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Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Heirloom Life Gardener - Book Beginnings & Friday 56

I am reading - among other things(!) - "The Heirloom Life Gardener" by Jere and Emilee Gettle.

I am participating in a meme called Book Beginnings at A Few More Pages. We share the first line or two of a book with one another and discuss it! (You should try it!)

So, here is the first sentence of this book -- go ahead and laugh, because it sounds a trifle over-enthusiastic. "There is a grow-your-own-food revolution happening in America right now, and vegetables have never been more exciting."


See what I mean? But, the authors are passionate about what they do, and I admire that. They are the co-founders of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

I am also participating in the Friday 56 meme at Freda's Voice. Here is what page 56 has to say, "Every so often I dream that its summer and that its either freezing or snowing on my garden, on top of my tomato plants. For me, this is akin to a nightmare, actually."

So, I am going to report on the whole book this weekend for Weekend Cooking! This is bigger than gardening...we have to use and protect these heirloom seeds or the food supply will not be diverse enough. It will be in danger because of the lack of diversity. It is like the Irish Potato Famine - the crops were wiped out by one blight because they were all the same variety of potato.

9 comments:

  1. Great snippets...and I LOVE the picture of the onions. Who knew they could be so beautiful?

    Here's MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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  2. I have wanted to start doing heirloom seeds instead of buying seeds or plants every year. It just kinda makes sense! I purchased all heirloom seeds this year and plan on harvesting the seeds (along with the good stuff).
    Can't wait to see what you say about the book.

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    1. Thanks - I have to start getting my weekend cooking post ready pretty soon :)

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  3. Frost on tomato plants would be a nightmare.

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  4. I get these dreams-nightmares too!

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  5. LOVE the Friday 56 quote. Beautiful. Here's my Friday 56: http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2012/03/friday-56_16.html

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  6. Hi Libby,

    There is the same quiet vegetable revolution going on here in the UK as well.

    Many people over here who don't have large enough gardens of their own, cultivate what we call 'Allotments'. A plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families. In allotment gardens, the parcels are cultivated individually, contrary to other community garden types where the entire area is tended collectively by a group of people.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_%28gardening%29

    With there being only the two of us at home, I have to admit to being lazy and buying vegetables commercially, but to be honest there is a vast difference in the quality of home-grown fruit and veggies and I really should make more of an effort.

    An interesting post with a difference, thanks for sharing and have a good weekend.

    Yvonne

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    1. Thanks so much for the great comment - I always wondered what the heck an allotment was! I follow a couple garden blogs that mention them.

      I think the secret might be to start off slowly...I tend to jump into things with both feet. But, the way to go is probably adding a couple new crops or a couple new beds each year.

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  7. The first sentence does sound a bit overenthusiastic...but I suppose you need to be enthusiastic to grow your own veggies. We once had a garden allotment and I hated every minute of it. :)

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