Rare Heirloom Fruits & Vegetables

[PhilaGardener]

Sustainable Seed lists them!

 

[897tgigvib]

Bluebonnet, the USDA website, shoot, can't recall the web url, has some surprising bramble berry varieties available, but from seed. They do not all breed completely true of course, but some of them do because they are either wild cultivars, or just that they do, or at least close to true.

Boysenberry for example breeds surprisingly true.

The reason I brought the USDA website up is that they have a newly found variety of raspberry that is a local produce variety from northeast PRC China. Has a name I can't remember. It is Amber/Orange, and is possibly the largest of all Raspberries.

Yes, heirloom varieties are rapidly disappearing, but know for certain that there are people doing some amazing things to stop or at least slow that down. (Some of us even have an historical perspective and are creating what are now new varieties the old fashioned way, that one day will be hopefully old heirlooms.)

I've been trying to fine Burbank's White Blackberry too. I do not think it is extinct! If you google it, you might find sites that I've run across. (some phone gadget keeps showing up when I google for it so you have to use -phone, -electronics, and things like that.)

I DO HAVE, and am presently growing, Burbank's Thornless Blackberry, and last year was productive as all get out! I believe the plant may be high productive only every other year until more roots pop up with new plants.

I happened to have been raised in Santa Rosa, and I actually spent a good amount of time in his garden. One time, very old Mrs. Burbank was standing with her walker, her nurse helping her, and she waved at me and said to her nurse "there's that young man here again". That was when I was about 8 or maybe 9.

I just might have, maybe could be might be if they are still there on willowside road, access to a variety of grape that was bought from Mr. Burbank back around 1920 by my neighbor Frank Distefano. Old Frank had also gotten some very delicious thornless cactus pears, purple when ripe, good sized, sweet, juicy. Also, Frank had an apple tree he got from Burbank. I should have asked, but probably the wisteria vine too. I don't know who own old Frank's vineyard now, where all these things were growing so well when I was a teenager back in the late 1960's.

Downstream along santa rosa creek from burbank's place, less than a mile, sometime around 1967, I found a place where lots and lots of Callas and other bulbs were growing. I dug one up and planted it at our house. It eventually grew a black flower. I sure wish I still had it, for that area is now all houses and condos. ...but just maybe...

Bluebonnet, just so you know, we indeed have here in TEG, some super special heirloom seed savers, and actually, I am hoping Joseph Simcox will join us when he has time. He and I are presently doing a seed swap. (Last I heard he was heading out into the desert from Oman, and I suggested he try finding the ancient incense varieties grown there 2,000 years ago).

 

[Smart Red]

Sustainable Seed lists them!

They sound like they could make it as the early tomato that digitS is seeking.

 

[Collector]

I think They are also known as Idaho 21. The reason I want to grow them is they were developed locally and are named after the Idaho county I was born and raised in! So it is sort of nostalgia/bred to grow in this area.

 

[digitS']

I've grown 'em, Red!

Like a million years ago . . . It was when I worked at the greenhouse and had my indoor seed-starting & outdoor garden there. Sometime, pre-1980.

I'm not quite sure which of the U of I releases I did not have . . . but, Kootenai & Benewah, I remember those. Sand Hill Preservation also have those seeds.

What I don't remember is how they did late in the season and hope Collector can tell us. They are both determinates and I am biased towards the indeterminates.

Interesting how Sustainable Seed describes them as "prostrate plants." Yep. The Kootenai were kind of the opposite and very upright, "patio" tomatoes.

Steve

 

[barefootgardener]

Collector, Tatiana's Tomatobase also has seeds for Benewah. Its parentage is Pixie hybrid X Sub- Artic. Developed University of Idaho (Moscow) sometime in 1970-1980. It is open pollinated. Ginny

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Bluebonnet, the USDA website, shoot, can't recall the web url...

