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Heirloom v. hybrid seeds
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The benefits of heirloom v. hybrid seeds
By Bryan Reed
January means it’s the beginning of a new growing season! For gardeners, this is the time of year when visions of Eden in our yard dance in our heads and our gardens are perfectly ripe with potential.
The seed catalogs have also arrived! It’s fun to see the new varieties along with pictures of crops we’ve forgotten about. Now is the time to designate space in the garden to try growing something new. Maybe this is the year to establish some asparagus or see if homegrown parsnips are really as creamy as they say.
Once you choose your crop, your next decision is the type of seeds to get: hybrid or heirloom?
DISEASE-RESISTANT HYBRIDS
Hybrid seeds gained popularity in the late 1800s. This technique intentionally crosses pollen between the same species of crops
to produce offspring with more desirable traits. We’ve gained size, color, shapes and uniformity of maturation by breeding traits into crops—all of which aid commercial growers. Hybridized seeds have also been bred to fortify crops against common diseases and viruses. Having powdery mildew (PM) in the Grand Valley makes a PM-resistant cucumber a good choice, as it can withstand the disease.
The downside to hybridized seeds is that saving them is dicey. Each seed may exhibit traits from either parent or multiple grandparents, which greatly decreases the chances that a saved seed will be identical to the parent plant.
More importantly, since hybrid seeds have taken over the agriculture industry, declines in food nutrients have followed suit. Breeding in a desired trait has the unfortunate consequence of breeding out other traits—most commonly nutritional content.
In August 2019, Scientific American published an article documenting a 10- to 100-percent decline in the nutritional value of food. Their final statement was that today a person needs to eat two times the amount of meat, three times the fruit, and four to five times the vegetables to obtain the same vitamins and minerals as food grown in the 1940s.
Thank goodness home gardeners have another option!
NUTRIENT-RICH HEIRLOOMS
Fortunately, heirloom seeds are now available from a variety of sources.
Each heirloom seed came from an open-pollinated parent, meaning the parent’s same genetics and displayed traits transferred to the child plant. Many heirloom seeds are saved for generations. Home growers have long known that heirloom tomatoes taste amazing, but studies are showing that heirloom crops have more vitamins and lycopene than their hybridized counterparts.
Ohio State University and Agricultural Research Service in California have specifically found that orange heirloom tomatoes contain prolycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant not found in hybrid tomatoes.
One fantastic source of heirloom seeds is Baker Creek Seeds (www. rareseeds.com). Not only does their catalog read like a novel, but they support numerous nonprofit and community gardens around the country. Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa (www.seed savers.org) is a clearinghouse for heirloom seeds passed down from previous generations who immigrated to this country. I also recommend most local seed swaps.
Most vegetable crops begin to naturalize to their surroundings after four to seven generations, so locally saved seeds have already begun to adopt to our low humidity, alkaline water and cool nights. That makes for a stronger plant that better transfers nutrients (and flavor) from the soil to your body.
Gardening is fun. Eating tasty produce grown yourself is wonderful. But eating fruits and veggies packed with antioxidants and minerals is the best reward you can give yourself as a grower. ■
Bryan Reed is an Instructor of Sustainable Agriculture and Coordinator for the AgTech Innovation and Education Center at Colorado Mesa University (CMU). He is also the faculty adviser to the Western Colorado Community College Compost Facility. He’s managed four organic farms and has been a home gardener for over 32 years.
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Life in Uravan:
the Western Slope’s uranium boom town
View of San Miguel River north of Uravan. Photo by Diana Barnett.
By Diana Barnett
Although little of what used to be Uravan now remains, when Fran Ellinwood moved there in 1958 it was a thriving company town of 800 inhabitants.
Located 96 miles from Grand Junction, along the San Miguel River between Nucla and Gateway, Uravan was established by Union Carbide Corporation in 1936 to mine uranium and vanadium. This effort eventually supplied needs created by the Manhattan Project— the secret endeavor tasked with developing the atomic bomb that ended World War II. The minerals were also used in electricity production, cancer treatments and medical diagnostic procedures.
After Fran’s husband, Ed, completed his medical residency in California, the Ellinwoods and their five small children set up their first permanent home and practice in the tiny company town.
“We were planning to live there for just two years,” shared Fran, 95. “That’s why I never put curtains in the kitchen windows.”
However, what began as two stretched out to six years. A COMPANY TOWN
The Ellinwoods moved into their company house, located in B Block, on one end of the “Circle”—a more prestigious area bordered by lilac bushes—where those in leadership positions (such as doctor) resided. For six years, Fran and Ed’s life revolved around his 24/7 position as the town’s only medical professional.
“Ed did all the company physicals and attended to all mining acci-
Friends Fran Ellinwood, left, and Deb McLaughlin, right, of Grand Junction met in Uravan in the late 1950s. Photo by Diana Barnett
dents,” said Fran. “Sometimes we’d come home to find someone waiting on the front step for him and he’d invite them in. Our living room often became the second clinic.”
Deb McLaughlin moved to Uravan with her parents and siblings in the mid ’50s.
“I was a sophomore in high school when my dad was hired as the company purchasing agent. The moving van got stuck on the mountain, so I arrived with only two outfits,” said McLaughlin, 81.
Although there was an elementary school in town, older kids were bussed to Nucla for high school. Having moved from Pueblo, McLaughlin said it was a bit of a culture shock.
“All the girls on the school bus wore jeans and had curlers in their hair. It was a 30-minute bus ride, so they would get ready on the way,” she said.
Because of her father’s job, McLaughlin’s family also lived in VIP housing and was one of the few that had telephones. Union Carbide provided all necessary supplies and services for residents. There was the commissary, or general store, where shoppers could charge their groceries and the amount would be deducted from the family paycheck.
“If you didn’t have the things you needed by Saturday, then you went
Top: Looking north of the former town site. Insets: Historical town photos from the 1950s. Bottom photos courtesy of Estalee Silver, Utah Uranium Oral History Project knocking on your neighbor’s door because the store was closed on Sunday,” Fran explained.
SMALL BUT CLOSE-KNIT
Despite its size, Uravan had everything its residents needed, including a public library, a rifle range and a meeting place for community groups. There was also a post office and a filling station. The company had built pools to cool processing barrels, but kids also swam there. Eventually, an Olympic-style pool was constructed for recreational purposes.
In the close-knit community, the school and the recreation hall became the hubs of the town.
“I participated in lots of [school] opportunities,” said McLaughlin. “There were few enough students, if there was a play and you had a pulse, you were in it. I may not have tried many of those things if the situation had been different.”
Locals gathered together at every opportunity, such as potlucks once a month after an Episcopal minister came to visit. Sometimes, though, the reasons to congregate were a little more low key.
“One day, we gathered to watch a neighbor’s 100-year-old Christmas cactus bloom,” recalled Fran.
While small town life had its advantages, it also had its disadvantages.
“Bennie Benedict served as the town’s postmaster, and knew everyone and everything,” said McLaughlin. “When I was at the post office one day, he told me he knew where I was going for my honeymoon. I didn’t even know! He’d seen the tickets come in.”
McLaughlin met her husband in Uravan while she was working as a switchboard operator. After marrying and leaving town to earn degrees, the couple moved back to the tiny community, living in a three-bedroom house in the Flat Tops, a new residential area, for $35 a month.
“I really liked it when we moved back.” McLaughlin said. “There’s something about the connection you have with people because you depend on each other.”
Both Fran and McLaughlin’s families eventually moved to Grand Junction, and Uravan gradually faded away.
The mining operations came to a halt in 1984 when the need for nuclear fuel decreased. With no further use for the town, and the potential for radiation exposure, all of its structures were eventually razed and the area reclaimed.
Today, all that remains is a baseball field and the memories shared at the annual Uravan picnics. ■
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Car full of canines
Advice for vacationing with your dogs
Afew years ago, my husband discovered he had two extra weeks of vacation time to use. As we giddily discussed all the exotic places we could explore, three aging sets of brown eyes stared up at us.
We closed the website with overseas travel deals and opened a car rental page on our browser instead. We visited our vet to update vaccinations and get necessary (and hopefully unnecessary) prescriptions. And then the five of us—me, my husband and our three old dogs—were off.
“Me and you and a dog named Boo…” I found myself humming that song a lot during our trip to the Deep South, “traveling and living off the land.” But I’ll bet Boo never vomited from being car sick, had diarrhea from a change in diet, or couldn’t get comfortable on a hot southern night in a cramped van.
Fortunately, with advanced planning, we were prepared to handle all of these incidences. Our 10-day road trip through Dixie with our buddies was fun. Well, mostly fun.
On day four, Ernie stopped eating his kibble. So we made trips to McDonald’s and to grocery stores for deli chicken.
Unfortunately, the Gulf of Mexico didn’t inspire joyful beach romps. Photos of moments in the warm water show Chip and Ernie frozen in terror, and little Yvette (their mom) in my arms clutching my neck for dear life. And then there was the flea.
I once won a cruise for answering this question: “What’s your best travel tip?” I wrote that if you had pets, be prepared well in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute to find an available kennel or trusty sitter.
Ask your vet, groomer or neighbors for recommendations. Go visit the facility they suggest to see if you think your dogs would be comfortable there. Schedule an interview with a recommended sitter to determine if they’re a good fit. Pay close attention to your instincts if something feels off.
You know your dog best, and he or she is relying on you. If you’re planning a road trip with your best friend, schedule a vet appointment. Are vaccinations current? Ask about precautions you should take for the particular area you’re visiting, including heartworm, mosquitoes, ticks and parasites.
How about the weather? Because we traveled south during the summer, I bought cooling mats for our dogs to lay on during the warm days. They were inexpensive and our dogs loved them. Do your research and find out what’s necessary to keep your dog safe and comfortable.
Now’s the time to pre-plan your travels in 2022. Do what it takes to make sure your dog (and you) have an enjoyable vacation, whether you’re together or apart. Peace of mind is the most essential thing to take on your trip. ■
THE RUFF LIFE
BY MARTI BENSON Send your questions to Marti in care of the BEACON, or email her directly at OutnumberedByDogs@gmail.com
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