November 2017
Cyndi Kelly dries flowers to harvest their seeds.
dried tomato seeds
Jim and Cyndi Kelly
Aji Dulce pepper plant from latin america
The Kellys Raise Rattlesnake Beans
saving
the past Kellys bank on strength of their heritage seeds
By Barney Quick Photography by April Knox
Farm Indiana is a monthly publication of AIM Media Indiana.
There is so much to document about the amazing lives of Jim and Cyndi Kelly that an article three times the length of this one might scratch the surface of a full picture, but their heritage seeds activity embodies the essence of it. Fascination with nature and history, enthusiasm for food, and delight in expanding their network of acquaintances characterize all their interests and come together in the raising of tomatoes and other plants their own way. Heritage seeds contain the genetic information of the lineage of a plant exactly preserved over the course of years, decades or even centuries, so that, say, a particular type of tomato is going to taste nearly the same today as it did in 1700s Russia.
Publisher Chuck Wells Editor Doug Showalter
Jim would insist on the “nearly” qualifier, because heritage seed plants “typically hold their same flavors wherever they’re grown initially, but after 20 cycles or so in a new location, they develop a flavor unique to it.” He goes on to explain that “a lot of times the best-tasting tomatoes are grown under stressful conditions. My seed bank seeds will be more likely to thrive with less water and sunlight, with a different pH balance than they’re used to.” This is the horticultural example of what he calls his “fascination with uniqueness.” The Kellys live on five acres along the banks of the Flat Rock River in southern Shelby County, among a smattering of neighbors in an area known as Pleasure Valley. Gardens dot the area near their house, but there is ample undeveloped area, which serves as home to woodchucks, foxes, raccoons and snakes.
They run their heritage seed operation out of the kitchen of their current house, soon to be replaced by one under construction next to it. Prior to that, they kept their seed bank in, appropriately enough, a bank vault, in the former Irwin Union branch in Hope. Types of people mainly interested in the seeds include master gardeners, new gardeners and people wanting non-GMO seeds. Their seeds don’t lend themselves to large-scale production. “Industrial farming operations, with thousands of acres, typically go with hybrids,” says Jim. “They know they perform well in droughts and floods, hot and cold temperatures, and all ripen at the same time. If you only planted 10 acres of heirlooms, you’d have a lot to manage.” The terms “heritage” and “heirloom” are for the most part interchangeable, but Jim feels that the latter may be more (Continues on page 2)
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