Ya talkin' 'bout GRIN?

http://www.ars-grin.gov/

...I am hoping Joseph Simcox will join us when he has time. He and I are presently doing a seed swap. (Last I heard he was heading out into the desert from Oman, and I suggested he try finding the ancient incense varieties grown there 2,000 years ago).

Could you let him know that there are a lot of folks on the Homegrown Goodness inquiring about his bean diversity swap thread? It's been going on for a while and we're wondering if it's still open.

Incense? Do you mean something like Frankincense? Hopefully somebody finds a way to save those Frankincense trees, they're nearing extinction and have some very useful properties.

 

[digitS']

Collector, Tatiana's Tomatobase also has seeds for Benewah. Its parentage is Pixie hybrid X Sub- Artic. Developed University of Idaho (Moscow) sometime in 1970-1980. It is open pollinated. Ginny

There's Ginny!

She knows all sorts of things about these sorts of things!



Steve

 

[Bluebonnet]

I knew this thread would drum up interest!

I am looking for an orange raspberry for my collection. I love old, rare varieties.

Raspberries and carrots are near and dear to my heart in terms of favorite foods.

An orange raspberry could be used to make delicious tarts or macarons. I'm very much a 'foodie'. I love to experiment with unique flavors.

An orange raspberry would have many uses and so would those mysterious white blackberries too if I could just locate them.

I too believe the white blackberry is the most likely to still exist on my list.

 

[Hal]

Bluebonnet, the USDA website, shoot, can't recall the web url, has some surprising bramble berry varieties available, but from seed. They do not all breed completely true of course, but some of them do because they are either wild cultivars, or just that they do, or at least close to true.

Boysenberry for example breeds surprisingly true.

The reason I brought the USDA website up is that they have a newly found variety of raspberry that is a local produce variety from northeast PRC China. Has a name I can't remember. It is Amber/Orange, and is possibly the largest of all Raspberries.

Yes, heirloom varieties are rapidly disappearing, but know for certain that there are people doing some amazing things to stop or at least slow that down. (Some of us even have an historical perspective and are creating what are now new varieties the old fashioned way, that one day will be hopefully old heirlooms.)

I've been trying to fine Burbank's White Blackberry too. I do not think it is extinct! If you google it, you might find sites that I've run across. (some phone gadget keeps showing up when I google for it so you have to use -phone, -electronics, and things like that.)

I DO HAVE, and am presently growing, Burbank's Thornless Blackberry, and last year was productive as all get out! I believe the plant may be high productive only every other year until more roots pop up with new plants.

I happened to have been raised in Santa Rosa, and I actually spent a good amount of time in his garden. One time, very old Mrs. Burbank was standing with her walker, her nurse helping her, and she waved at me and said to her nurse "there's that young man here again". That was when I was about 8 or maybe 9.

I just might have, maybe could be might be if they are still there on willowside road, access to a variety of grape that was bought from Mr. Burbank back around 1920 by my neighbor Frank Distefano. Old Frank had also gotten some very delicious thornless cactus pears, purple when ripe, good sized, sweet, juicy. Also, Frank had an apple tree he got from Burbank. I should have asked, but probably the wisteria vine too. I don't know who own old Frank's vineyard now, where all these things were growing so well when I was a teenager back in the late 1960's.

Downstream along santa rosa creek from burbank's place, less than a mile, sometime around 1967, I found a place where lots and lots of Callas and other bulbs were growing. I dug one up and planted it at our house. It eventually grew a black flower. I sure wish I still had it, for that area is now all houses and condos. ...but just maybe...

Bluebonnet, just so you know, we indeed have here in TEG, some super special heirloom seed savers, and actually, I am hoping Joseph Simcox will join us when he has time. He and I are presently doing a seed swap. (Last I heard he was heading out into the desert from Oman, and I suggested he try finding the ancient incense varieties grown there 2,000 years ago).

Marshall this might be of interest, down the bottom it mentions where to get the Snowbank white black berry.
http://www.celebrationsca.com/InfoBurbankImportedNotoriousBlackberry.htm