Choosing Heirloom Tomato Varieties to Grow and Saving Seeds

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of heirloom tomato varieties from all around the world.  How is one to choose which varieties to grow?  The number one deciding factor, and one we all tend to ignore (especially me!) is the climate will they be grown in.  Tomatoes have certain parameters of growth and for best results, these must be provided. Tomatoes originally came from the mountains of Mexico. The climate is temperate due to elevation.  So all tomatoes perform well in temperate areas.  Temperatures below 100F, not extremely humid in the summer with moderate rainfall.  In places which experience freezes, tomatoes  are grown as annuals, but if there is no frost to kill them, they are perennial.  In the wild, they scramble across the ground as long vines. If one lives in a temperate climate, just about any tomato variety should do well. 

The next consideration is length of growing season.  In the northern hemisphere, the further north one goes, the shorter the growing season.  In the southern hemisphere, the further south one goes, the shorter the season. Most variety descriptions will tell  how many days from planting in the ground (not taking into account seedling time which is usually 6-8 weeks) to when they ripen fruit. This is called days to harvest.  If one is in a place where the growing season is around 90 days, it's best to find varieties that will produce fruit within that time frame or be prepared to grow them in a greenhouse or ripen fruit in the house. It also is beneficial to find varieties which will tolerate cool temperatures, still set fruit, and ripen them.   I tend to ignore days to harvest and just follow the rule that the smaller the tomato, the quicker it ripens. Small tomatoes take less time, big and huge tomatoes take more time.

Type of growing season is also important.  Lots of rain is a difficult situation in any type of climate for tomatoes.  Either they need to be grown in pots or in raised beds to keep their roots from drowning. Very rainy or cloudy climates limit the amount of sunlight the plants receive.  Less sunlight does not bode well for plant growth and tomato production.  This combination promotes disease.  Lack of rain is not so much of a problem because the plants can be mulched and if water is available, it can be added to the soil. There is generally less airborne diseases in dry climates, more in wetter ones.

My garden is located in upstate NY, in USDA zone 5.  Do a search for USDA Agricultural Zone maps to discover yours if you are in the US.  My garden experiences summers which are rarely up to 100F and our winters can get to -25F.  This is  a temperate climate with a moderately short growing season. We are supposed to get a moderate amount of precipitation with occasional wetter years and drier years.  Our average last frost is May 20th and our average first frost is September 20th.  I need to think about tomatoes that can produce in less than 120 days, which fortunately, is nearly all of them, even the really big ones.  Of course, I have to bring in a lot of green tomatoes at the end of the season to ripen, but it extends how long I have tomatoes to eat.  The further south one travels, the longer and warmer the growing season, often with increased humidity.  Most varieties can still handle this. Deep south and along the coast? Difficult situation for any tomato.  A friend who worked at a greenhouse in Costa Rica told me that growing tomatoes in tropical climates is, well, he used the word...nightmare.  It rained every day, a lot of it at one time, and was hot and humid for the rest of the day. He described what happened to them as they looked like they melted. So, tomatoes to be grown in subtropical and tropical climates need to be tolerant of these conditions. 

If there are specific problems such as soil borne diseases, and there isn't fresh garden area to grow the plants in to avoid the diseased soil, the only alternatives are to grow susceptible varieties (all are unless they are bred to be resistant to them) in pots or grow hybrids that are bred for disease resistance to fusarium and verticillium wilt.  To my knowledge, there are no heirloom tomato varieties resistant to these diseases and the only option would be to grow tomatoes in pots.

After all these considerations, it comes down to personal preference and whether you want indeterminate tomatoes (ones that will keep growing taller and taller and need to be staked or caged) or determinate ones which can do well in pots and need minimal staking because they grow to about 2-3' and that's it. Heirloom tomatoes come in all colors, red, black, yellow, purple, white, green, pink, orange, striped, spotted, tiny, huge, sausage shaped, heart shaped, acidic, not so much acidic, pouch shaped, pleated, pear shaped, hollow for stuffing, grape size, cherry size, beefsteak for sandwiches, sauce tomatoes, salad tomatoes, cocktail tomatoes, etc. Heirloom tomatoes also come from nearly every country in the world where they have been selected to do the best in the climates they are being grown in.

