We also like stories about the seeds that have left our warehouse and have gone out into the hands and gardens of our customers. When this photo of the Pink Brandywine came across my desk, I was astonished at how much it looked so much like the one on our 2011 catalog cover, also depicted in the photograph sent in by a customer. I went searching for the story that would go with it.

Kirby and Dee Stafford of Brooksville, Florida, are dedicated backyard gardeners that grow plants in raised beds and a few 40-feet rows along the fence lines. That is impressive coming from someone who says, “Our garden size is limited to our hectic work schedules, and lots of deer/rabbits.”

The Staffords garden because they get a lot of satisfaction when they grow, cook, eat, and share the products of their garden. They both grew up with families who had gardens, and they remember that the best meals had fresh veggies in them. They also recognize that gardening helps them save on grocery bills and keeps them active as they get a bit older. When asked for their favorite tomato recipe, Dee answered, “Nothing beats a fresh tomato sandwich! White bread, Dukes Mayo, salt, pepper, and a fresh piece of lettuce! UMMM!”

Dee and Kirby turned to Baker Creek Seeds a couple of years ago when they read an article in their local newspaper about the “absolutely dysfunctional” tomato-growing business in Florida: poor soil being pumped with chemical fertilizers, gassing to create color, etc. The author of the article recommended Baker Creek Seeds as a real alternative source for Floridians who wanted to grow tomatoes the old-fashioned way and get a better product. The Staffords promptly went online, ordered a catalog, and the accompanying photo is the result of their first test of Baker Creek seeds.

The Staffords normally grow two or three varieties of tomatoes, always including at least one cherry tomato plant. In fact, they share their favorite gardening story that involves cherry tomatoes: “About 10 years ago, we planted a 10-feet by 20-feet stand of cherry tomatoes—fortifying the soil with donkey manure—and these plants just took off! By the time they finally quit producing, they were over 10 feet tall. The only thing that was unusual was that these particular plants seemed to not have any tomatoes for the first three or four feet of growth. We chalked it up to the fact that they were so tall, and so healthy, all the blooms were high up. Besides, we were getting hundreds of tomatoes, so it wasn’t a ‘problem.’ Then one day, looking out our window, we discovered why this was happening. Our dog, a 100-pound Labrador retriever, was weaving her way around the plants, gracefully pulling off all the red, ripe cherries she could reach! Following behind her was our German shepherd, getting the ones she would reach! Mystery solved!”

Kirby and Dee Stafford are typical examples of gardeners who use Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and have a story to tell. We appreciate their sharing their story.

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and a life-long gardener.

Now that we truly are into our busiest season of the year, we are working long days to fill the many hundreds to thousands of orders that come in daily and get them out to our customers as quickly as possible. In fact, our goal is to fill orders the same day received, and we can usually accomplish that. Here is a little insight into the process of filling a seed order at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

First of all, we have two warehouses, both managed by Chris. The first is where the seeds are extracted, sorted, and processed during our harvest season. It is also where we receive seeds from our contracted growers. Chris’s competent staff packs the seeds into their respective packets, either by hand or with our one seed packing machine. We now have about 85 percent of our seeds packed into colorful custom packets, with only a few still being placed into generic seed envelopes. Once the seeds are packed for sale, they are either stored in the second warehouse till they are needed or are taken immediately to the seed store where they are sold directly to walk-in customers or pulled to fill orders.

The order-processing part of the procedure begins with our customer service department. Headed by Lisa, this fine group of employees does more than just answer the telephones. Though the bulk of our orders are computer-generated and are electronically transmitted to the system for printing, we still have a surprising number of folks who prefer to send orders via postal mail. Lisa’s team inputs all of the mail orders into the computer system. They do that in the rare slow moments that they have between answering the phones to take orders, dispense growing advice, or to deal with a multitude of customer needs and requests.

Orders are then printed and filled by Angie’s floor crew. Our order fulfillment process requires a triple check for quality. Each order is first checked for accuracy of billing vs. shipping address and any special request notes by the customer before being filled. The “picker” then marks off each invoice item as he/she pulls the packet(s) from the shelf. Once the seeds are picked, a “checker” double checks to affirm that the quantity and variety of all packs is correct before sending the filled (but still unclosed) orders to the shipping department.

