Seeds...

[hsifeng]

So garden sprites, what lovely heirloom seeds should we try out? I am interested in trying to find some types that might be historically "accurate" for us... *grin*

Edit 3/16/09:  Found my old list of "historic foods" from the RWA workshop I ran last year. Now, to figure out what modern varieties might "relate" to these historic ones...

 

Vegetable greens (Wortes): cabbage, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, chicory, endive, radicchio, spinach, sorrel, watercress, lamb's lettuce, dandelion, nettles, rocket, mustard greens, turnip greens, beet greens.

Roots: rapes (turnips) - the staple, salsify, radish, celery root, pasturnakes (carrots and parsnips), skyrwates/skirrits (water parsnip), scallions, onions, garlic, leeks.

Beans and Peas: peas, split peas, white beans, fava beans (broad beans), lentils, chickpeas (garbanzos).

Stalks and Vegetable Fruits: asparagus, celery, fennel, mushrooms, marrows/gourds (mostly varieties we would call summer squash and zucchini), cucumber, eggplant, artichoke, olives.

Grains: wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, rice, millet, spelt.

Fruit: apple, crabapple, pear, quince (very common), cherry, peach, apricot, nectarine, damson (plum) and prune, fig, date, pomegranate, orange, lemon, grapes, raisins, melon (such as honeydew and muskmelon/canteloupe), rhubarb, strawberry, currants (very common), gooseberry, bilberry, wild blackberries (but not cultivated), mulberries.

Nuts: almonds (a staple), filberts (hazelnuts), chestnuts, walnuts, acorns, sesame seeds, pistachios, pinenuts.

 

Anyone know what (if anything) they plant in the Kentwell gardens? I know that Monticello has a terrific historic garden, but that is at least partly because Thomas Jefferson's big thing was farming.

 

"Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever He had a chosen people, whose breasts He has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue."—Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1785

Found my old list of "historic foods" from the RWA workshop I ran last year. Now, to figure out what modern varieties might "relate" to these... Anyone know what (if anything) they plant in the Kentwell gardens? I know that Montechello has a terrific historic garden, but that is at least partly because Thomas Jefferson's big thing was farming.

Comments

[hsifeng.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, lots and lot of root vegetables!

I will check in with your tomato resource - thank you for the hint!

There are also a lot of “greens” and “worts” mentioned in many historic recipes (I have heard of folks using everything from chards to collards to cover these). We are in the process of procuring the necessary boxed and “anti-slugo” brass tape to set up our lettuce seeds next weekend. Perhaps I should look around to see if I can find some chard to add to the mix…

I will have to remember to make some lovely Fleischkuche/Bierocks when the cabbage comes in!