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Welcome to Pokyheirlooms 2009

Update May 12, 2009-------Its time to start thinking tomatoes.

I will be selling at The Farmer's Market starting Saturday the 16th (weather permitting).

This is a is a list of the varieties that I have available this year. Some are  very limited with no more than 2 plants.

    Amish Paste

         Arbuznyi      1 plant avaliable $10.00 extremely rare

         Anait

       Annas Noir

         Aunt Rubys Green

    Beams

        Big Rainbow

        Black Plum

        Black Prince

                                                     Box Car Willie                                                
   Black from Tula

       Black Master

        Black Krim

        Black Russian

        Black Zebra

         Bulls Heart

         Beefsteak Red

      Cherokee Purple

              Carbon

         Chico

         Chocolate Amazon

              Cour Di Blue

                                              Currant Sweet Pea                                        

           Earliana

         Green Zebra

            German Black

         Golden Jubilee

         Grandpas Golf balls

        Grappoli Di Inverno

        Italian Pear Piriform

         Jerrys German Giant

     Manitoba

         Marjara

           Matts Wild Cherry

         Marglobe

         Mortgage Lifter

         Mrs Maxwells Big Italian

     Mountain Princess

         Muskavich

         Noir Charbonouse

        Paul Robeson

         Pantano Romanesco

        Pineapple

         Prudence Purple

        Purple Calabash

       Red Pear

        Rutgers

         Sarah Schwartze

         Southern Night

         San Maranzano

                                                                                                        Summer Cider                                                                                                 
                                                                                            

                  Tiffen Mennonite      

Tiny Tim

         Vintage Wine

             Wonderlight

        White Tomesol

              Lucky Leprechaun

        Zapotec

I encourage you to browse through the listings for the descriptions and get a wish list ready.

This site contains a list of heirlooms that I have seed in stock for. It is intended to give you a detailed description of the varieties that I will hopefully be offering for sale on a limited basis at my home and possibly some other venues that I will list as it gets closer to the planting season.. I will probably not be planting more that 12 varieties myself so if there is something you want specifically, please email.

 As always I appreciate any recycled 1 gallon or 4" pots, as these have no business in the land fill.

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about gardening and I will be happy to try and help.

pokyheirlooms@yahoo.com

By planting heirloom varieties of tomatoes, peppers or any vegetable or flower, we are looking thru a window into the past. We are experiencing our horticultural history and are able to continue this tradition. This does not mean that you have to save the seeds (I strongly encourage it and will gladly tell you how) and pass them along to future generations, but just by planting these varieties you will be given the opportunity to glimpse something special and unique.

 
There are many good explanations as to what qualifies as an Heirloom. I found many explanations in books and on the web. This is from another site and I believe that it summarizes the consensus.

So, What is an Heirloom?

• The variety of seed should be able to reproduce itself. For example, one variety of tomato that has been saved for generation after generation of plantings will produce that same variety of tomato.
• Antique seeds are always self-pollinated or open-pollinated and will produce plants with the same traits planting after planting, generation after generation. Hybrid seeds will not be able to reproduce plants with exactly the same traits.
• The variety of seed must have been introduced at least 50 years ago, though some heirloom gardeners say they must be at least 100 years old. In recent years, however, varieties with shorter histories are considered heirloom because of their uniqueness.
• The particular cultivar, or variety, must have a special history. Perhaps one can trace the plant's origins to a particular region of the country. Or, perhaps seeds have been saved by farming families who can recall that their great grandparents brought them from Europe.

Many people have become so use to the tasteless,  boring produce that they are able to obtain at the supermarket. How can a tomato that is so red and plump taste like mushy paste?  This does not even begin to describe the Frankenfood that is being forced upon the consumer. The introduction of genetically modified foods has become rampant and the numbers of these will only increase. Why anyone would want to subject them self or their family to produce or by products that has had Roundup, animal genes or whatever else that corporate America see fit engineered into its genetic makeup leaves my aghast. 

I would like to offer a challenge...instead of the Early Girls and the other hybrids available at the local "box" stores, try something "old". I believe that you will find stronger true flavors and you will be surprised by the many wonderful colors, shapes, sizes and they are no more difficult to grow than any of the "new" hybrids.

Realizing that you are holding a plant or seed that contains all the genetic codes of the original plant, which could be over 100 years old, can bring wonder and excitement.  It is a tiny treasure chest that brings forth wondrous life. By growing heirlooms you give yourself the chance to reconnect with history.

There are many web sites that are devoted to the preservation of these tiny treasures and many thanks are owed to the efforts of seed saver organizations. Without them many varieties, some lost for generations, would not have been rediscovered, preserved and made available to gardeners and seed companies. So no matter if you come down to the Pocatello Farmer's Market and get your plants from me or you accidentally find a variety or two at the local "box" store, I strongly encourage you to embrace the "old".