seed survey ut

Karen Christine Hibbard

“Are you still gardening?”

“Oh yes. I still have plots in a community garden and there’s my little back yard.

“So, I’ve done my seed survey and ordered mostly greens. I have the calabash tomatoes, fish pepper, lettuce, and bitter melon seeds from Monticello. When we were at Monticello we visited the garden, it’s a long narrow terrace overlooking the Blue Ridge mountains, there were vestiges of the garden from last year and greens that overwintered. The gardener gave me a handful of Texas bird peppers from the dried plants. I had a baggie handy from collecting shells in Florida. She said not to touch the pepper seeds with bare hands because they’re really hot. I like the connection to the past. Did you know that they grew bitter melons as ornamentals in Colonial Philadelphia? I read about Jefferson growing then at Monticello and found a Peale painting of vegetables including a ripe bitter melon split open with those wild red seed pods.”

---

View Project: