Heirloom seeds versus hybrid seeds – which is better?

Heirloom or Hybrid, which is better?  A review of the pros and cons of each seed type should help you determine which seed type meets your goals for a mouth-watering, flavorful and successful vegetable, flower, and herb harvest this season.

Hybrid seeds grow plants that are predictable and uniform. They have been bred for specific characteristics, such as flavor, color, number of days to harvest, resistance to disease, etc. F1 hybrids

also possess “hybrid vigor.” Typically this means more plants survive the seedling stage and mature plants are large and healthy.

Big Boy, Big Beef and Better Boy tomatoes are popular, well-known examples of hybridized tomatoes that are more “perfect” in size and shape while sacrificing some of the rich flavor of better known heirloom tomato varieties such as Cherokee Purple.

Although hybridized seeds may be strong in one or more particular characteristics, they will not produce reliable seeds for saving. Even if the variety is not sterile and does produce seed, the seed will be unstable—it won’t necessarily produce plants with the same traits as the parent in subsequent years.  So if you enjoy a particular variety, you will need to purchase new seeds every year if you want to keep growing that variety.

Of particular concern to home gardeners is the risk that hybrids are or will become trademarked or patented by the breeder.  Hence costs associated with producing patented or trademarked seeds are passed onto the consumer

Heirloom vegetable, flower and herb seed varieties are preferred by Organic gardeners for their superior flavor and for the capacity that enables you, the home gardener, to save your own seeds from year to year, saving the costs associated with repurchasing garden seeds each year.  In addition heirlooms are the varieties that have been passed down generation to generation over the years often originating in Europe.

Of particular interest to organic gardeners and all consumers is the assurance that heirloom seeds  are not genetically engineered. To be considered an heirloom, most authorities agree the seed variety is at least 50 years old, and it has been preserved and kept true .

Lemon Cucumbers are over 100 year old heirloom variety that effortlessly produces loads of fruit just the size and shape of pale colored lemons. They have a mild sweet flavor, crisp texture and thin skins, and dual purpose: perfect for eating fresh or pickling

Many heirloom seed varieties are actually common seed varieties  you may have already tried and come to love.  Examples of heirlooms you might already be familiarized with include:

• Detroit Dark Red Beets
• Nantes Carrots
• Romaine lettuce  (and most lettuce varieties)
• Chantenay Carrots (the fatter carrot)
• Copenhagen Cabbage

Most garden centers offer a wide selection of vegetable, flower and herb varieties in both Organic Heirloom seeds, and conventional seeds from well-known producers including Lake Valley, Botanical Interests, and Renee’s Garden.

Asparagus on Toast with Cream Sauce. Bacon bits are optional

Now that Asparagus is in season, try this “old-fashioned” yummy recipe for Saturday morning breakfast!

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 4 hard-cooked eggs, diced or sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash pepper
• 2 cups milk  (part cream is OK)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, optional
• 1/3 cup bacon bits, optional
• 4 slices bread, toasted and halved

Directions

• Snap off the lower part of the asparagus stalks where they break easily.  In a large skillet, bring 3/4 cup of lightly salted water and asparagus to a boil. Cover and boil for 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Keep warm and drain when ready to serve the plate.
• In a medium saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter; gradually whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk and continue whisking the mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in optional cheese until melted, if desired.
• Place 1 slice of toasted and halved bread on each slightly heated plate.  Top the toast with asparagus spears, followed by cream sauce, diced hard cooked egg (one per plate) and garnish with optional bacon bits.  Serve.
• Yield: 4 servings.

With the great Spring weather it’s time to start spring cleaning  the easy, chemical-free way using Norwex Microfiber Products and water.

I love to see the sun shining through sparkling windows and the smell of fresh air without the use of expensive, controversial chemicals, and disposable paper towels, etc.

You can clean most of your rooms just using an Enviro Cloth and Window Cloth!  The two cloths together make up a basic package which is on special for the month of April.

I thoroughly dust Living room, Family room, Dining room, and Bed rooms using an Enviro Cloth and water.  I also clear the clutter as I go sorting the items into the give-away, throw away, and put-away boxes.

Next , Next wipe down all the Windows – with a damp  Enviro Cloth and then polish the windows with the Window Cloth for a streak free shine.   You will be amazed at how easy it is to achieve streak-free windows using the microfiber cloths!

I even clean spot clean Upholstery using an Enviro cloth and water.

Onto the Bathrooms - again sinks, tubs, showers, toilets, mirrors cabinets can all be polished, dusted, shined, and de-grimed just using an Enviro Cloth and Window cloth.

Lastly, make your Kitchen sparkle!  Wipe the Refrigerator shelves and exterior with a damp  Enviro Cloth. Polish with  a dry Window Cloth.  Plastic drawers should be removed, washed and dried, and  re-assembled.

There are up to four ways to enter the Basic Package Give-Away!

You get one contest entry for each of the following steps you take and you post that you did it in  the comments section of this blog page below:

1.  Post this article to your Facebook page and tell me you did so in the comments section below.

2.  Sign up for receiving  MarilynMoll.com blog posts by email above, and tell me you did so below in the comments.

3.  Mention this contest in your blog posting and link back to this page and post your blog link in the comments section below.

4.  Fan MarilynMoll.com Facebook page and tell me you did so below.

This Give-Away will end April 6, 2013.

You are the best protection your birds have!
Pay attention to each criteria below for healthy chicks!

Ed Note: I have never raised baby chicks but my friend Lynn is for the first time, and she passed this information on to me.  If you have experience with raising chicks, let me know what other tips you would add to this list.

General Instructions

• Keep the cages clean, change the food and water daily.
• Carefully and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling anything in the chick’s environment.
• Know the warning signs of infections and chick diseases.

Housing

Fresh food and water daily are vital to raising healthy chickens.

• Clean and disinfect the brooder facility and feeders a week before the chicks arrive.
• Cover the floor with clean bedding and allow it to become heated before introducing the chicks to the area.
• Woods shavings that are not too fine work well for bedding.
• The housing area needs to be dry, draft free, mold-free and  and safe from predators.
• Separate new chickens from your current flock to prevent spread of disease.
• Provide 1 square foot of floor space or each chick.

Water

• Clean fresh water must be provided to chicks at all times.
• Provide two, one-gallon automatic watering jugs for every 100 chicks.
• Check the watering devices frequently to ensure clean water is always available.
• Clean, disinfect, and re-fill the watering jugs before the water is entirely depleted.

Temperature

• For the first week of life the temperature should be kept at 90°F
• A heat lamp should be placed 18” above the floor.  Place a thermometer 2”above the floor to test the temperature.
• If chicks are crowding the heat source or peeping loudly, they are cold and need more heat!
• If chicks crowd the outside of the heated area it is too hot!
• Reduce the temperature by 5°F each week for the next 5 weeks.

Feed

• Quality, complete feed, plus grit and clean water should be offered to chicks and adult poultry at all times.
• Organic chick starter products and Ranchway Feeds are great choices.
• Enjoy those baby chicks!

There are several ways to use the plastic Easter eggs with “props” to teach the Easter Story to young children…

A.  You can summarize the story using the “article” in each egg as a prop as you go.

B.  Or, you can also read a book and pause using the article in each egg as a prop as you read, Benjamin’s Box by Melody Carlson.  It is written so it can be used along with the Resurrection Eggs.

C.  Tell or read the Easter story. Have the children open the eggs and use as props.

To make your own Resurrection Eggs:

#1 – Bread or small cracker pieces – For the last meal Jesus ate with His friends (Passover) Mark 14:22 or Luke 22:14

#2 – Rooster (feather) – Jesus predicted that Peter would lie three different times and say he didn’t know Jesus by the time the rooster crowed. – Matthew 26:33

#3 – 3 silver dimes – Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver money. Luke 22:3-5, Luke 22:47-52

#4 – Thorns – People were mad that Jesus said He was the Son of God, so they made a crown of pointy thorns to put on His head – Matthew 27:29-31 and Mark 15:17

#5 – Nails – Jesus was nailed to a cross. They left Him hanging there until He died, even though He hadn’t done anything wrong. Matthew 27:31 and Luke 23:33 and Luke 23:40-41

#6 – The Cross – They placed His cross on a hill between two other men who were criminals.

#7 – Dice – When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and played a game to decide who would get his clothes – John 19:23-24

#8 – Spear – Use a toothpick to symbolize that one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side.

#9 – White cloth –(Use cheesecloth or other small scrap) After Jesus died, His friends wrapped Him up with cloth and lay Him in a special cave, a tomb. Luke 23:53 and Matthew 27:57-60

#10 – Cinnamon Sticks – Three women brought special spices to anoint Jesus body. Mark 16:1

#11 – Stone (small pebble) – The people who had kidded Jesus put a large rock over the mouth of the tomb, to make sure that no one could get Jesus out. Matthew 27: 62-65 and Matthew 28:66

#12 – Empty!! – Three days later, the huge rock was moved and Jesus was gone from the tomb. An angel said He was alive again! This day is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday because Jesus was raised to life again and lives today!  Luke 24:3, 6 and Matthew 28:2-6

Passover begins at Sundown on Monday, March 25, 2013.   Our church is celebrating a Seder and will be serving the following delicious menu after the reading of the Haggadah.  We love this annual observance of all that God did for the Israelites in delivering them from slavery under the Pharaohs.  It is a perfect activity to do with children of all ages.

The Haggadah is the text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to”tell your son” of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus. “And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. ” Ex.  13:8.

The Passover Seder plate includes symbolic items including a shankbone, roasted egg, bitter herbs, charoseth, and parsley.

Menu

Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls

Beef Brisket    Honeyed Carrots

Matzah Kugel

Dessert

Matzo kugel is a nice complement to  beef brisket or another main dish that you might prepare for your Passover Seder.

Matzah Kugle
This dish is simple delicious. It can be made ahead and refrigerated. Leftovers are welcome at our house!

6 pieces of Matzah
1 dozen eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
8 grated apples (tart ones are best)
grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped almonds

Crumble pieces of Matzah into water and soak until soft (do not drown!); squeeze out the excess moisture with your hands. Beat the eggs. Ad sugar, salt, and cinnamon, beating till well blended. Stir crumbled matzahs, raisins, almonds, apples, and orange rind into the egg mixture. Turn it all into a well-greased 9 X 13 pan. Sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top and pour the melted butter on top of that. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until firm and nicely brown.  This is VERY rich, fruity, delicious.

Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls

Chicken Soup Stock

Start with a 4-5 pound chicken or use the back and the insides of the chickens you might be serving.

3 quarts of water
2 onions,
3 carrots
2 pieces of celery, stalks, and tops
1 TB salt
Several good shakes of garlic powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp. dill weed

Clean the chicken thoroughly; clean and cut up the vegetables. Add all of the ingredients to the water and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat. Simmer for 2 hours. Pour the soup through a colander, and refrigerate broth for 2-3 hours, until the fat forms a layer at the top. Save the carrots aside. Remove the layer of fat and return the broth and carrots to the pot to reheat. This will boil down to about 2- 2 1/2 quarts of soup. If you want to stretch it a little, add more water and a few chicken bouillon cubes (when n one is looking).

Matzah Balls (a.k.a. Knaidlekh)

1 Cup Matzah meal
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil or chicken fat from the stock
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper

Traditionally, Matzah balls are made with “schmaltz”, rendered chicken fat.

Beat the eggs, Add water, oil, salt, and pepper to the eggs; mix well. Add the Matzah meal and stir thorougly. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Bring a pot of slightly salted water to a rolling boil. Form the Matzah meal mixture into 1 ” size balls and drop (gently, please) into the water. First they sink, but then they should rise to the top. Cook 20 minutes. You may set these aside and later add them to the soup, before serving. Makes about 30 -1″ balls.
Next year in Jerusalem!

A Mother’s Guide to Using Trilight Herbal Products has been posted at articles.urbanhomemaker.com for years as well as urbanhomemaker catalogs for over ten years.  I know the phone seminars I hosted with her over the years  were always the most listened to programs we did.

I have always respected her work and and been blessed by her “balanced” approach to health care issues.

I have just learned that now Shonda needs our help as she fights bone cancer.  Here is an excerpt from a giving forward website designed to support Shonda’s ongoing medical needs.

Shonda Parker has spent her adult life working for the health and benefit of others. Now she needs us as she combats bone cancer.

“From a CT scan to a spine tumor. From one spine tumor to multiple tumors in spine and pelvis. From multiple tumors in spine and pelvis to tumors in lung, liver, spleen, and adrenal gland. From one very aggressive tumor to catastrophic surgeries.

From multiple surgeries to spinal cord damage, liver damage, pancreas damage and plenty of platinum and battery-powered parts. From all that metal to no good way to monitor the remaining tumors. From the remaining tumors and all that damage to permanent pain management. From here forward, for the rest of her days: neurosurgeons, neurologists, oncologists, hematologists, anesthesiologists, cardiologists, electrophysiologists, urologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, functional medicine docs, physical therapists, counseling therapists, and whatever other –ists and –ologists become necessary along the way.

Instead of one foot in front of the other, it is one hour or maybe one day out of the bed and into the reclining chair. And on very good days when she presses hardest, making it out for an event for her children or to worship with the Church. And all through this, Shonda has pressed on.

Her husband, Keith, and her seven children, Zachary, Emily, Eryn, Ellie, Zeb, Sam, and Simon have rallied around her and have been the reason for her to keep trying to get up each day, to try to learn to walk again, to learn how to manage a bowel that no longer works on its own, to trying to cope with nerve pain and bone pain that doesn’t even allow her to snuggle her children.

She must steel herself for the pain of being hugged by friends; or held by her husband. She, who thrives on conversation and interaction, must live with the overwhelming isolation all of this causes, and- amidst all of this– to try continue to meet the needs of and her commitment to the students of health she has served over the past 23 years.

For a good while, Shonda and Keith were able to keep up with the regularly arriving doctor and hospital bills, the expenses of traveling back and forth to Houston and their stays there. They cut household spending, and the older children got jobs to help out. When the costs kept rising, they refinanced their home and took out a second mortgage. Now, the financial undertow is pulling at them fiercely; adding one more burden. Given the out-of-pocket medical care costs, the travel-to-treatment expenses, on-going costs of care; the Parkers can’t keep up without the help of those who love them.

If you have been blessed by Shonda and for more information on how to help

Here are the basics for both hot water and cold water.  Amount of time the eggs sit in the dye will affect the color.

NATURAL DYED EASTER EGGS INSTRUCTIONS

Two different methods:   a cold method and a hot method.

The cold method was employed for most of the pictured eggs. Just mix the ingredients in a non-staining bowl (ie: glass is great) and add hard boiled eggs. Let them sit until the desired color is achieved.

For the hot method, add the ingredients and raw eggs to a stainless steel pan, brought the mixture to a boil, reduced the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until eggs achieve the desired color.

NOTE: The eggs may take on the flavor of the coloring agent.

I’m determined to have a great garden this year so I had manure and leaves turned into the raised beds today.  Here are tips to getting started!

Peas are a cool-season crop, now coming in three separate varieties to suit your garden and cooking needs. They are: (sweet pea, inedible pod) and snow peas (edible flat pod with small peas inside) and snap peas (edible pod with full-size peas). They are easy to grow, but with a very limited growing season. Furthermore, they do not stay fresh long after harvest, so enjoy them while you can!

Planting Peas

• To get the best head start, turn over your pea planting beds in the fall, add manure to the soil, and mulch well.
• As with other legumes, pea roots will fix nitrogen in the soil, making it available for other plants.
• Peas will appreciate a good sprinkling of wood ashes to the soil before planting.
• Sow seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before last spring frost, when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees F.
• Plant 1 inch deep (deeper if soil is dry) and 2 inches apart.
• Get them in the ground while the soil is still cool but do not have them sit too long in wet soil. It’s a delicate balance of proper timing and weather conditions. For soil that stays wet longer, invest in raised beds.
• A blanket of snow won’t hurt emerging pea plants, but several days with temperatures in the teens could. Be prepared to plant again.
• Peas are best grown in temperatures below 70 degrees F.

Care of Pea Plants

• Make sure that you have well-drained, humus-rich soil.
• Poke in any seeds that wash out. (A chopstick is an ideal tool for this.)
• Be sure, too, that you don’t fertilize the soil too much. Peas are especially sensitive to too much nitrogen, but they may like a little bonemeal, for the phosphorus content.
• Though adding compost or manure to the soil won’t hurt, peas don’t need heavy doses of fertilizer. They like phosphorus and potassium.
• Water sparsely unless the plants are wilting. Do not let plants dry out, or no pods will be produced.
• For tall and vine varieties, establish poles or a trellis at time of planting.
• Do not hoe around plants to avoid disturbing fragile roots.
• It’s best to rotate pea crops every year or two to avoid a buildup of soil-borne diseases.

Planting Potatoes

• Plant seed potatoes (pieces of whole potato or a small whole potato, with at least 2 eyes per piece).
• If you are cutting up potato pieces for planting, do so a 1-2 days ahead of time. This will give them the chance to form a protective layer, both for moisture retention and rot resistance.
• Old Timers say Good Friday or under the full moon is the best time to plant root crops.  Potatoes can be planted as soon as soil can be worked, but be aware that some crops could be ruined by a frost.
• Spread and mix in rotted manure or organic compost in the bottom of the trench before planting.
• Plant seed potatoes one foot apart in a 4-inch deep trench, eye side up.
• Practice yearly crop rotation.

Care of Potatoes

• Potatoes thrive in well-drained, loose soil.
• Potatoes need consistent moisture, so water regularly when tubers start to form.
• Hilling should be done before the potato plants bloom, when the plant is about 6 inches tall. Hoe the dirt up around the base of the plant in order to cover the root as well as to support the plant. Bury them in loose soil. The idea is to keep the potato from getting sunburned, in which case they turn green and will taste bitter.
• You will need to hill potatoes every couple of weeks to protect your crop.

Planting Onions

Onions are a cold season crop, easy to grow because of their hardiness. We recommend using onion sets, which can be planted without worry of frost damage and have a higher success rate than direct seed or transplants.

• Till in aged manure or fertilizer the fall before planting.
• Start seeds indoors about 6 weeks before transplanting. Move transplants into the garden as soon as the ground can be worked.
• Plant the transplants about three inches apart.
• Plant sets directly outdoors mid March and early April. Make sure temperature doesn’t go below 20 degrees F.
• When planting onion sets, don’t bury them completely under the soil; if more than the bottom third of the bulb is underground, growth can be restricted. Set five inches apart.

Care

• Fertilize when bulbs begin to swell, and again when plants are one foot tall
• Make sure soil is well-drained. Mulch will help retain moisture and stifle weeds.

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Unrefined salt contains important trace minerals

“Early in my medical career, I accepted the “low salt=lowered blood pressure” hypothesis unquestionably until…I began to study the medical literature about salt.  What I found was astounding;  there is little data to support low-salt diets being effective at treating hypertension for the vast majority of people.  Also, none of the studies looked at the use of unrefined salt, which contains many valuable vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium and potassium, which are vital to maintaining normal blood pressure.” Dr David Brownstein

About 25 years ago, a friend told me she used “real” salt. Since I didn’t know there were alternatives to regular salt, I thought all salt was “real”. Since then I have learned that:
• There is a difference between table salt and unrefined salt.
• Low-salt diets are not healthy

In a fascinating article written by Jed Stuber in the recent newsletter from Samaritan Ministries, he summarizes some facts found in Dr. Brownstein’s book.

• Salt bars were once used for currency
• Government soldiers were paid in salt
• The difference between refined and unrefined salt
• Problems with low salt diets
• Studies that show low mineral intake can be associated with hypertension
• Testimonies from patients who improved their blood pressure by using unrefined salt.
• Mineral deficiencies associated with heart disease.

Did you know that unrefined sea salt contains lower amounts of sodium and chloride than refined iodized sea salt.  It also contains trace amounts of:  sulfur, magnesium, potassium, calcium, silicon, carbon, iron, aluminum, boron, zinc, copper, tin, titanium, silicon, and other minerals?

If this information intrigues you, check out Dr Brownsteins books, website, or DVD’s.

The above information is provided for educational reasons and is NOT meant as medical advice.