 I will mention a few specific varieties to grow but in lieu of that, there are a few simple tips to choose from the names of the varieties or if you know their country of origin.  Color is the most obvious if it appears in the name. Size can be determined by the words:  tiny, currant, grape, cherry, and represent small tomatoes with the words describing shape as well.  Giant is also very obvious. Shape is more difficult to determine.  Ox heart indicates tomatoes that are shaped like hearts, plum are shaped like plum, sausage like a sausage. Seeing a description or a picture is the only true way to see shape.  Heirloom tomatoes with the name of the country from which they come can give a clue to what type of climate they will do well in.  Cold tolerant and short season: those from Russia particularly Siberia, Canada, Nepal, and places with high elevation which would have a short growing season. Tropical and subtropical areas: Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Laos, African countries, and any tomato variety mentioning any one of the USA's southern states. High heat but dry: varieties from the Middle East, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, some parts of Spain.  Cloudy, rainy areas: varieties with the names San Francisco, and those from the United Kingdom. Nearly all the varieties from Europe will do well in a temperate climate.

Now for specific varieties for specific situations.  The  most difficult situations are extreme heat, extreme heat with high humidity, and short season. The heirloom tomato varieties I will be mentioning are only ones I am familiar with. I'm sure there are many, many others.

Tropical, sub-tropical, Vietnam 01, Vietnam 10, Caribo (Vietnam), Thai Egg, Ghost (Laos), Bali

Extreme heat: Togorific (I've seen it listed as from Iran, Iraq, and Togo Africa), Banjan Roomi (Middle East)

Cloudy, rainy, temperate: Tigerella aka Mr. Stripey (UK), San Francisco Fog, Qi Huang (China).

Cold tolerant, short season: Nepal, (Nepal) Novosadatsky 37 (Soviet), Sasha Altai (Siberia), Tarasenko (Russia), Zunami (Russia), Mao (China)

Just for fun and authenticity of varieties from their true home all from Indian tribes in Mexico: Zapotec, Wild, Tlacalula Pink (Aztec), Oaxacan Pink

One last thing.  If you like to tinker with plants and want to create a tomato which will be the best performer in the conditions of your climate, it is a relatively simple matter.  Choose the most productive tomato, one which has grown the best, produced the quality of fruit you desire, most disease resistant, whatever criteria you want your personal strain of  tomato to be.  Save the seeds from at least one fruit, I'll explain in a minute how to do that. Sow those seeds and again, save whichever tomato performs the best.  After a few years, you will develop a strain of that variety which performs the best in your local.

Saving tomato seeds is not difficult. They can be scooped out onto a paper towel and left to dry there and if they are spaced well, the paper towel and seeds can be planted like they are the next season.  The best way to ensure that all seeds are viable and it's not a sticky, jell mess on a paper towel is to ferment the whole lot.  Put the seeds complete with gel in a plastic cup or other such container and let it stand in a warm place. It will get disgusting, but this is what we want.  Within 3 or 4 days the gel will ferment off. Take the cup to the sink and add water to it.  Wait until everything that might settle settles and then carefully pour off the liquid, discarding every thing that floats. Seeds which are not viable will float and will be poured off.  Good, viable seeds will be at the bottom.  Keep adding water and pouring off until the water is pretty much free of material other than the viable seeds on the bottom. Pour these out into a tea strainer and rinse under the water.  Then lay the seeds out to dry on a paper towel, spread them out so they don't stick together too much and they dry down quicker.  After about 2 weeks, take them off the paper towel and store them in a paper envelope for sowing the following season.  Tomato seed can remain viable for up to 10 years.  Just storing them in paper envelopes in a cool dry place, I have gotten over 50% germination from 7 year old seed.

Welcome to the world of heirloom tomato growing, have fun, eat well, and keep the varieties going.  They will only be around as long as someone grows them and saves

Available varieties of African violets

These are the varieties ready now as starter plants and as leaves for propagation.. They are available for sale at my ebay store and my bonanza booth. You can see descriptions and pictures of the plants on these sites as well. All plants are starter plants and growing well in 1 oz solo cups.  I guarantee live delivery even in the cold (they are insulated and shipped with a heat pack).   A good site to see really great pictures that will leave you drooling and howling for more is the AVSA's site. See the favorite links above for clickable entry to the sites.

