Buying Heirloom Plants

I am looking for reccomendations for great sources of heirloom vegetable plants. Last year, my wife and my first gardening year, we started several plants from seed with mixed success.

Mail order, farmers markets, local nurseries. . . all are acceptable. I would especially love a great catalog with decriptions of the plants and their preferred soil, sunlight, etc. We have some challenges in our gardening space, like nearby shade trees, and I need to try to pick the best plants possible, and being a novice, have a bit of a cheat sheet.

It is fun to think about gardening in January!

Hello MelT,
I have used this catalog for quite some time and it is a great foundation. I would suggest starting with some of the simple herbs, tomatoes as I have not had much sucess with the corn but only have a small back yard plot. When I was out in California a few years back an organic gardner from Greystone Vineyards mentioned this foundation and have used them ever since.
The seed savers exchange: check out the pdf catalog on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

www.thechilewoman.com

Hundreds of chile and tomato varieties, live plants shipped from Indiana.

Only downside is expensive shipping prices

Here is one reputable source for seeds: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-415-heirloom.aspx I'm linking the tomato page, not sure if they sell other heirloom vegetables.

And here is an excellent nursery in Evanston, Anton's, tucked away on a side street but worth seeking out, where Mr. H bought me three or four kinds of heirloom tomato plants last summer: http://www.antonsgreenhouses.com/

We don't have enough sun to grow more than a few vegetables, but we have major native perennial beds. Another favorite place for my spouse to buy plants, which probably has heirloom tomatoes at least, is Gethsemene Gardens, on Clark south of Peterson, but it is often a mob scene.

Anton's looks like not much on the outside and can be hard to find, but they have a great selection of native perennials, and may also have good vegetables, as I said, we do not get to indulge in that and so I try not to mope over them in plant stores.

I have used Victory Seed Co. in Oregon for years.They were selling heirloom seeds years before they became fashionable.Their catalog is online and a wealth of info.www.victoryseed.com

We started buying from Seeds of Change after a friend took us to their nursery in Santa Fe New Mexico. Everything we have ever gotten from them has been excellent. Unfortunately the house we live in now has too much shade to grow much more than a small container of tomatoes.


http://www.seedsofchange.com/default.aspx

JohnH wrote:Hello MelT,
I have used this catalog for quite some time and it is a great foundation. I would suggest starting with some of the simple herbs, tomatoes as I have not had much sucess with the corn but only have a small back yard plot. When I was out in California a few years back an organic gardner from Greystone Vineyards mentioned this foundation and have used them ever since.
The seed savers exchange: check out the pdf catalog on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.seedsavers.org/

We bought a variety of seeds and plants from Seed Saver's last summer. The plants included a few tomato and pepper varieties. All did well.

Thanks all. . . . Just to clarify, I am hoping for a good source of plants as opposed to seeds.

I will report back.

Hacker's GlenBard gardens on IL 53, just south of North Ave in Lombard sells heirloom vegetable (esp. tomato) plants in various sizes.

Hacker's Glenbard Gardens
640 North State Route 53, Lombard, IL 60148
(630) 495-4220‎

just a thought...did you start your seeds out inside in a starter container? I tried that for the first time this year and it worked really well. I bought a really inexpensive one at Home Depot (under $20 I think)--had around 60 or so slots, just stuck it in a bright sunny corner and kept it moist and it worked beautifully. Seeds just give you a lot more options for variety--it was hard to find some of things I wanted to grow and, overall, the quality of things like tomatoes and peppers was greater using seeds v. what I found readily available in plants at the various nurseries. I used a site called Tomato Bob (http://www.tomatobob.com/) and was really happy with the quality.

It also enabled me to start "gardening" a lot earlier which was fun--even if the weather outside wasn't "spring like," i had my indoor garden to watch every day!

Yeah, we used a starter box (several) plus we tried a few in pots. There were a couple problems we had. Last sping was a bit cold and wet, so by the time we transplanted our seedlings, they were a little leggy. Also, I don't think we hardened them off well enough, because they kind of stopped growing for a few weeks after we transplanted them. We eventually got fruits, but late and in short supply.

I'm just trying to take out a few of the variables while we work on getting our thumbs a little greener.

I just spent a half hour at the Chilewoman site. No worries about lack of variety there.

MelT wrote: Also, I don't think we hardened them off well enough, because they kind of stopped growing for a few weeks after we transplanted them. We eventually got fruits, but late and in short supply.

I had some of that as well but just attributed it to the crappy weather we had throughout most of the summer...I'm by no means an expert enough gardener to know

I have been associated with the GreenRoofGrowers in Wicker Park and the person that starts our seeds typically has some seedlings left over that he's interested in selling. We typically have grown heirloom varieties and buy the seeds primarily from Seed Savers and Victory with a few other seed places mixed in, depending on what we wanted to grow.

