Unfortunately, everything of my grandmother's died with her. The kids weren't interested in keeping anything, and I guess no one asked the grandkids. Grandma had a wonderful green thumb. She's where I got my love of gardening, as well as my ability to sew, crochet, and quilt. She also had quite a way with a chocolate chip cookie, too.

She saved seeds. Well, didn't everyone back then? But no one thought the seeds were important except for her. And I was living out of town at that time.

Which is not what you asked. Sorry.

Two years ago, I was garden-chatting with a parent of one of my daughter's friends who moved here from Iowa, and she mentioned that her mom, who went to school in a convent, was given some special tomato seeds by the nuns when she left the school and had been growing them since. I got a sample of these, and I must say, they're impressive plants, easily the fastest and largest growing tomatoes I've ever tried. The first year, they may have been in too rich a soil, as about half the fruit was huge, but deformed. This year, not the case, the plants are huge, already 5 ' dia, and it looks like a decent crop of well-formed fruit.

The taste is a bit sweeter than I generally like, but all in all, a good tomato.

No name for it, we call it "so-'n-so's Grandma's" after my daughter's friend.

When my father was a teenager, with his hair slicked back and his pant cuffs rolled up, he stole some cactus clippings from Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. He gave them to his father as a gift. My Grampa was an exceptional gardener and already had a fairly large cactus and succulent garden. He started the clippings and bragged about them all of his life. Later, when Grampa's health was nearing an end, my dad took a clipping from one of the famed cactus plants and started his own. It is a beautiful night bloomer with cream coloured flowers so fragrant that they are almost too fragrant.
When we were kids, my brother and I would go out in the pool at night and swim to the smell of sweet, sweet cactus blooms.
Later, after my parents moved to damp Oregon and after my dad's own health took a turn, the plant died outside in the dampness.
Funny, it is still alive in my memory!!

My mother now lives in my grandmother's house. When she came for a visit this summer she brought a couple of things that were growing when grandma was alive - a hardy geranium, some irises and a slip of a yellow rose. The yellow rose didn't really have any significant root to it however, and it hasn't survived. It's a hugely thorny rose, a million tiny thorns interspersed with the occasional large one. It's the one thing I really want from Grandma's garden, so I think I'll have to try digging some up next time I'm there (I think it was too tough for Mom to do well).

Other than that, I don't know if Grandma saved seeds. She always had fabulous gardens though, both veggie and flowers. She liked to have her picture taken in front of her flowers, or her Hoppa Crab.

One thing I really remember, was how she composted. She kept a 1/2 gallon milk container under the sink and put all her food scraps in there, veggie, meat, anything. When it was full she would take it out and bury it in one of her various gardens.

Thanks Steve for leading us down such a pleasant memory lane.

Interesting. We grew Porters when I was a child/teen. Absolutely the best tomatoes, very prolific. 4 or 5 plants, and we'd munch all we wanted, plus Mom filled the freezer with bags of the for the winter. If dinner was something a picky child didn't like to eat, you could always fill up on tomatoes!

Every season, we saved the seeds for the next year. Mom still had some a couple of years ago and tried to start them, but they wouldn't cooperate. Heaven only knows how old they were.

No one I've ever talked to has ever heard of Porters, but I found seed in one of the wholesale catalogs last spring, although it was too late to start them. I will, however, get some and have them started early next year.

I'm glad to know someone else has success growing these here.

J, it seems like there were cactus in that photo you posted of your youthful Dad and your Grampa, you remember . . . they were wrestling on the diving board.

I visited my maternal grandmother's home in Hope, BC years after her death, Alice. The property had been purchased by a neighbor and the house had sat vacant for 20 plus years by that time. Still growing there were her hollyhocks and one could see that the shape of her garden was a "V" . . . this was a very common design during the 2nd World War when she lived there.

I'm closer to Hope than Colorado, Shady, so can't confirm that Porters will do okay for you there - - imagine so. I bought seed from Totally Tomatoes to compare with Grandma's plants. They were different but very similar. Once you've saved seed and grown a variety for 70 odd years, I don't suppose it would be surprising if it has changed genetically. And, that might be true of the parent stock, as well, I suppose. IÂve got dahlias that have been selected and changed. Not sure how that would happen using the tubers . . . after all, they are clones . . .? . . .

David, you should let us know about how that huge tomato does this season. A thick slice would have gone nicely with the pole beans and bacon I had for dinner - truly a king's banquet.

Lilacs and All, yes, I was asking what special variety y'all will be able to share with your family & friends . . . Never too early to be planning the garden for the next century.

digitS'

Wonderful story, Steve! Out here on the plains of eastern Colorado, Porter is an old time favorite. My grandparents and great-grandparents grew them because they can handle the heat and dry/drought so well. I've grown them, even thought this year I tried the Porter Improved. (Can't see much improved over the original at all, but now I've tried it.) Shady, Porter is grown by a lot of growers down in the Arkansas Valley.