Danielle and her shippers take a final look at the filled orders. While they don’t verify each seed packet enclosed, they do look for special circumstances such as any refunds that are owed, invoices that need to be sent separately from the billing address, and any special shipping instructions from the customer. They take great care to bubble wrap books that are ordered and to secure the packages for transit. They are responsible for enclosing the invoice, sealing the packages, and printing shipping labels.

Seed orders under 14 ounces are put into padded envelopes and mailed first class. The USPS requires anything over 13 ounces to mailed Priority. Danielle’s crew determines if those Priority orders are better packaged in the bubble mailers, USPS Priority boxes, or in some cases for very large orders—packed in boxes and shipped by FedEx. Our domestic shipping fees are very simple. We charge the customer one price: $3.50! In most cases that is a real bargain because the very least that we can ship a priority package is $4.95, and we ship a lot of packages over 13 ounces! Shipping costs for international orders are automatically calculated by the on-line ordering system.

Finally, our huge canvas mail carts are filled with mailer envelopes and boxes. We have four daily scheduled package pickups during the busy season The USPS regular mail route carrier brings the daily mail from the post office and picks up the regular out-going mail. Toward the end of the day, the contracted USPS truck comes to pick up our multiple carts of packages. The FedEx ground driver comes around noon to pick up the packages being shipped by that company, while the FedEx Express driver comes in the later afternoon to pick any express packages. In addition, we occasionally have packages for the UPS driver to pick up.

In most cases, this entire process is completed during the course of one day—barring snow or ice storms, electric or electronic outages, postal holidays, or other unforeseen circumstances—and our customers get their seeds in a timely manner.

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and a life-long gardener.

The labeling of foods containing GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is a wish of 93 percent of Americans who believe they have a right to know if the food they are purchasing contains GMOs. GMO labeling is also a top concern for organic farmers and food producers across the nation, and getting GMOs out of our food supply is a passionate cause lead by non-GMO advocates throughout the world.

“The best effort today for regulation (of GMOs) is the California Ballot Initiative, which bypasses the corporate driven politics and legislators, giving consumers the direct ability to require mandatory labeling of GMOs,” says Jeffrey Smith, America’s most prominent non-GMO advocate, GMO expert, and author of The Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating.

At the national level, there is the opportunity to support the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (H.R. 3553) introduced by Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich by writing to your state representative. The act is currently sitting in two committees—the House of Agriculture committee and the House of Energy and Commerce committee.

What You Can Do As a Consumer

The top three things we as consumers can do in the push to stop the use of GMOs in our foods is to learn more about them, avoid them, and get involved in helping others become aware of them, says Smith.

A great way to get involved in California is to volunteer to gather signatures on petitions to get the California Label GMOs Initiative on this November’s ballot. Volunteers are needed to gather petition signatures now through April. (Visit www.labelgmos.org to see how you can help.)

At the national level, visit http://www.opencongress.org/people/representatives to find contact information for your local congressman or congresswoman to urge their support of the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (H.R. 3553). The passing of this bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to require that food that contains a genetically engineered material or that is produced with a genetically engineered material, be labeled accordingly.

Jeffrey Smith also urges concerned consumers to visit www.responsibletechnology.org (the Website for The Institute for Responsible Technology of which Smith is executive director) and sign up for a free Spilling the Beans newsletter and join The Tipping Point Network, which provides the opportunity to connect with others, locally or nationally, interested in doing outreach for the cause.

“The FDA does not actually approve any GMOs,” says Smith. “In 1992, their policy claimed that they were not aware of any information showing that GMOs were substantially different, and therefore, they said no testing was necessary, no labeling was necessary. In fact, companies like Monsanto, who told us that PCBs, Agent Orange, and DDT were safe, can make the full determination that their own GMOs are safe and put them on the market without telling consumers or the FDA.

“The policy turned out to be a lie,” stresses Smith. “In fact, the overwhelming consensus among the FDA’s own scientists was that GMOs were not only different but inherently dangerous and could lead to toxins, allergies, diseases and nutritional problems.”

These same FDA scientists have been urging their superiors to do something about this, but have been ignored, partly, according to Smith, because higher ups in the administration are former Monsanto employees. These scientists’ findings have even been validated by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, adds Smith, with the outcome being a recommendation to doctors that they should prescribe non-GMO diets to every patient.

The bottom line, Smith stresses, is that we should not trust the powers that be to safeguard us from the ill effects of GMOs.

