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Although we're all interested in heirlooms, here, I was wondering how many of us collect them directly? That is, from the families that have kept them going, or, at most, one step removed?
I know there are a few on this forum. Melody, Bluejay, myself. Several others, I'm sure.
It might be interesting, I thought, to share the ways we connected with the original growers, so that others might follow the same path.
Here's one example: I spent three years searching for Tobacco Worm Beans, and finally tracked them down to Bill Best, at the Sustainable Mountain Ag. Center. Bill's been collecting mountain heirlooms for 30 years, and was glad to share the Tobacco Worm with me.
His line of Tobacco Worm came from Virginia Jones, who happened to live in my county. I gave her a call, and arranged to meet her, and chat with her about them. In the process, she put me in touch with another family, who had been growing Ram's Horn (aka Mountain Stick) Beans for several generations. So that gave me another bean for my collection.
The one thing about elderly people who have seeds is that they are initially suspicious. They don't understand why anyone is interested in their old seeds. But, once they believe you are serious about continuing those lines, the gates open up.
Another thing about them is that they love to talk to an appreciative audience, and you can learn an awful lot about how things were really done in the good old days. F'rinstance, anybody really want to know how long it took to churn butter?
What about some of you others. How did you come by any direct heirlooms you've collected?
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