(April 27, 2017) When purchasing heirloom vegetables from Assateague Coastal Trust’s 18th annual Native Plant Sale, buyers will not only be stocking their garden with delicious produce, they will also be helping to preserve and propagate special seeds and bolster biodiversity to boot.
This year, for the first time, ACT purchased its vegetable seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, a Missouri-based nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing seeds. They maintain a collection of more than 20,000 heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable, herb and plant varieties, and are committed to ensuring the health and viability of the collection for generations of growers to come. They preserve most of their seeds in an underground freezer vault at their historic farm.
Why all the fuss about saving seeds? Over the last 100 years, the world has lost about 75 percent of its edible plant varieties. A food system that is dependent on such a limited variety of crops is considered extremely fragile.
The increasingly industrialized agricultural system is also a major culprit, as the chemicals and machines that it requires have led farmers and scientists to breed for uniformity in plants and animals. The growing use in the U.S. of genetically engineered plant varieties has also threatened biodiversity. In 2013, 170 million acres – or almost half of all cropland – of genetically engineered crops were planted in the U.S., using patent-protected seeds that cannot be saved and planted again next year.
The good news is that vegetables and fruits grown from heirloom seeds often produce more colorful and tasty treats, many with intriguing names and fascinating lineages.
For example, take Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter Tomato. This large beefsteak fruit is very meaty with few seeds and a roasted, fruity and slightly salty flavor. A radiator repairman in West Virginia named Charlie Byles developed this tomato in the 1930s. Byles was a good marketer and sold his seedlings for $1 each. After six years, he was able to pay off the $6,000 mortgage on his house.
Even more interesting to for those on the Eastern Shore is the Fish Pepper, a derivative of Serrano or cayenne peppers. These seeds were brought by slaves from the Caribbean and then planted by African-American farmers in the Chesapeake region. The Fish Peppers flourished in the second half of the 19th century when they became the secret ingredient in sauces used by crab and oyster houses throughout the region.
After disappearing in the early 20th century, the seeds resurfaced in the 1940s when an African-American folk painter in Pennsylvania traded some for honeybees, thinking their stings would cure his arthritis. Passed down through the beekeeper’s family, the Fish Pepper seeds were eventually made available to the public again in 1995 through the “Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook.”
Now the Fish Pepper, the Mortgage Lifter Tomato and many other descendants of storied seeds are available through the ACT Native Plant Sale. Consider the smooth and velvety Winter Luxury Squash that makes the best pumpkin pie in the land, or the luxurious Noir des Carmes Melon, whose seeds came via Carmelite monks in France.
View the complete selection on ACT’s website at www.ActForBays.org. Pre-order veggies, fruits, herbs and native perennials before they sell out. Pick up orders, or select from the remaining varieties available on the day of the sale, Saturday, May 6 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ACT office on 9842 Main Street in Berlin. For more information, contact ACT at 410-629-1538.
This year, for the first time, ACT purchased its vegetable seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange, a Missouri-based nonprofit dedicated to saving and sharing seeds. They maintain a collection of more than 20,000 heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable, herb and plant varieties, and are committed to ensuring the health and viability of the collection for generations of growers to come. They preserve most of their seeds in an underground freezer vault at their historic farm.
Why all the fuss about saving seeds? Over the last 100 years, the world has lost about 75 percent of its edible plant varieties. A food system that is dependent on such a limited variety of crops is considered extremely fragile.
The increasingly industrialized agricultural system is also a major culprit, as the chemicals and machines that it requires have led farmers and scientists to breed for uniformity in plants and animals. The growing use in the U.S. of genetically engineered plant varieties has also threatened biodiversity. In 2013, 170 million acres – or almost half of all cropland – of genetically engineered crops were planted in the U.S., using patent-protected seeds that cannot be saved and planted again next year.
The good news is that vegetables and fruits grown from heirloom seeds often produce more colorful and tasty treats, many with intriguing names and fascinating lineages.
For example, take Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter Tomato. This large beefsteak fruit is very meaty with few seeds and a roasted, fruity and slightly salty flavor. A radiator repairman in West Virginia named Charlie Byles developed this tomato in the 1930s. Byles was a good marketer and sold his seedlings for $1 each. After six years, he was able to pay off the $6,000 mortgage on his house.
Even more interesting to for those on the Eastern Shore is the Fish Pepper, a derivative of Serrano or cayenne peppers. These seeds were brought by slaves from the Caribbean and then planted by African-American farmers in the Chesapeake region. The Fish Peppers flourished in the second half of the 19th century when they became the secret ingredient in sauces used by crab and oyster houses throughout the region.
After disappearing in the early 20th century, the seeds resurfaced in the 1940s when an African-American folk painter in Pennsylvania traded some for honeybees, thinking their stings would cure his arthritis. Passed down through the beekeeper’s family, the Fish Pepper seeds were eventually made available to the public again in 1995 through the “Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook.”
Now the Fish Pepper, the Mortgage Lifter Tomato and many other descendants of storied seeds are available through the ACT Native Plant Sale. Consider the smooth and velvety Winter Luxury Squash that makes the best pumpkin pie in the land, or the luxurious Noir des Carmes Melon, whose seeds came via Carmelite monks in France.
View the complete selection on ACT’s website at www.ActForBays.org. Pre-order veggies, fruits, herbs and native perennials before they sell out. Pick up orders, or select from the remaining varieties available on the day of the sale, Saturday, May 6 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ACT office on 9842 Main Street in Berlin. For more information, contact ACT at 410-629-1538.