Some Background on GMO’s

The Institute for Responsible Technology provides the following information on foods containing GMOs: “GM foods were made possible by a technology developed in the 1970s whereby genes from one species are forced into the DNA of other species. Genes produce proteins, which in turn can generate characteristics or traits. The promised traits associated with GMOs have been sky high—vegetables growing in the desert, Vitamin-fortified grains, and highly productive crops feeding the starving millions. None of these are available. In fact, the only two traits that are found in nearly all commercialized GM plants are herbicide tolerance and/or pesticide production.”

What has also been found in many studies done over the years are adverse health effects in animals, and this past summer, in pregnant women and their fetuses. Animal studies have shown a five-fold increase in infant mortality, says Smith, as well as smaller babies and sterile babies. This is information that has been available for awhile, yet more recently in humans, a study conducted in Canada revealed that BT toxin, the insecticide produced from Monsanto BT Mon810 corn (which is genetically modified to resist corn borers by producing its own insecticide) was found in 93 percent of the pregnant women tested and 80 percent of their unborn fetuses, according to Smith. This nullifies the claim by regulators that BT toxin was destroyed in the digestive process, he adds.

Those doing the study proposed that the BT toxin, the protein, may have come from milk and meat from animals fed the corn. However, another theory with a more direct correlation, which Smith feels carries more weight, comes from the only human feeding study ever published, which shows that genes inserted into soybeans to make the soy Roundup-ready transferred into the DNA of bacteria living inside of our intestines and probably continued to function.

“If the same transfer were to occur from corn by eating, for example, corn chips or tortillas,” says Smith, “then it may turn our intestinal floor into living pesticide factories where our own gut bacteria produces the BT toxin on a continuous basis.”

Non-GMO Project Verification in Action

In October, Northern California dairyman Albert Straus participated and spoke before hundreds of attendants from throughout the world at the Right2Know Rally in Washington D.C., spreading the word on the importance of labeling genetically modified foods on behalf of the national Just Label It: We Have a Right to Know campaign, which his dairy sponsors.

As an organic farmer, Straus favors a “proactive versus a reactive” stance in the push to get foods containing GMOs labeled, and he has been very proactive in preserving the “organic integrity” of his certified organic dairy farm on the coast of West Marin, raising his dairy herd without antibiotics, hormones or pesticides. To ensure that the feed he gives his cows and the ingredients he uses in his products are GMO-free, Straus and his suppliers test all the ingredients in their products, including the feeds for his dairy cows and the seeds he uses to grow his forage crops.

“We have a verification system,” explains Straus, who began testing for GMOs in 2006. “We use a PCR (Protein Chain Reaction) test to test for GMOs in our products.” In April 2010, Straus Family Creamery became the first creamery to achieve Non-GMO Project Verification for all its products. (Albert Straus also offers information on the running of his certified organic farm and on his GMO testing process to interested organic farmers. He can be reached at family@strausmilk.com.)

Albert and other organic farmers are disheartened by the USDA’s full deregulation of genetically modified alfalfa last January, which allows unrestricted planting of Roundup Ready crop. Alfalfa is an essential feed for his dairy cows, and the potential contamination of organic alfalfa from genetically modified alfalfa poses a significant threat to his company and the organic dairy industry. The organic alfalfa growing industry needs to start testing and verifying its crops are GMO-free, he adds.

“Consumers need to be aware,” he stresses. “They need to get information and educated about the effects of GMOs on the environment and our food supply.” Straus also urges consumers to share their GMO knowledge with others and to get involved in GMO labeling initiatives both locally and federally.

“Sustainability, family farms, organic, non-GMO are the future,” says Straus, “and GMOs cannot be in our food system.” Currently, he adds, “70 to 80 percent of our food is contaminated with GMOs. We’re just the guinea pigs.”

Baker Creek co-owner and heirloom girl Emilee Gettle is featured on the front cover of Country Woman magazine. Check out the February/March issue published by Reiman Publications.

Visit Emilee’s blog at www.heirloomgirl.com

At Baker Creek, we’re always on the lookout for interesting “new” varieties, meaning not new breeding, but old varieties that may not have received the attention they deserve in today’s heirloom- and pure-foods community. These varieties turn up just about anywhere: in the annual Seed Savers’ Yearbook, in the commercial listings from foreign countries, and quite often, proudly sent in as donations from our customers’ own gardens and seed collections!

Once suitable candidates are located and foundation seed obtained, it then becomes a matter of getting the varieties grown, either on our own farm or within our ever-widening network of contract growers. Crops don’t always succeed; the seed we receive might be crossed (not true-to-type) or it might prove to be non-viable. And of course, all the usual problems of pests and poor weather may take their toll. So sometimes it takes several years from the time we first identify a promising variety until it actually appears in our catalog!

The 2011 season saw some successful pepper grow-outs, and we’re proud to be offering several new varieties in the 2012 listings:

Sweet Peppers:

Criolla de Cocina–Here is one we have been trying to include for a number of years. Of the type generally known as “seasoning peppers” and used throughout the Caribbean region, this great little sweet pepper hails from Nicaragua. Criolla de Cocina is long on rich, complex pepper flavor and especially aroma, but without any heat. The four-inch fruits ripen from green to a final rich red color. Their name refers, in Spanish, to the peppers’ widespread use in “Creole” cooking.

White Lakes--Russian varieties are usually quite productive and hardy, and due to the idiosyncracies of the often brutal climate there, these varieties are frequently rather early as well. White Lakes lives up to all these expectations. The variety produces loads of dainty, somewhat pointed fruits. These abundant gems early take on an antique ivory or cream color, and ripen quickly to a rich, intense reddish orange. Suitable for any typical sweet-pepper use, we favor them for use in stuffed peppers, where, stuffed with your family’s favorite savory stuffing recipe, their smallish size makes them a charmer on hors-d’oeuvres trays.

Hot Peppers:

Mustard Habanero–This is a typical habanero with the exception of its color: the pleated, lantern-shaped fruits run the full pepper spectrum, from green blushed with purple, through yellow, orange and an intriguing gold color reminscent of the color of brown prepared mustard. James Weaver originally found this one growing in a field of regular habaneros, and selected and stabilized it into a fascinating new variety.

Lemon Drop– Another seasoning pepper that comes from the South American country of Peru. This little pepper ripens to a bright lemon yellow and may sometimes have a purplish blush later in the season. The flavor is a very clean, uncomplicated, slightly citrus-y heat. Two-foot-tall plants are rather bushy and covered with the thin-walled, conical fruits which reach two to three inches in length and have very few seeds.

Growing Peppers:

Peppers are easy to grow and reliable in most areas of the country, provided the seeds are started early enough to allow time for a harvest. In most of the country (except in the Deep South, Zones 8 and 9, where peppers may be direct-seeded outdoors after frost) the seeds are started indoors 10 to 12 weeks before the last frost date of spring. Pepper seeds usually sprout within about a week to 10 days when they are kept moist and held at a temperature around 85 degrees. At ordinary room temperature, sprouting takes longer, and at temps below 70 degrees the seeds sprout sporadically, if at all.

Any ordinary seed-starting medium suits peppers, to minimize disease problems (like damping-off disease, which causes tender young seedlings to topple over and die), it’s best to use a mix that has been pasteurized and to soak any recycled pots in a 10 percent solution of bleach for 15 minutes. The seeds may be sprinkled right on the surface or planted no more than 1/4 inch deep and kept moist and warm until sprouting occurs.

Once the plants are growing, they need adequate light, at least 6 hours of bright sunshine per day; artificial lights may also be used. An occasional feeding of dilute organic fertilizer helps the plants grow.

Set sturdy young transplants outdoors after last frost of spring. Amend soil for peppers, but go easy on the nitrogen, as the plants produce more flowers, and therefore more fruit, when the soil isn’t super high in nitrogen. Mature compost is a fine amendment. A mulch of hay or grass clippings can be spread at the base of the plants to discourage weeds and stabilize soil moisture.

The plants begin to bloom and set on fruits, sometimes at quite a small size. Around 70 days or so from transplanting, the first fruits begin to ripen. Most peppers, whether of the sweet or the hot variety, may be used either immature (which usually means green) or fully ripe, which usually means red but may be yellow or orange as well.Except in the hottest regions, the pepper plants will yield all summer long, and into the autumn as well, until hard frost destroys the plants.

