Biggerstaff Heirloom Tomato Seeds
Article from The Commercial Appeal, Feb. 23,2002
Bill Colvard says there are four levels of gardening: It begins with hobby, goes to passion, then obsession and, finally, fool.
"I'm level four," Colvard recently told a class of prospective master gardeners at the Shelby County Agricultural Extension Service.
He not only grows a large array of fruits and vegetables in his Cordova garden, he does it without synthetic chemicals. And after the harvest, he cans, pickles and freezes the bounty.
The vegetables in his garden are started from seeds, many saved from the previous year.
"If the package says a plant is 'open pollinated' you can save the seeds," he said.
By starting with seeds, he saves money and is able to grow varieties that are not readily available as plants at garden centers.
"You can buy a flat of vegetable plants for $15 or a package of seeds for $1.50," said Colvard, who buys many from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange(http://www.southernexposure.com) (540) 894-9480.
Some of his most precious seeds are for Biggerstaff tomatoes, an heirloom variety with large, sweet, thin-skinned tomatoes. "They're the best tomatoes I've ever had," he said.
When someone (that would be Uncle James, whose wife was Mary Biggerstaff Watson - we think they came from her grandfather and we don't how much farther back) gave him a medicine bottle with few Biggerstaff seeds, he put them in a drawer and forgot about them for a few years.
"Conventional wisdom says tomato seeds are only viable for two or three years," he said. But, "when I put five of these seeds in a pot, I got five plants."
Colvard is donating 350 Biggerstaff tomato seeds to the spring plant sale at the Memphis Botanic Garden, April 19-21. ( Phone 901-685-1566 or www.memphisbotanic.com )
"No one has them unless they save the seeds," he said.