With the idea of living on the land like generations of self-reliant people in the past lived, Tina Marie Wilcox moved onto her 28 acres of wooded ridge-top near Leslie, Ark. She’s one of the back-to-the-landers who stayed, keeping a connection to her roots. In 2009 she co-authored and published a book with Susan Belsinger, titled "The Creative Herbal Home," a guide for both beginners and more experienced home herbalists. She raises a vegetable and herb garden.
“I moved to the Ozark Mountains with the mission of growing all of my own food,” Tina said. “I’ve learned that this is easier dreamed of than done.”
She lives in her cabin tucked in the woods, and has worked at the Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View, Ark., since 1984 as head gardener and herbalist. For 25 years she’s planted vegetables, herbs and flowers and taught the history of humanity’s use of plants. She is a firm believer in saving seeds from the crops, year after year.
“The best candidates for seed saving,” she said, “are proven heirlooms that have not been cross-pollinated by plants of the same species but of a different strain. For instance, if an heirloom Brandy Wine tomato is grown in close proximity to a Better Boy hybrid, one would not expect to get a true Brandy Wine or Better Boy from seed saved for the next growing season. It is always best to plant seed from the previous growing season for reliable germination, though some seeds may remain viable for several years.”
Heirloom Seeds
“Disagreements exist between serious collectors,” Tina said, “about the criteria of heirloom seeds; these being, how long the seed strain has been in cultivation and whether or not it has recorded history. The general consensus is that an heirloom must be at least 50 years old, though the argument in regard to age varies between those who believe that an heirloom must be traced back 100 years, while others argue that the strain had to precede the introduction of hybrids in the 1930s. What is important about heirloom seed, and most people are in agreement about this, heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, grown each year from seeds that were saved from the previous season and have been passed down through the generations. These seeds are unique and rich in history, connecting us to our past while preserving genetic diversity. Open-pollinated means the plants were pollinated by bees, wind and/or other non-human pollinators.”
Fresher and Healthier
Gardeners who plant saved seed wouldn’t have the wonderful heirloom varieties of beans, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and other plants if someone before them hadn’t kept and grown the seeds year to year. Compared to the turn of the century, fewer people grow vegetable and herb gardens now. Today it's families raising their own food for nutritional and economical reasons, small backyard farmers with the incentive to grow the best tasting and healthiest varieties of fresh foods that “taste right” in family recipes.
Saving and Storing
Tina's advice: Eliminate hybrid plants; seeds they produce will not duplicate the good qualities of the original species. Always harvest from the more productive plants grown with heirloom seed, choose the most flavorful and hardy vegetables and save from parent plants that give outstanding results.
“After they have been properly dried, most vegetables, flowers and herb seeds can be stored at room temperature in a sealed jar,” Tina said. “Seed banks control humidity and temperature to preserve the life force in the little packages of potential plants. Some gardeners prefer to store seed in the refrigerator. It depends on the plants, how they disperse in nature, how hard the seed coat and the environmental condition of the storage area.”
Seed Swap
This year, 2009, will be the second annual seed swap held at the Ozark Folk Center. “The mission is to collect, share and to perpetuate heirloom seed,” Tina said. “Seeds that have been saved over the generations by Ozarks farmers and gardeners are especially sought after.”
Dr. Brian Campbell, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Central Arkansas, works in partnership with Tina to hold the event.
“In the past, Ozarkers engaged in subsistence farming; saving, trading, and passing on of local varieties of cultivars was commonplace,” Dr. Campbell said. “Today, locals lament the loss of these traditions, because youth who might be interested in preserving agrarian knowledge have lost connection to their roots. Seed swaps serve as a setting for exchange, of seeds, stories, history, plants, contacts and knowledge. Seed Swaps also contribute economically by introducing unique culinary attributes of traditional varieties to the public, while stressing the importance of genetic diversity in sustainable agricultural systems. Cultivation of seeds obtained at the swap contributes to agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainability, because many will save seeds that performed the best in their local conditions and plant them again the next year.”
