I'm a member of the Seed Savers Exchange, a group that preserves and exchanges heirloom vegetable varieties. I've just ordered some seeds from other members and will grow them to evaluate them this season and, if they prove to be useful for container growers, I'll save seed. I would like to replace several hybrid varieties that we sell.

Hybrids, which are not the same as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), are not intrinsically evil and, indeed, many of them are useful plants. Nevertheless, they inevitably come with problems: they are expensive seeds and - more importantly - they have the great disadvantage that the producer can stop creating and selling them if they are deemed insufficiently profitable. Just this exact thing has happened to a tremendous number of food crop varieties, even within my gardening memory (I've been gardening for about 30 years). It's even worse now that the seed industry is mainly controlled by GiantMegaCorporations. "The top 10 seed firms control one-third of the global seed market; five companies control 75 percent of the vegetable seed market." (Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, Brian Halweil, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, NY, 2004, p. 47.)

"The genetic diversity of the world's food crops is eroding at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The vegetables and fruits currently being lost are the result of thousands of years of adaptation and selection in diverse ecological niches around the world. Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistances to the diseases and pests with which it evolved. Plant breeders use the old varieties to breed resistance into modern crops that are constantly being attacked by rapidly evolving diseases and pests. Without these infusions of genetic diversity, food production is at risk from epidemics and infestations. " (From: http://www.seedsavers.org/savingheirlooms.html)

For these reasons as well as others, I hate to rely on hybrids, so I'll try to find suitable open-pollinated (non-hybrid) replacements. This year, I'll be evaluating one variety of pea, one of snow pea, several small yellow tomatoes (I hope to find a replacement for Yellow Canary Hybrid, which is difficult to obtain now and will probably soon cease to exist), three small zucchinis, and one small cucumber. Even if all goes well, it may be a two-year project before I have enough seed to sell: this year to evaluate varieties and choose the worthwhile ones, next year to grow them out for seed (and to have some other gardeners grow them and save seed for us too).

I would love to (re) introduce some heirloom varieties! That would just be a very satisfying thing to do. It's a happy thought, too, to think that I am contributing, even in a tiny way, to the preservation of genetic diversity. And working with heirloom varieties gives me a feeling of connection with history that I enjoy. When gardeners grow heirloom varieties, they too are contributing to biodiversity preservation and can feel that connection with history.

Spring has sprung in many places: but not here. Not yet. It was 3 F (-16 C) this morning (March 13), and we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground. Nevertheless, spring will arrive eventually.... I hope! Tom Thumb peas are growing happily in the bay window (in a pot that's 10" in diameter and 7" tall) and I started Feherozon pepper seeds last week. They are up and growing too. Feherozon is a small pepper plant, around 12" to 16" tall, so I will have room to keep it indoors until the weather is really warm.

It's time now for me to start many other seeds, especially the peppers and eggplants. Tomatoes: starting next week. These will all grow under fluorescent lights in the house until they can be transplanted outdoors.

To go outdoors soon, I'll start some mesclun, chard, lettuce, and Asian greens: they can go outdoors in containers even when the weather is quite cold (but not as cold as this morning). Lettuce growing in a container on our deck has survived temperatures of 16 F (-9 C) and having more than a foot of snow dumped on it: no problems!

I hope your spring is further advanced than ours! I love living here in Pennsylvania's northern mountains, where we have eight months of winter and four months of darned poor sledding, as the saying goes, but I must admit that every year I'm really tired of winter by March. And we often have snow even in May! [Sigh....]

The picture to the right (from 2002) is of a Yellow Pear Tomato, growing in a 22-gallon (!) tub. That's one of the big Rubbermaid-type storage tubs. And the plant wasn't nearly finished growing when this photo was taken! It got larger and larger and larger, collapsed of its own weight, was tied to the deck railing to support it, and kept on growing....

I grew it in a container by accident, really. I was at a local garden center and a sad little 3" tomato plant was being thrown away because it looked so bad. I took pity on it, took it home, potted it up (in a 4" pot at first) and fed and watered it. It responded to the loving care and grew larger and larger...and larger and larger. Somehow, we never got time to transplant it into the in-ground garden and eventually there was no more room in the in-ground garden. So I kept potting it on, into ever larger pots. At one point, it was in a 15" diameter and 15" high pot and it required watering five or six five times a day. This was obviously no good, so my husband drilled drainage holes in a big 22-gallon storage tub, and we transplanted the monster tomato into it (it wasn't easy either). Even so, it required watering two to three times a day on hot sunny days. It did produce lots of Yellow Pear (cherry) tomatoes, but it sure wasn't worth the trouble.

What went wrong? Well, almost everything! But the basic problem was that I tried to grow a big indeterminate tomato in a container. Indeterminate tomato plants just keep on growing until frost kills them. And cherry tomato plants are generally the largest of them all. It is true that indeterminate plants can be pruned and grown up strings or stakes: and then they can be grown in somewhat smaller containers than if left unpruned. I don't do this myself, though, so I don't know how much smaller the containers can be. I am always hard-pressed to do the really necessary tasks, and I've just never felt I had the time or inclination to be pruning and staking tomatoes. Our in-ground tomatoes are caged: this is very easy - just cage 'em and let 'em grow. For container gardeners, it is much, much easier to grow container-suitable tomato varieties, and the results will be far better.

