Like a New Year's Resolution: A Target!

Burgandy Okra Seeds - "On the hoof" 

A year ago I drew up a list of seeds I thought would be the ones to save – I asked around for others to suggest varieties that I might have missed, but there haven't been a lot of responses.

I was explaining to someone the other day that SLOLA has something like 200 varieties of vegetables in our bank and how I would rather have fewer varieties with larger quantities of each. He suggested that I was postulating the same lack of diversity I decry in the world of seed today.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I think I have an answer to that accusation: It is better to save a fewer varieties of seed and save them well than to have hundreds of different varieties and save them poorly. I would like SLOLA to save all the seeds that will grow here successfully, but that could easily be more seeds than SLOLA can handle at present.

It is more important that we start where we are (we can't really start somewhere else, can we?) and begin to learn how to save seeds of several major varieties and have them on hand. At present, there aren't that many members who are experienced at growing out to seed. Those who can reliably grow plants out to seed need to apply themselves to growing out the difficult seeds and grow enough out to insure a supply on hand for the rest of our members.

Last year, compiling my list of seeds to save, I was heading east on I-70 through Illinois into Indiana ending up at Ft. Wayne to celebrate Christmas. I was in the back of a car with my little Netbook and using a Blackberry to be online. This year, I'm at home and surrounded by seed catalogs, including the two most often cited as 'veggie porn' catalogs (Seed Savers' Exchange and Baker Creek Heirlooms) and was able to use their listings to create the following list of seeds to save.

In compiling this list, I have relied a lot on my own experience with these different varieties and have selected those first. In addition, I have sought diversity of plants (not all early, but some early, some mid-season and some late, where the varieties allowed that). I also looked for performance in many different criteria – including, hardiness, production, flavor, uniqueness as well as historical significance and, in a few cases, we have varieties to save because they are a family heirloom that might be lost if we don't save them.

Some types of plants have many varieties to save and some just a few. Limiting factors could be 1.) lack of varieties; 2.) lack of varieties that do well in Southern Califonia; 3.) I am not familiar with many varieties and so choose to not make a decision (eggplant is an example) and 4.) one or two varieties are considered sufficient to supply the need. For example, in the case of cilantro, there are several (not many) named varieties on the market, but having grown all the cilantros I've found, the differences are negligible and so I simply list cilantro without any varieties. Slo-Bolt bolted faster for me than the cilantro have self seeding in my garden.

Here's the number one reason to share this: we seed savers in SLOLA need to hear from everyone who has suggestions for varieties of veggies to save. The Seed Savers Of Los Angeles need to build a list of seeds to save – a 'target' for us to shoot for. Email us via the blog or bring your list to any SLOLA meeting – I’ll be willing to add your suggestions to my list. Let's see if we can double this in the coming year!

This is a work in progress! OUR work!

Varieties of Vegetable Seeds I Believe We^* Should Save

Artichokes
	Green Globe Violetto
Beans (nominally Phaseolus vulgaris)
	Aquadulce (Fava) Broad Windsor (Fava) Cannelini Bush Bean (Dry/Bush) Christmas (Lima/Climbing) Envy (Soybean) Golden Wax Bean (Wax/Bush) Henderson (Lima/Bush) Hutterite Soup Pencil Pod (Wax/Bush) Pineschi Family Bean (Vigna unguiculata) Royal Burgundy Bean (Purple/Early) Scarlet Runner (Phaseolus coccineus)
Beets
	Bull's Blood Crosby's Egyptian Burpee's Golden Chioggia Detroit Dark Red Yellow Cylindrical
Broccoli
	DiCicco Nutribud Romanesco
Brussels Sprouts
	Long Island Improved
Cabbage
	Copenhagen Market Cabbage Early Jersey Wakefield Glory of Einkhuizan Mammoth Red Rock Perfection Drumhead Savoy Premium Late Flat Dutch Winningstadt
Carrot
	Scarlet Nantes Carrot Chantenay Red Core Danvers Half Long White Belgian
Cauliflower
	Early Snowball
Chard
	Five Color Silverbeet Chard (AKA Rainbow Chard) Fordhook Giant
Celery and Celeriac
	Giant Prague (Celeriac) Utah Tall (Celery)
Corn
	Black Azte, Country Gentleman Corn Golden Bantam Corn Oaxacan Green Dent Stowells Evergreen
Corn (Popcorn)
	Strawberry
Cucumber
	Armenian
Eggplant
Grains (except corn and wheat)
	Flax Quinoa, Shelly 25 Black Sesame, Light Seeded
Kale	Blue Curled Scotch Lacinato
Leek	Blue Solaise Carentan King Richard
Lettuce
	lBack Seeded Simpson Brune d'Hiver Cimmaron Drunken Woman Frizzy Head Forellenschluss Merlot Merveille des Quatre Saison Parris Island Cos Red Romaine Rouge d'Hiver Rouge Grenobloise Summertime Tango Tom Thumb Webbs Wonderful Yugoslavian Red
Melons
	Charentais Green Nutmeg Hale's Best Metki White Serpent (cucumber) Tigger
Okra
	Burgundy Clemson Spineless Don't Knowcra Star of David
Onion
	Iitoy Red of Florence
Parsnip
	Harris Model
Peas	Alaska Lincoln Little Marvel Tall Telephone Oregon Sugar Pod Sugar Snap
Pepper	Anaheim Corno di Toro Fish Italian Pepperoncini Jalapeno Early Jimmy Nardello Italian Red Marconi
Squash – Summer	Lebanese White Bush Marrow Zucchini – Lungo Bianco
Squash - Winter
	Black Futsu Chersonskaya Delicata Marina di Chioggia Queensland Blue Squash Sweet Meat
Tomato
	Amish Paste Big Rainbow Black Cherry Black From Tula Black Icicle Cherokee Purple Copia Cream Sausage Federle Flammé Orange Banana Orange Icicle Roman Candle Rutgers San Marzano San Remo Striped Roman Thessaloniki Wapsipinicon Peach
Turnip
	Purple Top White Globe
Wheat
	Federation 126 Perennial Wheat Sonoran White
david

*“We” being the Seed Library of Los Angeles