Authors of The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally tell their personal story in this book-length narrative. Early on, Jere and Emilee Gettle describe what it felt like sitting in the midst of toney auctioneers at Sotheby’s witnessing crates of heirloom vegetables being sold. The sale was to benefit a charity; still, the event was a long way from the Missouri Ozarks.
The Gettles' story by itself is worth a cover-to-cover read. On the second pass, the book begs the suggestion that gardeners reach with pencil in hand to make notes in the margins. Readers, who want to grow their own food, stay on the organic side of gardening and get excited by the imaginative vegetable colors heirloom seeds produce, will be engrossed by the story then reuse it for a resource.
Heirloom Seed Hunter and World Traveler
The story of The Heirloom Life Gardener began with the travels of Jere Gettle; his desire for preserving seed is what drove him to traveling the world. While there are many plant hunters scouring the earth for the rare plant, Jere began his life-long journey seeking heirloom seeds with a machete and paper bags traveling the back roads of Mexico. The Gettles' book, as well as their heirloom seed catalog, is replete with seed stock migrated from far off places.
The Gettles also collect gardening techniques, allowing them to grow their plants organically. They stress such basic premises as yearly crop rotation and companion planting, as well as specific practices for particular vegetable plants. It is obvious the vegan authors appreciate sharing what has been learned from others and from their own kitchen recipes; their book is filled with tips on how to use the foods their seeds produce.
Top 10 Heirloom Food Plants for Containers
Readers will find the top 10 heirloom food plants refreshing if one likes to grow food in containers. Beyond herbs and flowering edibles for a containerized kitchen garden, the authors suggest golden beets, fish peppers and big leafy greens. Found among the pages are ideas for succession planting with heirlooms and recommendations on container sizes for specific plant groups.
Among the volumes of books with organic-technique or heirloom-plant driven writings, the small space or container gardener may feel left out of the dialogue. This leaves readers with the impression that intensive food growing is not a viable option for organic or heirloom enthusiasts. However, the Gettles break that perception by proactively inserting content the serious small space gardener will be happy to use.
Resource for 50 Favorite Vegetable Varieties
Well beyond tomato varieties, in the list of 50 favorite vegetables in The Heirloom Life Gardener, the A to Z guide begins with Amaranthus species, more popularly known to gardeners as Joseph coat flowers, and ends with watermelons, Citrullus lanatus. Two, more often five, pages are devoted to in-depth exploring of each vegetable detailed with realistic-looking photos.
The Gettles narrate on specifics of each plant with growing tips, seed saving descriptions and preparing-to-eating directions. The seed saving instructions include some background on how seeds are pollinated and the impacts on keeping seeds pure. Under the tomato variety, readers will find a visual five-step block on saving tomato seeds.
In the Kitchen with Vegan Foodies
“Grow what you and your family will eat,” encourage the Gettles. It sounds simple. But, a gardener who has paged through their Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog, will be familiar with the dilemma the Gettles present. Big colorful photos of plants are like a gardener’s rainbows and the number of seeds to read on is sure to leave one up at night; like a child with the Christmas edition of a mail-order wish book. The Heirloom Life Gardener is no less charged.
Even in container gardens, the authors suggest planting no less than peppers, tomatoes and eggplant together because there are “zillions of culinary uses.” From dishes to make, tips on using the foods from outside the United States, tales of indigenous peoples where heirlooms may be called native plants and sharing a few quick recipes, the Gettles fluidly blend the saving of seeds, growing of food and cooking for the dining table together.
Authors Jere and Emilee Gettle Tell Their Seed Company Story
The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally was published by Hyperion, of Harper Collins, in 2011. Written by Jeremiath C. Gettle and Emilee Freie Gettle, the authors had the assistance of Meghan Sutherland. ISBN 978-1-4013-2439-1 may be used for locating this garden book. All photos are in bright clear color, the hallmark of the Gettles’ annual seed catalog, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
Garden books frequently provide long lists of heirloom varieties of food and flowering plants. The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally is the story of two people who want to grow food and save seeds from plants that have a heritage, the story they see valuable in also preserving.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
Chris Eirschele - Chris writes on plants grown and gardens explored; she is a member of the Garden Writers Association.
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