Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have much respect for the agricultural programs at Texas A&M. However, I find it interesting that one of their most popular spokesmen (and the only exception to my "I have all A&M agricultural experts") is Dr. Jerry Parsons. I listened to him speak at the Llano Master Gardeners last week and what amazed me is that he has been listening to the complaints of many gardeners on a range of topics and has responded with some good advice and solutions. Here's some examples:
Saving the Lost Hybrid Varieties. We have been losing our best hybrid tomato seeds for several years including Bingo, Merced, Heatwave and many others. The consolidation of the seed companies has resulted in the loss of many hybrid varieties as well as expensive hybrid seeds. Solar Fire and 444 seeds cost 20 cents a seed - to the wholesale grower! Jerry's response has been to trial saving F2 seeds (the offspring of the hybrids). Apparently we've been told that you can't save seed from hybrids because you lose the positive characteristics in the children. However, Jerry knows that tomatoes are 85-90% self-pollinated. He is collecting old seed stocks from across the state and is saving and testing seeds of these old hybrid varieties.
The Value of Manures. Another funny story from Dr. Parsons was his (and all Aggies) that they could grow any tomato as well or better with conventional methods; specifically chemical fertilizer. Apparently, they tried for years but gardeners kept growing huge tomatoes with manures and composts and they couldn't compete. Not to be wrong, Dr. Parsons now recommends manures and composts as one of the best soil amendments to growing vegetables.
Heirlooms. As much grief as I receive from Dr. Parsons and other Aggies over the years, I can't believe that he would even be talking about heirlooms much less putting them on his website. But, low and behold, heirlooms are a topic. He shared something that I had not put into clear words yet about heirlooms. Most of the heirlooms we get are varieties from the north. This is why I can plant them early and get good results but they do not work when planted later - no heat tolerance! However, there are some old southern heirloom varieties that he talks about on his website and I will begin growing this year. One is Rutgers, probably the most popular tomato variety before Celebrity was introduced.
Seed Bank. The extension service has developed some really interesting and vigorous producing varieties of peppers and other veggies that never made it to market. These, along with other open-pollinated and F2 hybrid varieties are available to the public through his seed bank.
Plant Answers. On a final note, Dr. Parsons is funny and interesting speaking (if not a little annoying sometimes...) AND he knows his stuff. He tests everything so if he says it, its because he's actually done it or seen it himself. No "theoretical stuff" here!
If you are interested in his website, it has a lot of great stuff and a huge database of answers to typical gardener questions...definitely worth a look. www.plantanswers.com
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