This isn't a huge production by any means but he may have some plants that you'd be interested in and he lives very close to the Kennedy xpressway (Division exit).

If you'd like, look at their blog (http://greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com/) and feel free to email them about it. They are good at responding. You may find the info on there helpful as well. Good luck.

I have ordered (tomatoes specifically) from this company several times. I have been happy with their seedlings. Even with shipping, I find that the cost is comparable to buying heirloom plants from local nurseries, as long as your buying a dozen or more plants.

http://www.naturalgardening.com/shop/index.php3

I think you are definitely better off going the seed route unless you have a trusted local source for live plants. The suppliers previously mentioned in this thread are all good although there are a couple I am not familiar with.

Two other excellent sources are Rancho Gordo for many heirloom bean varieties, and Vermont Bean Seed company. Both are found on the internet.

Hi there


If you're interested in making a drive out to Minooka (a little southwest of the Joliet area) you can check out Contrary Mary's. Real nice lady, nice selection of Heirloom tomato plants and nice healthy plants. She gets more varieties each year and always looks for customer input.

You can check out their tomato selection here ----> http://www.contrarymarysplants.com/fruits.htm


Take care,
dan

After catching shishito fever last year, I am looking to grow my own this year. Does anyone have any leads on seed sources locally?

msmre wrote:After catching shishito fever last year, I am looking to grow my own this year. Does anyone have any leads on seed sources locally?

I got some similar pepper plants last year (the Spanish ones) and they never did anything in my garden. I think it was too cool and wet

I got a great heirloom tomoato plant from Home Depot believe it or not

I don't know what you discovered but a fantastic local source is Green Roof Growers. Bruce grows everything from seed.

I've got some heirloom tomatoes that I need to get rid of. I'm in Berwyn. Free to a good home. Seeds were from Seed Saver Exchange.

Tomato, Mortgage Lifter (Halladay's) OG
Catalog # 1380

NEW! In a trial of 25 Mortgage Lifter types this Kentucky heirloom produced the best crops of 1-2 pounds pink beefsteak fruits. Extremely meaty and typically crack free. Great old fashioned tomato flavor. Indeterminate, 80-90 days from transplant. CERTIFIED ORGANIC


Tomato, Green Zebra
Catalog # 443

Green 1½ - 2½" fruits with various shades of yellow to yellowish-green stripes, sweet zingy flavor. Very productive plants, sure to be a best seller at market. Introduced in 1985 by Tater Mater Seeds. Indeterminate, 75-80 days from transplant.±10,900 seeds/oz


Tomato, Wapsipinicon
Catalog # 1058

Heavy producer of 2" peach-shaped fuzzy yellow fruits. Sweet excellent flavor. Our favorite “peach” tomato, from Dennis Schlicht, named after the Wapsipinicon River in northeast Iowa. Winner of SSE’s 2006 Heirloom Tomato Tasting. Indeterminate, 80 days from transplant.±11,900 seeds/oz


Tomato, Crnt Sweet Pea OG
Catalog # 1230

(L pimpinellifolium) The best red currant tomato we can offer to gardeners. Literally hundreds of fruits per plant. Excellent clean tomato flavor. Fruits borne in trusses of 10-12 and do not drop off the vine. Great to use as a garnish. Indeterminate, 75-80 days from transplant. CERTIFIED ORGANIC


Tomato, Black Sea Man OG
Catalog # 19

Small plants with medium-sized deep brown fruits, rich flavor. Looks incredibly odd when blanched and peeled, revealing skeletonlike veins under the skin. Potato leaf, but determinate, 75 days from transplant CERTIFIED ORGANIC


Tomato, Blondkopfchen OG
Catalog # 1228

(a.k.a. Little Blonde Girl) Small golden-yellow 1" fruits with excellent sweet taste. Fruits are borne in giant clusters, enormous yields and never a cracked fruit. Bears until frost. Indeterminate, 75-80 days from transplant CERTIFIED ORGANIC



Tomato, Hillbilly Potato Leaf
Catalog # 979

Absolutely gorgeous slicing tomato. Sweet juicy 4-6" flattened fruits about 1 pound each. Beautiful yellow fruits are streaked with red on the blossom end. Heavy producer. Sent to SSE in 1994 by SSE member Jerry Lee Bosner of Ohio. Indeterminate, 85 days from transplant. ±11,300 seeds/oz


Tomato, Black from Tula
Catalog # 251

Russian heirloom described by an SSE member as “the ugliest, most delicious tomato I’ve ever grown.” Rich full flavor, great for slicing and canning. Good yields of 3-4", slightly flattened fruits on 3-4' plants. Indeterminate, 80-85 days from transplant.±11,600 seeds/oz

you are giving away free plants???