Another one I always grow, not so much for flavor, but a tip of the hat to tradition is Earliana. Have to have Earliana every year, even if it ends up being a mid-season mater around here every year. :)

Bonnie, it is funny how plant varieties can be both specific to an area/climate/soil or have wide use. Early Girl must be the most widely grown tomato in the US. I remember resisting for awhile when it came out in the mid-70's and then purchasing EG. Initially I resisted because I thought that only Sub-Arctic would ripen for me where I was during those years and in that garden's location. A numbered Sub-Arctic is still a standard in very short-season areas. Early Girl has an interesting history also and it's that ability to "keep growing even when temperatures dropped to 40 degrees" that I didn't know about. This year, I fell for the description of "The Ultimate Opener" in the catalog . . . I'm still waiting to see how it is better than EG. I've picked a few small Ultimates while getting scads of nicer EG's.

Can't very well keep EG seeds as an heirloom since it's a hybrid and available in every garden center and supermarket. But there's new developments and FINALLY some measure of success in the melon patch!! I'll post a picture soon.

We've eaten the 1st Honey Girl Charentais this morning and after 3 years, I can firmly endorse that one. However, I enjoyed a Granite cantaloupe and even a watermelon, Sugar Baby earlier. Neither have much flavor but, hey! (Also, tried the Passport Galia melon but it wasn't quite ripe so will need to reserve judgment on that one.)

Altho' the real winner is still Honey Girl, it is a hybrid . . . so, I guess I'll try to "dehybridize" it just for fun. (In fact, I may already have done this but that's a subject for another post. ;o)

digitS'

So Steve, you didn't try to liberate some of the hollyhocks?

Has anyone grown a "Black" tomato? That's the name on the tag. Says that they are supposed to be very dark red. Mine seem more dusky than anything, and still have streaks of green when ripe. At least it seemed ripe!

There are several varieties of 'black' tomatoes out there, my favorite is called 'Carbon'. They can have a wonderful, intense flavor if the growing conditions are favorable.

Alice, I didn't grow flowers (other than petunias) until I was nearly 30. I wonder if those hollyhocks are still there.

On the tomato forum the other day, growers far more knowledgeable than me noted that heirloom varieties have come and gone thru the years. It was suggested that many varieties only have a measure of popularity for 10 years or so at a time. These are varieties which were once common, brought back, and then essentially lost again.

If you are happy with a particular open-pollinated variety you'd be well advised to begin saving the seed . . . At some point in time you may be waiting 50 years or so for that seed to become available again if that happens ever. (DonÂt come crying to me if that happens. ;o)

I once ordered a Russian tomato variety from something called the International Seed Company (now defunct). This must have been during Glasnost. I've forgotten it again but the variety was named for a research center - a real nice and incredibly early tomato. It had one serious problem in my garden with its susceptibility to diseases. Just out of curiosity, I searched online for it a couple of times over the years - not available anymore.

At the same time as I got this tomato seed, I ordered a round white radish which had the notable characteristic of smooth (not hairy) leaves. The root is just fine raw but we can chop the whole plant and toss it in stir-fries.

After a good deal of searching, I've found a Chinese radish with these characteristics. Might be the same thing but after nearly 20 years of saving seed and having completely forgotten the Russian name - I'm ready to come up with my own name for this radish. Can't keep calling it "the white radish" forever.

digitS'

Sorry, Shelley (Jali), I'm confused - which only takes, what is it . . . over 48 hours to dawn on me.?!?

another senior moment

Steve

I am growing many heirloom tomatoes this year. Unfortunately none of them are family heirlooms, but they are still fun. I just picked my first "black" tomato the other day it is called Noir de Crimee. It was a beautiful dark burgundy color and had great flavor. I do have some walking onions and hen and chick plants from my grandma's garden. The Hen and Chick plants were originally planted at my Great Grandmother's house.

Tyffanie

Tyffanie, on the Veggie forum, an Oklahoma gardener says of the Porter tomato now available that they, "do not bear much resemblance to the Porter tomato we grew from seeds from the Porter & Son Seed Co. when I was a child . . ." She didn't know how those words resonated with me.

So, even if Grandmother's tomatoes were originally Porters, they aren't what are available now. If you were to save your Noir de Crimee seed and pass them on to your grandchildren, it is very likely that they would bear only a slight resemblance to whatever "Noir de Crimee" MIGHT be available to gardeners during their lifetime.

My uncle has not had a garden the last few years. I assume that he still has seed for Grandmother's tomatoes but don't know that nor do I know if he has shared it broadly. I'll just leave it at that since it puts some responsibility on me to preserve this tomato.

One year, I forgot all about saving seed . . . I'll long remember being out there in the garden after a hard frost collecting her tomatoes to squeeze the pulp and seed out of. I suppose it is all rather silly but the hen and chicks need to come home to roost sometime or they will be lost into the wide, wide world.

digitalSteve