yes, there's a long term effort to save heirloom seeds in the US. Thing is, many hybrids are either sterile or you can't tell what you might get if they're fertile, but the newer effort is not the government, but agribusiness making sure they get a return for their research. Perhaps what they are protecting isn't something we'll always want, anyway. We'll have nothing to fall back on if we don't save the older seeds. The one that IS sterile and IS dependent on the government, is tobacco in Italy. Don't even try if you haven't the license and the government plants. That dates back to the days of Papal control over large swathes of Italy. Umbria was a permitted tobacco growing area, and it still is, although it's such picky work the crop is disappearing. I knew tons of people in the US with veg gardens, but they bought seeds or plants for the most part. At least with weed gathering there are books showing what to gather and how to use it. (I have one and it's terrific.) If we lose these special breeds of ancient plants, we'll have no recourse for genetic material when something goes wrong with the hybrid system. Yes, there’s a long term effort to save heirloom seeds in the US. Thing is, many hybrids are either sterile or you can’t tell what you might get if they’re fertile, but the newer effort is not the government, but agribusiness making sure they get a return for their research. Perhaps what they are protecting isn’t something we’ll always want, anyway. We’ll have nothing to fall back on if we don’t save the older seeds.

The one that IS sterile and IS dependent on the government, is tobacco in Italy. Don’t even try if you haven’t the license and the government plants. That dates back to the days of Papal control over large swathes of Italy. Umbria was a permitted tobacco growing area, and it still is, although it’s such picky work the crop is disappearing.

I knew tons of people in the US with veg gardens, but they bought seeds or plants for the most part.

At least with weed gathering there are books showing what to gather and how to use it. (I have one and it’s terrific.) If we lose these special breeds of ancient plants, we’ll have no recourse for genetic material when something goes wrong with the hybrid system.

]]> By: Meg http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2340 Meg Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:10:37 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2340 Wasn\'t that an interesting article? It makes me wonder, though, because kitchen gardens are a strong tradition in France, and Spain (and presumably other countries as well, but not, clearly, the US so much, although it appears to be something of an issue here, as well); are they having the same problems? It\'s been a good series of articles on heirloom species, from turkeys to apples to garden seeds. On a different note, I remember the nonna in the village I worked in would go out and forage wild crops (for lack of a better word for it), and wonder if knowledge of edible wild species and where to find them is something that will be lost with the passing of a generation, too. Wasn\’t that an interesting article? It makes me wonder, though, because kitchen gardens are a strong tradition in France, and Spain (and presumably other countries as well, but not, clearly, the US so much, although it appears to be something of an issue here, as well); are they having the same problems? It\’s been a good series of articles on heirloom species, from turkeys to apples to garden seeds.

On a different note, I remember the nonna in the village I worked in would go out and forage wild crops (for lack of a better word for it), and wonder if knowledge of edible wild species and where to find them is something that will be lost with the passing of a generation, too.

]]> By: Dermott http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2337 Dermott Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:31:06 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2337 My two-legged dog saves his heirloom tomato seeds. It got to a point in Australia where a company based in Sydney was producing and selling a couple of vegies from seeds under licence from an American company. The American company had bred miniature capsicum that were, effectively, patented. The seeds were obviously sterile to prevent saving them. If you somehow managed to find fertile seeds somewhere, you would be sued. They also grew and marketed an interesting green called broccolini which was developed, originally, in Japan and licensed in the same way. My two-legged dog saves his heirloom tomato seeds.

It got to a point in Australia where a company based in Sydney was producing and selling a couple of vegies from seeds under licence from an American company. The American company had bred miniature capsicum that were, effectively, patented. The seeds were obviously sterile to prevent saving them. If you somehow managed to find fertile seeds somewhere, you would be sued.

They also grew and marketed an interesting green called broccolini which was developed, originally, in Japan and licensed in the same way.

]]> By: admin http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/comment-page-1/#comment-2334 admin Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:13:38 +0000 http://www.judithgreenwood.com/thinkonit/expats-save-those-seeds/#comment-2334 We can't know unless we get out and ask, yes? We've lots of anziani with orti here. I want to meet them anyway. We can’t know unless we get out and ask, yes?

We’ve lots of anziani with orti here. I want to meet them anyway.

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