The Christmas season typically provides a chance for folks to reflect on the happenings of the year just past and and to dream of things to come in the new year ahead. As Christmas quickly approaches, the staff at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds hopes that all of you can look back with satisfaction over the past year and can look forward to the new year with hopes and dreams of something even better. As for us here at Bakersville, we are thankful for the good year that we have had. We continued to expand on the farm, having added even more gardens, a new machine shop, and a new media center. While we never know exactly what to expect in any given year, the quest is always on to find and preserve even more rare heirloom seeds. Jere and Emilee Gettle are planning a trip abroad next year to do just that.

The National Heirloom Festival that we planned and sponsored in Santa Rosa, California, gives us cause to both look back with satisfaction at having created a successful event, and to look forward to making the 2^nd National Heirloom Festival even bigger and better in 2012.

Christmas time in the Ozarks means that it is also winter time. For many people, that means it is time to kick back by the fire and take things easy while the weather rages outside. For the staff here at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, it means it is time to kick into high gear for the next several months. Most customers have had the 2012 catalog for 2-3 weeks by now and are already placing their seed orders. The staff has been busy, as apparently there are lots of lucky folks out there who will receive Baker Creek seed assortments or gift certificates for Christmas. Once the holiday season winds down, the seed orders will pour in as you at home begin to take action to bring those garden dreams to fruition.

We don’t entirely give up gardening during the winter time, though. Our green house provides at least a little taste of freshness during the winter months. What a treat it is to still enjoy figs, pink bananas, guava, and papaya growing right here.

Jere, Emilee, and Sasha Gettle, along with the entire Baker Creek staff, wishes all of you happy holidays followed by a new year filled with many blessings and successful gardening.

Sagami Hanjiro cucumber is a traditional Japanese variety used primarily for slicing. The name comes from Sagami, an area in Japan, and “Hanjiro” means two-toned. This cucumber is dark green and lime green.

Little Green eggplant produces neon-green fruits that are sweet, mild, and firm. This is a new introduction grown from seed sent to us from the former Soviet Union.

Aswad eggplant is an incredibly delicious Iraqi variety from our friend Nael Aziz. The satiny, dark purple-black fruits get up to 3 pounds or more.

Cambodian Green Giant eggplant is a large, round, flat variety from the kingdom of Cambodia. We collected this variety in 2004 when we were touring this once war-torn southeast Asian country.

Golden Crispy melon is a commercial variety that was discontinued in the early 1980′s. Small oblong to pear-shaped fruits are incredibly sweet and uniquely aromatic.

Uzbek Sweetness melon is an early melon from Uzbekistan. The golden skin encases pure white, sugary-sweet flesh.

Lemon Drop hot pepper is a seasoning pepper from Peru. It ripens to a clear lemon yellow and has an uncomplicated and slightly citrus-y heat.

Omaha Pumpkin squash is an Oscar Will Seed Company introduction, dating to 1924, but collected much earlier from the Omaha Indians. It matures early with tall, cylindrical, upright pumpkins which make cute Jack O’ Lanterns and good pies.

Tsungshigo Chinese tomato is a small, reddish-chocolate colored grape-shaped tomato with a sweet earthy flavor. Seed came originally from a Chinese commercial vendor.

Purple Pear tomato is a great snacking variety. Pear-shaped fruits are about 2 ounces and colored a deep purple-pink. Seed was originally received from our Ukrainian correspondent.

Abu Rawan tomato is another variety contributed by expatiate Iraqi seed collector Nael Aziz. Having a sweeter taste than most Iraqi tomatoes, this has solid, all-purpose flesh and will take the heat.

Ivory Pear tomato is a new staff favorite. Cute little 1-ounce fruits are ivory-cream in color and shaped like little pears.

 Pilcer Vesy tomato Is a classic, huge, yellow beefsteak type that we received from Russia. The fruits are a lovely lemon yellow and have fantastic flavor.

Dwarf Queeny Mixed hollyhock is compact and ideal for bedding use and containers. Huge, fully-double blooms are all along the stems.

Tall Orange Sun sunflower sports clear yellow-orange, six-inch, fully-double flowers that look like super-sized chrysanthemums perched atop plants that reach 4-5 feet in height.

Be sure to look at our newly updated website www.rareseeds.com. You will find flip versions of our 2012 catalog and sample issue of the Heirloom Gardener magazine for your browsing and reading pleasure, as well as many more photos, slide shows, and videos. We are also excited to offer iPad versions of both our 2012 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog and the Heirloom Gardener.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and successful gardening in 2012!