Just to make the picture even more of a disaster, the other plant - with all the holes in the leaves - is a collards plant. I had not done anything to protect it from the Dreaded Cabbage Butterfly and you can see the results. (See my brassica article for simple easy ways to protect your cabbage family plants from this menace.)

Chervil's scientific name is Anthriscus cerefolium. Native to Asia, it has been used in Europe since at least the time of the ancient Romans. In several European countries, chervil soup is traditionally served on Holy Thursdays as a symbol of new life. Although appreciated in France, and included in the traditional fines herbes mix (with parsley, tarragon, and thyme), in the USA it is a much underrated herb, almost unknown. This is probably because most Americans are only accustomed to dried herbs and chervil does not dry well at all: most of its flavor is lost in the drying process. It can be preserved by freezing, however (see details below). The flavor can be likened to a mixture of anise and parsley. I don't have a photograph of chervil to show you, but you can see good pictures of it on Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages by typing "Chervil" in the Search Box. (This is a very useful website, by the way, that includes a vast amount of information on spices and on some herbs.)

Chervil is an easy-to-grow annual herb that will form clumps of finely cut bright green leaves that look a lot like fern leaves. The clumps can be about one foot wide, and the plant will grow to about 12" to 16" tall, with taller spikes of white flowers in mid-summer. It's a cool weather plant and will bolt to seed in extremely high temperatures. For that reason, it's best to plant it a week or so before your last spring frost. Chervil has a fairly long tap root and doesn't like to be transplanted, so it should be sown directly into its final container. Just sprinkle the seeds over your soilless mix and press them in lightly. Don't cover them, since chervil requires light to sprout. Keep the soilless mix moist until the chervil germinates (which will probably take 7 to 14 days). If the container is in the shade, you can cover it loosely with clear plastic to hold the moisture until the little sprouts of chervil appear - but check it often and uncover when the sprouts are visible. Chervil obligingly prefers partial (light or filtered) shade and will grow in a shady spot that's not suitable for vegetables. It will also grow happily on an east, west, or (partly shaded) south window-sill indoors. It will require a container about 10" deep and 10" in diameter - I think you can get two plants in a pot this size, and probably three plants in a 12" pot.

Chervil grows quickly and you can make several plantings before summer's heat sets in. Another planting or two can be made in late summer for growing on into the fall. You can begin cutting the leaves when the plant is about 6" tall. It can be encouraged to continue producing leaves if you pinch off flower buds when they form. The flowers are pretty though: I'd suggest leaving at least a few to grow. They look very like Queen Anne's Lace (UK: wild carrot flowers), which isn't surprising since chervil is in the same family as carrots, parsley, and celery (the Umbelliferae) . In fact, the whole plant is attractive and can be described as "delicate" or "dainty" looking.

OK, now you've grown your chervil and harvested some leaves. What to do with them? It loses its flavor if cooked, so sprinkle chopped leaves on a dish just prior to serving. It's excellent sprinkled on tossed salads, and used in omelets, stews, soups, or sprinkled over chicken, fish, or pork chops. Use it in potato salad, and sprinkle the leaves on cooked fresh vegetables, especially peas and carrots. It can be used in an herb butter, or added to a vinaigrette (oil and vinegar salad dressing). Some good recipes featuring chervil are located here.

Chervil will keep for several days in a plastic bag in the fridge and can be preserved by freezing, although its texture will then be lost, of course. But frozen chervil can be added to soups, stews, and the like just before they are finished cooking. To freeze chervil, chop the leaves and mix them with water (or use your blender or food processor to make a slurry of chervil leaves and water), then freeze in an ice-tray. Remove the chervil cubes from the tray when they are frozen solid and store them in a plastic freezer bag or freezer container. (But it's much nicer fresh.)

I'm pleased to have a very special recipe for you this month. You may recall my chard article. Here is a great recipe using the chard you can grow in your container garden. I saw this recipe prepared by Chef Michael Schlow on the PBS TV program "Victory Garden," and I like it so much that I emailed Chef Schlow and asked his permission to use the recipe here. This recipe is fast, easy, and it's a dinner: add a tossed salad or - even easier - some sliced tomatoes, and there's your whole dinner. So - by courtesy of Michael Schlow, Chef/Owner of the Radius Restaurant in Boston - here is this month's recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2. Over high heat, place the oil and garlic in a large sauté pan and gently cook until the garlic turns golden brown.
3. Add 3 pinches of salt, 2 pinches of black pepper, and 2 pinches of crushed red pepper to the oil.
4. Add the rosemary and Swiss chard. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until it is tender but still has a bit of bite to it.
6. While the pasta is cooking, add the stock to the Swiss chard and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add the walnuts and cook for 30 seconds.
8. Add the lemon juice and butter. Taste for seasoning.
9. Strain the pasta from the water and add it to the Swiss chard. Toss it all together until most of the liquid is absorbed by the pasta.
10. Add the cheese.
11. The pasta should be slightly creamy, and no extra sauce should be apparent. Divide into two bowls and serve.

Recipe Copyright © 2002 Michael Schlow (Used with permission.)

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.
- Author Unknown

Regards,
Pat