Saving the seeds of tomorrow - newspaper article

[Tania]

I am getting some press attention lately - thanks to the local gardener who bought some tomato plants from me this spring, he had a tour of my garden, and he thought that more people should know about my garden and seed saving obsession. So he contacted the local newspapers...

http://www.thenownews.com/Saving+see...089/story.html, published today in 'The Now News', a local newspaper for Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Belcarra and Anmore residents of the Greater Vancouver area.

I wish they also included the bit I shared about the Dwarfs, and the plants and the seeds the folks have been sharing with me, but they decided to focus on my seed collection here. Perhaps another article next month... if they decide to continue.

I also wish I had some ripe tomatoes to showcase for the newspaper... Well.

Tatiana

[Tania]

Here is the Photo gallery the newspaper photographer took in my garden:

http://www.thenownews.com/galleries/...853/story.html

Click on 'More images' to see them all.

[Jeannine, some of these are your Dwarfs . Unfortunately some of names were not written correctly. Darn! I thought 'Wild Fred' did not need a spelling... lol]

[mysidx]

Well done Tania, nice article.

[Nader]

Thank you very much for posting this Your dedication and passion is inspring. I'd be sharing in the joy of this year's harvest, but the deer jumped my fence and obliterated my garden this year (although, they do not eat ground cherries!). Next year, I'm hiring guards!!!

Much love from Saltspring Island,

Nader

[Tania]

Originally Posted by Nader

Thank you very much for posting this Your dedication and passion is inspring. I'd be sharing in the joy of this year's harvest, but the deer jumped my fence and obliterated my garden this year (although, they do not eat ground cherries!). Next year, I'm hiring guards!!!

Much love from Saltspring Island,

Nader

Thank you Nader!

Our electric fence has been keeping the deer away since 2005.

[mdvpc]

Tania

Great story!

[tjg911]

nice story and photos tania. i bet the locals are scratching their heads, white tomatoes, black tomatoes?

tom

[Patrina_Pepperina]

Thanks for sharing this with us Tania! Maybe they just wanted to concentrate on the angle of saving heirloom varieties and new dwarf varieties don't sit well into that theme. Of course someday they will be heirloom varieties too

At least they included pics of your dwarfs. Is the one they refer to as "Mr White" actually Dwarf Mr Snow? The foliage seems rugose but it's too hard to see the plant structure. They made a mistake calling Wild Fred "Wilfred" tho.

Patrina

[Tania]

Originally Posted by Patrina_Pepperina

Thanks for sharing this with us Tania! Maybe they just wanted to concentrate on the angle of saving heirloom varieties and new dwarf varieties don't sit well into that theme. Of course someday they will be heirloom varieties too

At least they included pics of your dwarfs. Is the one they refer to as "Mr White" actually Dwarf Mr Snow? The foliage seems rugose but it's too hard to see the plant structure. They made a mistake calling Wild Fred "Wilfred" tho.

Patrina

Patrina,

You got a good point, I have not thought about it, as I like to think about these dwarfs as 'new heirlooms in making'. They are kids of the heirloom parents after all, and I am sure they inherited the taste!

Yes the names were written down incorrectly - although I am sure the photographer wrote 'Mr. Snow', somehow it turned into Mr. White. The Wild Fred I thought I did not need to spell for her... funny that she 'corrected' it to 'Wilfred'. Maybe my accent is to blame!

The pepper should be 'Slonovo Uvo'. I should be holding a label next to each plant... Next time I will

[Tania]

Originally Posted by tjg911

nice story and photos tania. i bet the locals are scratching their heads, white tomatoes, black tomatoes?

tom

Yep, this is still a novelty here, despite the fact that the local farmers markets do offer black and striped tomatoes (bland tasting for some reason, not sure why - they do not reveal which variety they sell, which is sad).

Interesting that it's the heart-shaped tomatoes that the locals have never seen before.

When I was selling the leftover plants, people were asking me for 'roma' tomatoes, and I did not have them, so I was offering them the hearts instead. I hope they will be liked (if they get to maturity this year).

[nctomatoman]

Very, very nice indeed - congratulations!

[ddsack]

Very nice article, I love the pictures of you by your bolting lettuce! This recognition is well deserved and surely a bright spot in your summer troubles this year.

[Tania]

Originally Posted by ddsack

Very nice article, I love the pictures of you by your bolting lettuce! This recognition is well deserved and surely a bright spot in your summer troubles this year.

I love my lettuce patch - it is surely going to seed, and it still looks beautiful. I will be getting lots of new lettuce seeds this year, yay!

Legenda Tarasenko is one of the survived plants on my balcony, along with Alice. Legenda is coloring up, so I will get to taste it and save seeds. Alice fruits are still too small, but I am hopeful...

[Zana]

Brava Tania!

Great article.....and great pics too. It's always good to see heirlooms get great press coverage.....it helps spreads the message that there is an alternative to the pasty bland excuse for tomatoes that are available in grocery stores on a regular basis. Sad but reality.

The pics are great. Glad to see that you weren't totally wiped out. I especially liked to see the Waterloo County Mennonite Pole Beans (aka Purple Stripes)....think I sent those to you a few years back in a trade? Hope you're enjoying them. I'm growing them out again this year myself.

Zana

[fortyonenorth]

Wonderful story, Tania. Congrats!