Ma's Watermelon
RD's Illusion
Ness' Antique Red
Mac's Rouge Rogue
Mac's White Water
Morgan's Arctic Chiller
Jolly Coral
Rob's Boo Hoo
Morgan's Windorah
Rob's Sticky Wicket
Rob's Twinkle Blue
Snow Leopard
Allegro Cupid Pink
Rob's Vanilla Trail
Optimara Little Crystal
Myakka Trail
Rob's Willawong Trail
Genetic Gem
Pearly Buttons
Pipsqueak
Arctic Frost
Trinket O'Pink
Midget Silver Fox
Green Dragon

Sneak Preview of plants offered for sale by Mani Plants and Malas for Spring of 2011

Common names given, if you'd like the latin names, please make a comment.

 I will be updating this list as I sow more seeds and see what is germinating. Most of the plants are available as seeds as well. Seeds and descriptions available at Mani Plants and Malas Website plants, seeds, and descriptions available at   Mani Plants and Malas on Bonanza

These will be first year plants, started from seed in January. 

Annual Jimsonweed                                    Annual Jimsonweed Biennial Clary Sage Biennial Woad Perennial Anise hyssop Perennial Bayberry Perennial blue eye grass, wild and domestic Perennial blue flax Perennial Blue platycodon Perennial Boneset Perennial Echinacea pallida Perennial False Indigo Perennial False sunflower Perennial Globe thistle yellow Perennial Hollyhock yellow Perennial Huskers red penstemon Perennial Margarite, dyers chamomile Perennial meadowsweet, '09 Perennial pink toadflax Perennial Red Valerian Perennial rose campion Perennial Rue Perennial Salad burnet Perennial Sweet Peas Perennial Tall platycodon Perennial White columbine Perennial yellow eye grass perennial, feverfew double perennial, feverfew reg Pernennial Arnica Biennial Canterbury bells, mixed colors Perennial Germander Perennial motherwort
Second year or older plants, grown in pots or dug from the garden
Annual angel's trumpet, datura annual henbane Perennial alpine strawberries perennial anise hyssop perennial arnica Perennial Bachelor buttons perennial belladonna perennial black eye susans, gloriosa Perennial blackberry lily perennial blue flax perennial chives Perennial coltsfoot perennial comfrey perennial daisy, wild perennial double feverfew perennial echinacea pallida Perennial Egyptian walking onion Perennial elecampane perennial false sunflower Perennial garden loosestrife Perennial garlic chives Perennial Gooseneck loosestrife perennial greek oregano Perennial Hens and Chicks Perennial hoytunia chameleon plant perennial huskers red penstemon perennial hyssop Perennial Indian blanket perennial lady's mantel perennial lambsears Perennial liastris perennial lungwort Perennial lupins, blue, wild perennial maltese cross perennial mixed columbine perennial mugwort Perennial Nettles, stinging perennial purple coneflower, echinacea perennial regular feverfew Perennial rue perennial salad burnet perennial sweet grass perennial sweet violets, various colors Perennial sweet william, red and white striped Perennial Tansy perennial thyme Perennial tickseed coriopsis Perennial valerian perennial white columbine Perennial wild monarda perennial winter savory perennial wormwood Perennial yarrow, pink Perennial yarrow, white Perennial yellow foxglove
More will be added as I remember them or start them.  I have an awful lot of varieties. Here's some more: Perennial, motherwort Perennial Skullcap Perennial Soapwort Perennial Catnip.

Now a word from our sponsors........

Interested in purchasing African violet plants or leaves or perhaps heirloom tomato plants from all around the world?  Wort7759s Bonanza booth  or  My Ebay Store, Mani Malas Buddhist Prayer Beads  I'll be adding more and more all the time. Check back often. 
Also, if your other addiction, besides African violets and plants, is books on African Violets and plants, check out the very end of the blog for my picks for gardening books from Amazon. Use this blog as a portal for purchasing.

African Violets, Successfully Grow Them

African violets have figured prominently in my life.  When I was eight years old, my grandmother gave me a leaf cutting with directions on how to get more plants from that single leaf. I did what she suggested, it made more plants, and  I was hooked. That simple act gave me a life long interest in African violets and plants.  So much so, the hobby turned into an online business selling plants and seeds and I have over 150 varieties of African violets.  I just love the darn things.


Over 40 years ago, when my grandmother gave me that leaf cutting, there was not the variety in blossoms and leaf type as there is now.  They were mostly purple-blue, maybe a pink or two, usually single blossomed, occasionally double, and white.  Leaves were standard round and green.  Now, the variety of plants is mind boggling.  All types of blossom shapes, colors in green, yellow, red, blue, speckled, thumb printed, and chimera.  Leaves come crinkly, light green, dark green almost black, pointed, serrated, wavy edged, red backs, variegated with white, cream, tan, beige, and pink, on the edges, throughout the leaf, and combined on the same leaf using all of the types.  There are standards, semi-miniatures, miniatures, and trailing violets.  See the link to the African Violet Society of America's images pages.  There are a few thousand pictures of varieties. It's eye candy for plant nuts.


One thing that has remained the same with violets over the years is the popularity of them.  They are easy to grow once you provide their needs and they reward with tons of blooms.  Most varieties are pretty much always in bloom.  There are enthusiasts who purchase their plants from a grocery store or department store and they only keep a few. There are those that go straight to the hybridizer and buy plants or leaves from them.  Usually, these are more expensive, but they are certainly worth it if one wants to get the unique violets.  Some who hybridize specialize in classes of violets.  For instance, Ralph Robinson  in central NY specializes in miniatures and semi-miniatures while his wife specializes in standards. Their violets bear their names in the description such as Rob's Fuzzy Navel and Ma's Watermelon. Yes, Fuzzy Navel is the name of the violet.  I think my favorite name is Rob's Suicidal Squirrel.   One can also find leaves and plants online from a multitude of greenhouses as well as auction and selling sites.


How do you decide, if you haven't all ready gotten plants, which type to grow?  Their needs are all quite similar so this can be a personal preference for colors, type of leaf, or in many cases, size of the plants.  The smaller the plants, the more that can be squeezed into a collection. African violet collecting has been described as an addiction so plans need to be made for the number of violets one can acquire. Not only are they beautiful, basically quite easy to care for, but they are very easy to propagate. One can never have just one of their favorite plant.  At least I can't.  Either one has to keep them all, trade them for others, give them as gifts, or sell them. 


The sizes of the plants are described thus: standards are over 8 inches when fully grown. That is, their leaf span measures over 8 inches.  They can be kept a little smaller by regularly removing the outer leaves (don't forget to save them for propagating!). Three rows of leaves are all the violet needs to stay healthy, four or five is better.  Semi-miniature violets measure less than 8 inches when they are mature and miniatures grow to 6 inches or less.  There is something really sweet about the smaller varieties. Not only do they take up less space, but they seem to bloom more profusely than the larger ones. Solid little bouquets of flowers making a fine posy.


The following information is on  growing requirements. 


Soil and pots  All of the violets need soil that holds moisture and is well drained.  There are many commercial types of media which are mixed specifically for violets.  If there are many violets in the collection, one may mix their own.  Mix 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite, and 1 part vermiculite.  To one gallon of this mix, add a teaspoon of ground limestone.  African violets prefer the size of the pot to be one third the span of their crown. They also prefer to be root bound, that is, their roots filling the pots. This encourages the fastest growth and bloom. Standards should never have a pot more than 4 inches in diameter.  Semi-miniatures will do well in a 3 inch pot and miniatures should have a 2 and a half inch pot.


