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mdehnersJust got back from our local weekend Farmer's Market. I've always been a big supporter of locally-grown foodstuffs and while much there made me happy, some things did not. When I lived in the area in the early "90's", there were less vendors but all the foodstuffs were locally grown and often regional heirlooms. Today, there are more vendors but it's not unusual for some of them to sell that which they purchased Wholesale from other regions. ALso, the number of those selling Heirloom crops is down dramatically. So far this yr there hasn't been a SINGLE Heirloom Tomato or melon and those for sale are the standard commerical hybrids. In fact, the only identifiable Heirloom was a White Eggplant...
It saddens me to see folks lose ANY part of their Heritage. Crops that sustained Generations are being thrown out for quick "profits", yet they don't seem to realize that now the only difference between them and a supermarket is a few cents...not enough of a reason for folks to get up early on a weekend and drive miles for...
On a more personal note, my "experiment" with growing Heirlooms from Tropical countries to deal with Florida's Summer Heat & Humidity seems to be doing well. Only one variety of Tomato (from the island of Bali) is showing ANY leaf disase and that is extremely minor. Even a Heirloom Southern variety would have marred leaves by now without the use of chemicals. Also, there is plenty of fruit production. A Chinese cucumber is growing rampantly up a dying Apricot tree and produces gold fruits the size of butternut squash...still sweet. No melons on the Chinese Handmelons but the vines are very healthy. The non-tropical "fridge" watermelons are a bust. Next yr I'll try the Thai varieties < G >!
Troth,
Pat
It saddens me to see folks lose ANY part of their Heritage. Crops that sustained Generations are being thrown out for quick "profits", yet they don't seem to realize that now the only difference between them and a supermarket is a few cents...not enough of a reason for folks to get up early on a weekend and drive miles for...
On a more personal note, my "experiment" with growing Heirlooms from Tropical countries to deal with Florida's Summer Heat & Humidity seems to be doing well. Only one variety of Tomato (from the island of Bali) is showing ANY leaf disase and that is extremely minor. Even a Heirloom Southern variety would have marred leaves by now without the use of chemicals. Also, there is plenty of fruit production. A Chinese cucumber is growing rampantly up a dying Apricot tree and produces gold fruits the size of butternut squash...still sweet. No melons on the Chinese Handmelons but the vines are very healthy. The non-tropical "fridge" watermelons are a bust. Next yr I'll try the Thai varieties < G >!
Troth,
Pat