Kathy and the entire Baker Creek staff.

Kathy McFarland is a Baker Creek employee and a life-long gardener.

Little Green Eggplant–One of our new favorites!

First and foremost is our new and improved 2012 Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog. It is now a whopping 196 pages and printed on recycled paper to help save our Earth. The catalog contains lots more photos of beautiful flowers and vegetables, as well as many additional interesting and informative articles and narratives. We have also included more planting and growing tips to help make your garden successful. For those wanting to view the catalog online, it is now available in flip format  No more scrolling down the pages to find what you want—just flip through the pages!

Most significantly, though, is that our 2012 catalog contains more than 120 “new” varieties of of heirloom seeds. One of Jere’s favorite new offerings is the Little Green Eggplant, an abundant producer of brilliant, neon-green fruits that are sweet and mild. He also really likes the Ivory Pear Tomato which produces cute little 1-ounce fruits that are ivory-cream in color and shaped like little pears on high-yielding plants. Jere is excited to offer the Bhut Jolokia Pepper, a legendary variety that is one of the world’s hottest peppers, if not the hottest, with readings in excess of 1,000,000 Scoville units.

Ivory Pear Tomato

We have also added new flower varieties to our offerings this year. Two favorites are the Chocolate Streamer Sweet Peas that produce gorgeous rare and unusual blossoms that are chocolate speckled and will steal the show in your home or market garden, and the outstanding Spun Gold Marigold that boasts fully-double pale gold flowers blooming all summer long.  With additional varieties listed online, we offer more than 1,400 varieties of heirloom seeds that are pure and free of GMO’s.  View our online catalog to read helpful customer reviews of specific varieties.  Also check out our online forums at iDigmyGarden.comthat recently have been redesigned with new features added and a colorful interface.  We currently have 850,000 posts!

We are thrilled to introduce even more of our new and improved colored seed packets.  So far, we have about 1,000 of our varieties in these new packets that feature color photos or drawings of the mature fruits.  We will continue to develop more of these custom-colored packets throughout the year.

In keeping up with the electronic age, we are excited that you can now read our magazine, catalog and other publications on your iPad.  We further plan to have our publications available on other devices in the near future.

Our Heirloom Gardener magazine continues to grow.  It is now 84 colorful pages and is on the newsstands at Barnes and Noble, Tractor Supply Company, Whole Foods Markets, and other regional outlets across the US.  Each issue is filled with mouth-watering images, educational articles and delicious recipes.  We cover everything from seed starting to vegan cooking.  Read further down to learn how to get a free subscription!

We now have THREE retail outlets.  In addition to our Baker Creek Headquarters at Mansfield, Missouri, we invite our friends on the West Coast to visit the Seed Bank in Petaluma, California.  Occupying the beautiful and ornate Sonoma County National Bank Building that was constructed in the 1920′s, the Seed Bank attracts gardeners, foodies, shoppers, and tourists alike.    Our friends on the East Coast will enjoy visiting Comstock Ferre, and Company in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where we carry a full line of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  We acquired this 201-year old seed company in 2010 and are currently restoring its store, barn, and grounds.

We were thrilled to help host The National Heirloom Exposition in Sonoma County, California, last September.  This event was sometimes called the world’s fair of pure food and attracted more than 11,000 people.  Visitors begged for more, so we are now planning the 2012 expo for September 11,12, and 13.  With more internationally acclaimed speakers, vendors, chefs, etc., we expect this National Heirloom Exposition to greatly surpass last year’s in attendance and participation.

Squash Tower at The National Heirloom Exposition

We are very excited that our first book is receiving such enthusiastic response! Written by Jere and Emilee Gettle and published by Hyperion, a division of ABC/Disney, The Heirloom Life Gardener is a book for a new generation of gardeners and not just another how-to-garden book.  This full-color, 228-page book tells the story of Jere Gettle’s very early interest in gardening and how that interest evolved into Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.  Read about the Gettles’ travels, philosophy on food, seed saving, and much more.  Best of all, when you order the book from us for $29.95, you will also receive a FREE one-year subscription to the Heirloom Gardener magazine.

While the 2011 calendar year may be winding down, the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company is gearing up for a busy 2012. With the holiday season upon us, we have some great gift ideas for the gardening enthusiasts on your list.

No one will be able to resist keeping track of important dates with our beautiful 2012 Calendar featuring the glories of traditional varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers in pastels by artist Ginger Irwin. Dates for all of the 2012 Baker Creek, Seed Bank, Comstock festivals are noted, as well as the traditional and garden holidays. Its large 12X12-inch size makes the monthly artwork with garden-related quotations suitable for framing. Electronic date organizers have little appeal in comparison to the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Calendar. Order yours today. Only $9.95.

Sit back and enjoy a nice cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate while indulging in our 2012 Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Catalog filled with more than 1,300 varieties of pure non-GMO seeds. What better way to enjoy the warm beverage than to drink it from our collectible 12-ounce mug decorated with an original print by Ginger Irwin of Petaluma, California. The mug also has “Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds” on one side, and “rareseeds.com” on the other. Another great gift idea. $9.95. Pair it up with our 2012 heirloom art calendar.

As much of our population continues to move in the direction of synthetics, you still have the option of giving a gift of clothing that is organic. Check out our 100% Pre-shrunk Organic Cotton Shirt with an original tomato print on the back by Ginger Irwin. Who wouldn’t want to sport our cool shirt in the garden, farmer’s market or simply at home checking dates on our Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Calendar. Available in a variety of sizes. $16.95.

Few gifts are better than the gift of words. Any enthusiastic gardener would be delighted to receive a signed copy of The Heirloom Life Gardener By Baker Cree Heirloom Seed Company co-owners Jere and Emilee Gettle. Its down home, narrative style makes it a joy to read about the Gettles’ passion for growing pure food and preserving pure seeds, as well as practical tips for organic gardening. Order a signed copy of their first book just published in October and receive a FREE one-year subscription to our quarterly magazine, Heirloom Gardener. A real bargain when you can get two gifts for the one price of $29.95. Add a Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Calendar filled with heirloom art to your order for an additional $9.95.

Check out our catalog for heirloom seeds, additional books, tools, and more. Happy shopping!

Project Eat

School gardens chock-full of organic vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers have been sprouting up throughout the nation for years. Children and youth from preschoolers to high school students are getting their hands in the dirt, planting what they eat, learning the nutritional value of fresh, pure foods and learning to enjoy them—from the snap of a just-picked carrot between their teeth to the sweetness of garden-grown strawberries, plump, ripe and flavorful.
School children across the map are also learning to prepare simple meals with their harvest and these nutrition-packed schoolyard-grown foods are making their way into school-provided lunch offerings.

There are several organizations leading the way in this garden-growing, healthful-eating movement—far too many to mention them all—but we were able to check in with a few recently to find out what’s new in this nationally satisfying ever-growing trend and to look at ways that school garden programs can share their knowledge and resources with each other and with schools wanting to start sowing their own seeds.

Edible Schoolyard Project

If you’re a San Francisco Bay Area resident, an avid cook or even mild foodie, you’ve heard of world-renowned chef/author Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, California, and if you’re involved in a school garden program, you may also know about Waters’ Edible Schoolyard program. Established in 1995, the program began as a small garden and kitchen classroom at The Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley, California. It now includes a one-acre garden at the middle school and an expanded kitchen classroom as well as lunch programs at the 16 schools in the Berkeley Unified School District, an affiliate school garden program in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a network of affiliate programs throughout the country.
This past summer, the organization changed its name to the Edible Schoolyard Project and is in the process of expanding its focus to create a means for school garden programs across the nation to share their knowhow and resources with each other and with anyone interested in growing a garden, teaching children about raising their own food, cooking simple, healthful meals, and much more.

Edible Schoolyard Project

“There are so many people doing this work and recreating the wheel,” says Kyle Cornforth, director of the Edible Schoolyard Project. The new push for the Project will be to “get everyone together, working on the same page.”
The organization’s Web site (www.edibleschoolyard.org) is in the process of becoming an educational hub where school garden programs can register (for free), create a profile and share what they are doing. Information for all sorts of specific needs will be available, such as a recommended gardening curriculum for third graders, how to hold a plant sale, simple recipes children can tackle using organic produce, how to manage volunteers as well as the all-important how to get funding.

When a school registers at edibleschoolyard.org, a pin will drop on a map on the Web site, explains Kyle, showing where that school is located in relation to other participating schools. This will make it easy for Web site registrants to find school garden programs in their area to network with.

The Edible Schoolyard Project will bring to their new Web site more ideas on how to get California standards-based education into the garden, and, when applicable, common core standards-based education (for the nation’s schools) into the garden as well as Edible Schoolyard standards-based curriculum, shares Kyle.
“We can bring these standards (curriculum requirements) alive in the garden in an enjoyable way,” she says.
Although the new Edible Schoolyard Project Web site will not be fully up and running until the beginning of 2012, school garden projects and others interested in growing pure foods can go to www.edibleschoolyard.org now to join this network of school garden programs and begin receiving newsletters and informational emails.

Project EAT

Project EAT (Educate, Act, Thrive), a program of the Hayward Unified School District in Northern California’s East Bay, focuses on nutrition education and physical activity promotion through garden-based nutrition education and cooking classes for preschool to 12th grade students.
The program has grown over the years to include over 25 elementary schools in the area as well as high schools cultivating small-scale farms whose produce is donated to local food banks and churches.
One of the program’s biggest strengths, according to Katy Pearce, teacher on special assignment for Project EAT, is its collaborative approach.  Every Wednesday, educators from the participating school gardens meet in groups to exchange ideas and share hands-on support from creating the irrigation system for one school garden to building raised beds for another.
“This networking extends to grant seeking and building funding,” Katy adds. “Gardening groups also use us as a resource.”
Katy has melded history and food to incorporate California standards-based curriculum with learning opportunities in the garden at the school where she teaches. Her garden-based program, “Beans that Made America,” covers food origins and introduces heirloom bean varieties dating back to when American colonies were formed.  She has also introduced seed saving and healthy cooking ideas.
Project EAT educates parents about nutrition and healthy eating as well. The key is to share resources, Katy stresses. A resource she highly recommends is the California School Garden Network (www.csgn.org).
Katy also invites schools from across the nation to contact her with their questions about Project EAT and about starting similar programs. Katy can be reached via email at kpearce@husd.k12.ca.us or by phone at 510-723-3130 (ext. 43220).

Slow Food USA’s School Projects

Slow Food USA has a broad focus. In addition to its support of school garden and school food programs, its work includes increasing biodiversity and creating access to good, clean, and fair food for all people.  For this reason, the organization has “far greater capacity and expertise to build curriculum for integrating the garden into the school day,” stresses Emily Anne Vaughn, an associate manager at Slow Food USA. The nonprofit also offers a wealth of those resources to its members, she adds.

Seed to Table

Emily also shares some sobering information: “The upcoming generation of children is getting a raw deal. They’re the first generation in history to have a lower life expectancy than that of their parents, and that’s largely traced to preventable diseases that stem from poor nutrition. Establishing a healthy connection with food at a young age is a critical component of reversing that abhorrent trend.”

The good news is that after Obama’s “Our Time For Lunch” campaign (Dec. 2010) and his signing of the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act into law, the nation has seen a greater surge in school gardens and school food reform (changing cafeteria options, integrating cooking and nutrition education into the school day, and reducing vending machines), Emily shares.

“We’ve seen explosive growth in the number of school gardens our chapters manage in the past few years,” she adds. “Our chapters and their members lead programs that teach children the values of growing, preparing, and eating fresh, healthy and delicious food. They lead cooking classes, build and support school gardens, and work to improve school lunches. Slow Food programs reach over 33,000 kids each year and support 300 different school gardens.”

Schools looking for ideas and templates for their garden and food programs can find many resources at www.slowfoodusa.org   Two garden initiatives that really stand out are Slow Food Denver’s Seed-to-Table program, which teaches students about growing fresh fruits and vegetables for an understanding of the agricultural cycle and an appreciation of the taste and quality of food raised responsibly and with care, and Slow Food Temecula Valley in California, which provides support and academic resources for agricultural education through the creation of edible, organic gardens at its local schools.

“We believe that every child deserves to grow up knowing where food comes from, how to grow it, cook it and share it, and how to be healthy,” stresses Emily.  Part of this focus includes the introduction of seed saving and growing heirlooms, indigenous foods, and other biodiverse cultivars,” she adds. “We were so thankful this year to receive a generous donation of heirloom seeds from Baker Creek. These seeds were sent to over 80 of our school garden programs, many of which work in multiple gardens.”