Seed Project Has Its Roots In Preservation MICHELLE RANCK Lancaster Farming Staff LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Amidst today’s forward-think ing, fast-paced world, preserving pieces of the past becomes in creasingly important. At Landis Valley Museum, host of the Heirloom Seed Proj ect, conservation is of paramount importance. In keeping with this emphasis on recording and cap turing the past, the project prop agates strains of plants abundant in the past but perhaps scarce today. The purpose of the project is to encourage the preservation of traditional strains of historic open-pollinated varieties of plants grown by the Pennsylva nia Germans before 1940, and which may have history extend ing back to the early 1800 s. By definition, heirloom seeds are varieties passed from generation to generation, produc ing fruits and seeds that resemble the parents. Most of the varieties in the program can be traced to use in Lancaster. The “roots” go back to 1930-1940, and most much older than that, .according to Black. The seeds in the project have historical significance to Pennsyl vania Germans dating from the mid 1700 s to 1940. To introduce gardeners to the seed and plant offerings, along Peggy Craige, Lancaster, prepares a germination test for seeds. Labeled with the date, time, and year the seeds were grown, the bags will be checked in three to four days to see if they have germinated and how fast they have sprouted. Different seeds have their own rate of germination. Gail Merchant, Mount Joy, and Eric Habegger, Akron, work with the “babies” in one of two hoop houses. with heirloom varieties which do not meet the historical qualified- tion for the project, some of the seed varieties are offered in the annual Mother’s Day weekend event, the “Herb and Garden Faire.” The project includes research ing, trialing, and preserving more than 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs, field crops, and ornamen tals. Research helps to determine the age of a variety. Questioning local residents, reading diaries, old seed catalogs and almanacs, newspapers, magazines, or work ing with preservationists help in the documentation process. “We want to position our selves for expansion,” said Jen nie Black, Heirloom Seed Project coordinator. “We would like to offer seeds from the Internet.” With the addition of comput ers last year, combined with the inventory work and germination testing done by employees and volunteers, this may become a re ality. Last month they received their organic certification. Besides the three plots grown strictly for seed harvests, the gar dens, situated on four acres in clude Pennsylvania German folk medicine garden, a dye and tex tile garden, an 18th century women’s kitchen garden, a tradi tional Pennsylvania German style of garden, a Victorian gar den, and an experimental no-till garden. Jennie Black, Heirloom Seed Project coordinator, stands In front of some of the 200 varieties of seeds in the project. Two hoop houses are also uti lized in the project. A native plant trail educates both children and adults, along with demonstration plots with historic crops such as buckwheat, flax, and spelt. A dye garden is “pressed” into service during workshops for museum visitors. Since Pennsyl vania Germans made and dyed their own clothes, the garden was an appropriate addition. According to Black many of the plants, such as German cha momile, yellow bedstraw, and goldenrod make a yellow color, bloodroot creates a red color and Hollyhocks yield a reddish orange color. Yellow is the easier and most intense color given from the plants, while blue is the hardest to get. Plants were useful for other purposes, also. Soapwort, for ex ample, was used to create suds to wash linens. Pennyroyal or Tansy was folded into or even worn in clothes as an insect re pellent. “Dye plants are easy to maintain,” said Black. “Many of them are ‘weedy’ plants.” Addi tionally Lavender was folded in linen layers for fragrance. The project is important, said Black, because of its historical significance. It is also, according to Black, an alternative to hybrid or genetically-modified strains. Rare Plants For Sale WOOSTER, Ohio - Home owners seeking rare and unusual plants may find what they are looking for at the ninth annual Plant Discovery Day being held May 5 on Ohio State University Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center campus. The event, featuring plant sales, silent and oral auctions and children’s activities, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in and around Fisher Auditorium. The event will feature herba ceous annuals and perennials, woody plants including trees and shrubs and dwarf, unusual and specimen conifers. Some of the rare plants being highlighted at the sale or auctions include Brackens Brown Beauty, a hardy selection of southern magnolia; Chinese Elm, known for its ma ture bark character; Franklin Tree. Black maintains that volun teers are essential to the opera tion of the project and gardens at the museum. Twenty regular vol unteers, plus youth who volun teer during the summer months, work in the office or in the gar dens. Several volunteers are in charge of planning, maintaining, and harvesting their own specific garden. Volunteers also assist in local school education projects. The seed project began 20 years ago by the agriculture cu rator who conducted research on varieties grown by Germans in the 1740-1940 era, the time peri od interpreted at the museum. Donations of seeds and plants not only inaugurated but also continue to sustain and even ex pand the project. According to Black, donations come from “people in the area whose family has grown the seeds for generations.” Volunteer Kate Adams, Silver Springs, is in charge of the 1840 Victorian era garden. This garden represents a time when gardening was more of a hobby than a place of propagating necessary plants, so it included more or namentals. Saffron, onions, heirloom peas, early sugar peas, rhubarb, Christmas rose Helebores, fern leaf Peo nies, Bleeding Hearts, Pennyroyal, Tansey, Hollyhocks, Larkspur, and Jerusalem Artichoke round out the offer ings here. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 21,2001 -815 Most of the seeds were once used in Lancaster, said Black. The gherken cucumber, for ex ample, is also called the West In dies cucumber, obviously not na tive to Germany but used in the area. The project includes seeds in danger of becoming extinct. The “Ariane” flax variety, from Hol land, is no longer available any where else in the world. “We also have rare varieties which are scarce in other places. We try to maintain those areas, too,” said Black. “We have a mailing list from all over the U.S. and 14 foreign countries,” said Black, who said that the project has sent seeds anywhere from urban gardens in New York City to Nicaragua. Call Beth at (717) 569-0401, ext. 202, for catalogs or seed or dering information.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers