heirloom seeds

Whether as a byproduct of fiscal necessity or a desire to have a hand in what winds up on the family's dinner plate, the act of growing fruits and vegetables at home has recently returned to its rightful status as a revered American pastime. As the homegrown revolution continues to spread, many gardeners are branching out from mass-produced, highly disease-resistant hybrid plants to open-pollinated heirlooms.

The unofficial rule dictates that you don’t start browsing through seed catalogs until well after the New Year. They’ve been on my bedside table since before Christmas, but that’s only because the first ones started arriving in November. They’re playing dirty with my resolve; in Minnesota, that’s a full six months before planting.