Silvert121 wondered:

you are giving away free plants???

LOL - that happens here quite frequently, especially with interesting tomatoes! Good way to meet interesting LTH'ers, too, and talk a little shop/gossip/whatever.

Just to report back as my harvesting begins. I used http://www.chilewoman.com, and am very happy. As mentioned upthread, the shipping cost is the only downside. . . Of course that prompted me to buy more plants, as the per plant shipping charge went down. I now have 12 chili plants and 12 tomato plants growing well in my garden and in pots.

As you can imagine form the Chile Woman, her focus is on peppers. I chose the Firebird, Piment Mesa, Bermuda Hot and Mexibell. I have picked some young of the Firebird (tiny and purple while young) and Bremuda Hot (green while young), and they both are tasty and very piquant. Can't wait to try the others.

Also I pulled my first fruits off of my Siberia, Green Grape and Yellow Cherry tomatoes. . .all doing well with green fruit aplenty getting ready behind them, as are the Oregon Spring. Very happy with the flavor on the few I've gotten so far. . . and I especially like having real heirloom vine ripe tomatoes without having to pay through the nose for them.

It loooks like a few peppers and a few tomatoes a day will be in my diet for the next month or two. And I'll still be putting up sauce.

On a side note, we had a few days in early summer where all my plants were curling in the leaves and stems. They didn't look healthy. These varieties made it through, but the two brandywine plants I bought from Nichols at Green City Market didn't make it. Any idea what that was? (Not knocking Nick. His stuff is always awesome. The herb plants I got from him are growing like weeds, and his vegatables are my go-to at the market.)

Also, I happen to have a very shady yard for tomatoes and peppers. Too many big trees. That is why I chose some of the early/cold varieties of tomato. Is my reasoning sound on this, or does trying to make up for lack of much direct sun that way not rreally work?

Hi- Tomato plants need lots of sun, and I do not think it will make much difference if you buy variates that are more cold tolerant. I love Brandywine tomatoes, and I always have some in my garden. Brandywine's do not produce very well though. Most years, I am lucky if I get 6 tomatoes per plant. Last year, because of the cold weather, I think I maybe picked a total of 2 tomatoes off my 2 Brandywine plants. They also get really large, and take forever to get ripe. Concerning your problems with your Brandywine plants, I suggest you visit garden web, or organic gardening.com to see if they can give you some advice. Garden web has a board just for tomatoes, and they get a ton of traffic.

A new heirloom I am trying this year is Japanese Black Trifele. It is a large plum tomato, and is supposed to produce well. I got the plant at Anton's on Pitner, 2 blocks W of Dempster/Dodge in Evanston. They carry quite a few very good quality heirloom tomato plants, and they are very reasonable. The Evanston farmer's market also has a lot of heirloom tomato plants, but they are considerably more expensive than Anton's. Hope this helps, Nancy

MelT wrote:
On a side note, we had a few days in early summer where all my plants were curling in the leaves and stems. They didn't look healthy. These varieties made it through, but the two brandywine plants I bought from Nichols at Green City Market didn't make it. Any idea what that was? (Not knocking Nick. His stuff is always awesome. The herb plants I got from him are growing like weeds, and his vegatables are my go-to at the market.)

Also, I happen to have a very shady yard for tomatoes and peppers. Too many big trees. That is why I chose some of the early/cold varieties of tomato. Is my reasoning sound on this, or does trying to make up for lack of much direct sun that way not rreally work?

Curling in which direction? Too much water can causing curling and we did have a LOT of rain early. Here is a linkthat discusses what causes leaf curl. My guess is that it wasn't anything problematic or it wouldn't have stopped.

Both pepper and tomatoes need sun and at least moderately warm temps. Brixis a measurement in fruits and vegetables - higher brix equate with better tasting, sweeter fruit. To achieve a high brix in tomatoes, as shown on the previous link, you have to have sunshine and lots of it along with necessary nutrients.

I've seen it suggested to pick varieties that do well in Oregon or Washington coastal areas if you have shade or cooler temps, as they have a less sunshine and cooler temps there.

Your tomatoes will probably be very good in comparison to anything at a grocery store. They may not be as excellent as those with more sun. If you have more sun on a patio or in a part of the yard you can't till, consider growing a couple plants in a container to take advantage of it.

After you start eating them you can assess if you made good choices or not and what you might want to do next year.

Update: Al my tomatoes are coming in, and by far the most prolific and pleasing are the Cherry Yellow tomoatoes. The plants in the garden (as opposed to the pots) have grown well past and toppled thier cages. I pull probably 10-20 a day off the 2 plants. They are tasty, 3/4 inch yellow, little bursts of sunlight, even from my shady yard.