Light  Violets can not tolerate full sun.  It fades them and burns them and they quickly decline in health.  If one only has a few violets and they are on a window sill, an east window is best.  Morning sun is generally not strong enough to hurt the violets.  West facing windows are the next best, though in hot climates, a sheer curtain between the plant and window may be needed.  Southern exposure windows should not be used unless there is a sheer curtain between the plant and the window, shading from a tree, or the plant set back from the window by a few feet. Winter is the only time a violet can handle full sun in a southern exposure.  The sun isn't strong enough to damage the plant.  Violets can be grown under artificial lights.  Grow lights or just ordinary florescent lights work fine.  Some experimenting needs to be done to determine the best distance between the bulbs and the plants. I grow mine at about 2 feet from the lamps.  If there isn't enough intensity, the violets' leaves will stretch upward.  The entire plant will look pale and it won't bloom.  If there is too much, the leaves will droop down and hug the pot, the centers of the crown will get bunched up and brittle, leaves and flowers will be deformed.


Water  This is probably the one aspect of growing violets which seems the most complicated.  One hears horror stories about the disasters of incorrect watering or have experienced them first hand.  Put them out of your mind and focus on what the plant needs. Violets need consistently moist soil, but not waterlogged. There are many ways to provide this.  Top watering with a watering can with a long spout is adequate for just a few plants.  One needs to be careful  not get water on the center or on the leaves.  This is because it may cause spotting, or damage to the leaves if the water temperature is too warm or too cold. Also, the salts and minerals in the water will leave a white stain when the water evaporates.  Too much water in the crown can cause rotting.  If you draw the water the night before and let it sit, it will be room temperature when you water the plants and there will be less problems with cold water spotting.  To avoid getting on the leaves all together, one can water the plant from the bottom.  Put the water in the saucer of the pot.  Keep putting it in until no more water is absorbed. Then, dump the water in the saucer and let the plant drain.  Do not let the African violet stand in water.  It will suffocate the roots, begin to rot the plant, and all kinds of other mean and nasty things.  Periodically, the plant should be watered from the top to flush fertilizer salts out of the pot. If there are a lot of violets involved, one can use the wick method or capillary matting.  Either way, both methods depend on capillary action to get water into the pot.  A piece of wick made out of nylon string or yarn is used.  Put one end which has been unraveled in the bottom of the pot and thread the wick through the drainage hole.  Either have it go into another vessel that holds water or have the plants sitting on a platform to keep them out of the water yet the wick extends down into a common reservoir of water.  The water will be drawn up the wick and into the pot.  Capillary matting works the same except the plants are sitting on the matting.  I use sections of synthetic blanket instead of the much more expensive matting and trays which lack drainage. I water when the matting dries out to just barely moist and some of the pots are light and getting dry.  Then I pour in enough water to completely soak the mat and leave only a bit of standing water.  The plants should suck this up very quickly and if they don't and there is more than very wet, the water should be drained off.  The soil in the pots needs to be formulated differently than for other violets which are watered from the top or bottom.  Mixes that are predominately perlite work the best.  Perlite has an amazing, natural capillary action.  My favorite mix is half perlite and half vermiculite.   So, how does one tell if an African Violet needs water?  The number one tool for determining if water is needed is as simple as an index finger. If you touch the soil and it is dry to the touch or just not really moist, the violet needs water. The best is if the soil is very moist to moist, not wet or bog like, not desert like either.


Feeding  African violets are heavy bloomers and as such, they need a high amount of phosphorous.  African violet food is sold for this purpose.  It has a lower amount of nitrogen and potassium and a higher amount of phosphorous.  How do you know what to buy?  There will be three numbers looking something like this: 10-10-10.  The first number is nitrogen, the second is phosphorous, the third is potassium.  A typical analysis for African violets would be 8-14-9 or 5-15-5.  The middle number always needs to be the highest number. Overfeeding is very bad for violets.  It causes fertilizer salt build up which burns and damages roots.  The plant does poorly and may even die. Follow the directions on the label of the fertilizer as to the rate and frequency of application.  Most professional growers use the fertilizer at one quarter the rate and feed every time they apply water.  If the wick, capillary mat, or bottom watering is used, it is very beneficial to flush the pots from the top with fresh water.  In fact, the violet will really appreciate a complete shower. Wait! Didn't I say not to get the leaves wet? Yes, I did.  Don't get them wet with cold water.  Warm water is fine and being sprayed at the sink cleans and freshens the leaves as well as lets fresh water flush the pots. Don't put the wet plants where it is drafty or in direct sun after the shower.  I flush pots when the matting needs changing which means there is an algal bloom.  When it gets green and smelly, I change the mats and wash the used ones in the washing machine with bleach to get rid of the algae and fertilizer salts.

