Something "old?"

It seems like I've been writing this column forever, but it's only been 19 years. (No wonder it seems like forever.) I've never missed a week, although it went unread one time when the computer "lost" it and another time when there was no space in the paper.

It's not easy to come up with new ideas each week. I'm proud to say that I've never dusted off an old column and reused it even when I was feeling lazy. However, I have repeated some topics over the years, and some more than twice, and some (such as those against bad pruning and tree topping) at least once a year.

Readers have asked for a way to access my "old" columns. I have a Washington State University "blog" where about eight years of my old columns and feature stories reside. They're organized by general category, but you can also search them. The blog is at http://blogs.cahnrs.wsu.edu/gardentips.

You can also find the past three years at www.tricityherald.com/hg/ophardt, where they are listed in chronological order by title.

Speaking of "old," my 2007 Abundant Life Seeds catalog has arrived. This company is a sister company to Territorial Seed Company. It's dedicated to "protecting the genetic diversity of rare and endangered food crops" and its goal is to "offer true-to-type open pollinated varieties grown using only certified organic or bio-dynamic farming methods."

Abundant Life Seeds started as a foundation in 1975 with the very same mission, but the foundation bowed out of the seed producing business when most of its seed inventory, all its offices and its seed packing facilities were destroyed in a 2003 fire. Luckily, Tom and Julie Johns took over the Abundant Life Seed Foundations seed production business. They could because the foundation had the foresight to back up part of its stock in a freezer.

Not only does Abundant Life Seeds preserve heirloom varieties, but it also has its own breeding program to develop new varieties "specifically for the home gardener and market grower." It focuses on flavor and nutrition, not on finding varieties that ship or handle well for the mass grocery store market.

New to its catalog this year is Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato. This heirloom has extra large, bright green sweet-flavored tomatoes with a "touch of spice." It has an indeterminate growth habit and will keep growing and producing fruit until cool weather arrives. If you want something diminutive for a container garden, consider Window Box, another new offering. The plant is compact, only reaching a height of about 16 inches. It produces lots of firm, red fruit with a sweet tangy flavor.

Also new is Thelma Sanders' Sweet Potato. It's an acorn squash (not a sweet potato) with pale golden skin and tasty thick golden flesh. It's a family heirloom squash from Missouri.

Perhaps one of the most interesting new entries is Strawberry Spinach. It's not a "real" spinach, but is related to the New Zealand summer spinach that some gardeners grow as a summer substitute for regular spinach. Strawberry spinach (Chenopodium capitatum) is grown for its edible green leaves. and its berry-like fruit produced along the stems. The ruby red fruit has a nutty flavor.

Abundant Life Seeds has a nice selection of open-pollinated veggies, some annual flowers and a few herbs. The selections it offers will grow with time. Reach the Saginaw, Ore., company at www.abundantlifeseeds.com or 541-767-9606.

* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Office in Benton County.