Grooming  In addition to rinsing the plants occasionally, violets can  be cleaned by using an artist's brush to brush dirt and dust off the leaves. This is a good practice to keep the plants healthy because dirty leaves can not photosynthesize very well. This is also a relaxing way to appreciate the plants as well as looking for dead or dying leaves or blossoms to remove. I also remove leaves which just ruin the symmetry of the plant.  Any that are hidden by others or extend way beyond their row.  Little plants often form where the leaf meets the crown. These are called suckers.  Let them grow big enough to discern whether they are blossom buds or suckers.  Remove the suckers with the tip of a tooth pick, bamboo skewer, or lead pencil. If the suckers are allowed to remain, it will form a multiple crown plant.  This can be attractive, but the convention is to strive for a single, well grown, symmetrical crown.  Also, if the plant is putting its energy into suckers, it is not producing blossoms.  The blossoms are the reason for growing African violets in the first place.


The next article will be on how to propagate African violets and pest problems.

Plants with Fragrance

Here is a description of plants that have either fragrant leaves or flowers.  

Ambrosia (Chenopodium botrys) Annual. This plant is also known as Jerusalem Oak and goosefoot. It's scent is delicious, so much so you'll want to eat it. According to the USDA, it is edible and I've heard it makes good tea. I have yet to try it. The plant itself grows to about 2' with the bulk of the plant being the flower head. Mine always grow small. I think it is because of where I have them. It is often dry and may be too dry to provide maximum growth. It needs full sun, water when dry, and fairly decent soil. Good fertility will make it grow to it's full potential. Great for pot potpourri, putting in swags and wreathes, Victorian theme gardens, cottage gardens, or just to have a pot on the windowsill.

Little Gem Marigold  (Tagetes sp). Annual.  I love marigolds because they are so bright and cheerful, come in all sizes, and the smaller ones are great for the front of the border. Little Gems also are very fragrant. The entire plant smells of citrus.  Delightful bright, sunny colors and this delightful fragrance. It grows no more than a foot and has very interesting foliage as well. Needs full sun, water when dry and well drained soil. I have not seen any pest damage on these so think they may be resistant to earwigs and slugs. 

Catnip  (Nepeta cataria) Perennial usda zone 4-9. I'm including this as a fragrant plant because I understand some people like the smell of this.  I don't.  This is the plant of cat intoxication fame.  Curiously, not all cats like it.  We had a cat named Lester who didn't care for it.  Our other cat Elmer vigorously defended her stash. She would eat and roll in it, be incredibly wild, and then sleep for the rest of the day.   It has an interesting history.  It has been used to relieve colic in babies and the root of it was brewed and served to executioners by their wives before a job.  It was said to put them in the proper mood for hanging or beheading and one can only wonder what the proper mood might have been.  It grows to 3 feet in fertile, well drained soil. It needs full sun, but will do ok in part sun.  Will seed and spread.

Purple coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea) Perennial. Zones 2-10. This is a very pretty medicinal plant. It's purple/pink blooms appear in July-August. It needs full sun, well drained soil, and water when dry. It will grow in part sun but will be spindly and have a tendancy to flop over and have fewer blooms. It grows to 3', sometimes 4' in good soil or with added organic matter. Will bloom the second year from seed. This is the most widely used Echinacea for boosting the immune system. All parts of the plant are considered medicinal. I have read that people who have over active immune system disorders should not take this as well as it should not be taken more than 6 weeks at a time. Will multiply by clumping and seed (if the goldfinches don't eat all the seed). Attractive to butterflies, has a pleasant scent, and will attract goldfinches to your garden.

Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia). Perennial, Zones 5-8. It is said that the scent of lavender is the most popular scent in the world. It is one of the few scents that the majority of men like and it is found in a lot of shaving and soap products. As far as growing it goes, it helps to remember it is a Mediterranean plant. Hot dry summers, cool but not too wet winters. In fact, dry is a key to growing this plant. It must be in well drained soil. If you can not provide that, it needs to be grown in a pot. Another requirement for winter hardiness is that it be protected from cold wind. This sounds difficult if you are from some place where winter is on the vicious side, but micro-climates can be found or created. I had a lot of success growing it on the east side of the house, next to the foundation, and it was under the peak of the roof so no rain run off. Snow piled on it also helps. Still expect some winter kill on the branches, but the plant usually survives. The last requirement for growing lavender successfully is to make sure the soil is alkaline. Add lime. Planting it next to the house foundation if it is cement also helps. Lime leaches from the foundation. OK, now that I've mentioned all that, on to the plant itself. It prefers full sun, well drained soil, water when dry, but it can stand some drought. Clip out the winter killed branches in the spring after it has started to leaf out so you know which ones are dead and thoroughly enjoy the flowers when they come. Pick when a few flowers have opened on the stalk, tie into bunches and hang in an airy warm place out of the sun to dry. Will grow to 3' and tend to sprawl (from the weight of snow). Becomes woody with age. 

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis). Perennial. Zone 3-9. This is a very decorative small shrub. It grows to 4' if very happy in full sun, well drained fertile soil, and water when dry. Mostly it stays around 3' but can be pruned to keep it smaller. It can tolerate some dryness, but grows better if it gets water. It has an aromatic scent that is pleasant though somewhat medicinal. A customer of mine who suffered from asthma told me she made tea from the leaves and used it to help her ailment to the point where she didn't need to use her inhaler as much. Very dark leaves and dark blue flowers make this an attractive mid-position border plant. This is the hyssop mentioned in the Bible. 

Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis).  Perennial. Zones 3-9. This plant was introduced by early settlers to provide a source of soap to wash cloth, particularly wool. You can almost always find it growing by creeks especially those that have had woolen mills on them. When the whole plant and the roots are soaked in water and then the water agitated, a sudsy solution is made that can be used to wash skin, hair, or fine washables. Don't get it in the eyes....it burns like a fury.I've used it on my hair and followed it with  a diluted vinegar rinse. My hair shone and was very soft. It's past uses included taking it internally, but that is not recommended any longer as the saponins can cause quite the digestive upset. The plant itself grows to be about 3' tall. It prefers full sun and moist soil. I've seen it growing happily by the side of the road so it can tolerate poor soil. It spreads by root and seed. The flowers are light pink, sometimes doubled, and are evening fragrant. The scent is that of cloves. It blooms in mid-summer, around July.

Sweet Annie (Artemesia annua).  Annual. This is another one with great scent which is very strong. It can grow quite tall in full sun, good soil, and adequate water. It can profusely seed itself. It is light green and ferny looking so makes a statement at the back of the border because it can grow to 5' and the light green foliage provides an interesting contrast to the usual darker green foliage types. It has tiny yellow flowers. The entire plant is fragrant. It is good to make scented herbal wreaths and swags with this because the scent stays well when dried. Any time you want to smell it's sweetness, all you need to do is brush against it. Medicinally it is being investigated for treating drug resistant strains of malaria.

Valerian (Valerian officinalis) Perennial. This is the garden valerian that has sweetly scented flowers....and the God awfullest smelling roots. It grows to 4', prefers full sun but will grow in part sun, likes lots of moisture and will grow in damp areas of the garden. It has white flowers and blooms in early to mid summer. It will seed itself and multiply by it's crown. It's roots are used medicinally...if you can stand the smell, something like rotten gym socks that have stepped in dog doo. It is said to promote calming of the nerves, anxiety, and to allow one to fall asleep. A former specific name of this plant was V. phu (Pronounce p-u, I imagine because of the smell). The roots are dug in the 2nd or preferably the third year, early in the spring just when the frost has left the ground. Zones 3-9. 

Sweet Violet  (Viola odorata). Perennial. Zone 6-9. Full sun to shade. This precious violet comes in blue, pink, and a sort of mauve which I think is a cross between the other two. It grows to 4" tall and bears remarkable flowers. Not only are they pretty, they are intensely fragrant. I have seen lawns dotted with these violets that you can smell yards away. They are listed as perennial in zones 6-9, but they routinely come through our Zone 5 winters. They spread endlessly, much to my delight. They will send out offsets like strawberries do and they reproduce by seed. They like moist soil, but not wet conditions. This is one of the traditional perfume scents and the flowers are candied to be an edible decoration on cakes.

Can You Stop a Watch by Wearing It?

I am intensely interested in this subject and the purpose of writing this article is to find others out there that have the same ability. This article does have to do with plants and gardening so I think is appropriate in this category.

I've had a very detrimental effect on watches since I was in my teens. Analog or digital, I wear them, I kill them.  I was given a digital watch for graduation and they were new at the time.  I loved it. Unfortunately, within 2-3 weeks, the poor thing went hay wire. I sent it back to the maker to get it fixed. They fixed it and sent it back to me. Within 2-3 weeks, again, it wouldn't work correctly.  I sent it back, they returned it fixed and the same thing happened within the same time frame. Again I sent it back and in less than a week I got the watch returned to me along with a check for the price of the watch and a note telling me that they preferred to return the money because it was obvious to them, I was one of those people who had a detrimental effect on the functioning of a watch. So I set out to see if I did that to all watches. Over the years I sporadically tried several brands and types, expensive, inexpensive all with the same effect.  Though, the effect seemed to occur at shorter and shorter intervals. It only took about a week to kill a watch. I finally gave up trying to wear one and found I could keep one in my pocket without destroying it.

All through this time, I tried to find information about this phenomenon.  The watch company insinuated this is a problem that occurs occasionally with people so there must be others. I did meet a few people that also couldn't wear a watch for the same reason and we would have lively discussions on how fast we could stop a watch.  The only explanations I ever found or hear were that watch stoppers may have some natural electrical or magnetic energy which was more intensified in them, especially when something was in direct, prolonged contact with the skin. I am a research based sort of person and don't want to make up my about it until I see research results.

Anyone who has read my profile or bio knows that I am a rabid plant person.  I have a way with them since I was 8 years old, went to college for horticulture, taught the subject, and started a business selling plants and seeds.  I love plants and always seem to know exactly what they need to grow. I like their endless variety and they are just endlessly interesting to me.A few years back,  I went to work at a greenhouse/nursery.  I noticed none of us wore watches or if we had one on us, it was kept in a pocket.  So I started asking why they didn't wear one on their wrists. With only one exception of a gentleman who just didn't like to wear watches, we all killed watches. Four people in one area who exhibited this same dubious ability and the only other thing they had in common was they too were rabid plant people. We all had the equivalent ability or way with plants. We spent a lunch time or two speculating on reasons and everyone else let it drop but I just couldn't.  When I would spot a customer who had a certain gleam in their eye when looking at plants or talking about them which indicated they shared my enthusiasm for plants, I would ask them if they could wear a watch.  More often than not, they couldn't wear one either, for the same reason of disabling it within weeks of wearing it.

I don't pretend to know what is going on with this. My informal study is just that informal, but I can't keep from noticing the correlation between watch killing and plant people. I've met several plant people who can wear a watch.  Several non-plant people who not only kill watches, they kill plants as well because they don't care about them.  Since I've totally turned my life to plant production and am working with them more and my ability to care for them has improved, I noticed something else. It now only takes 2 days to kill a watch if it is contacting my skin.  I decided to put a watch on a chain to wear around my neck. It was always dangling in my way and annoyed with it, I put it inside of my shirt next to my skin. It stopped the second day. I've given up having a time piece of any kind on my person.  This ability is just too expensive. My sons won't let me near their watches let alone borrow them or even touch them.

I am still intensely interested in this subject and the purpose of writing this article is to find others out there that have the same ability.  I would like to hear from them to continue my informal study. If anyone has heard of a credible, science based reason for this, I would love to hear it. You can leave a comment on my blog or contact me through author contact if the site this is on allows it.

The question is: if you discombobulate watches when you wear them, are you also a plant person.  Plant person meaning that you love to work them, you own lots, and they seem to grow wonderfully for you. If you are not a plant person and still stop watches, is there any reason you know of?

12/14/2010  This just in.....I just stumbled across a website concerning NDE or Near Death Experiences.  80% of people who have had a NDE also can not wear watches because they cause them to stop. I have not had any NDE.  The site also mentioned that 2% of the population is able to do this.