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Last week's topic: biodiversity in crops and gardens.

We asked what you were planting this year.

Here's what some of you had to say...


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This year, I'm planting native butterfly habitat plants and heirloom, open pollinated food and ornamental varieties. Coincidentally, all the seeds I will be using come from your guest's company, Seeds of Change.

Last year's El Nino-affected weather was very tough on hybrid species, but my heirlooms and native species didn't suffer very much. This proved to me one of the important advantages the heirloom varieties have over the hybrids, and I won't be wasting money, time, or water on hybrids again.

Al Unger

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We are planting snap peas, pea pods, amaranth, leeks (lots), some gourmet salad greens, some heirloom tomatoes, can't remember what else.

In the medicinal herb department, echinacea, which we tincture. Will start tincturing Oregon Grape Root as well. Perhaps try growing Golden Seal, although I don't think it likes being cultivated.

All are from organic seed, and we are beginning to collect our own seeds.

Skye Blaine

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Here's what I'm planting in my 1999 garden:

Huckleberry potato; Russian Banana Fingerling potato; Catalina potato; Egyptian walking onions; Mr. Big and Sugar Snap peas; Violet Queen cauliflower; Savoy Express cabbage; Implus, Blond, Ibis, Australian Yellow and Sierra lettuce; Space spinach; Striped German, Silver Fir Tree, Becky's Big Red, Black Krim, Texas Wild and Schimmeig Stoo tomatoes; Big Chile, Rocotillo, Blushing Beauty and Fruit Basket peppers; Dalmantion pole beans, Dragon Langiere and Triumph de Farcy bush beans;Zeyphr summer squash; Waltham Butternut winter squash; Neon eggplant; Caroline carrots; Chiogga radicchio; Moon & Stars watermelon; Jenny Lind melon ; Baby Boo and Jack-Be-Little mini pumpkins; Corona mini cauliflower; Luther Hill and Indian Summer sweet corn; Assorted herbs.

I'm is planting all this in square foot and intensive bio-dynamic beds in an area no bigger than 16 by 24-feet! I get great crops every year in small spaces, because I build the soil, go easy on nitrogen, trellis, succession plant and inoculate with mycorrhizal fungi.

Doreen Howard

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I grow lots of perennial flowers, ornamental grasses and a select group of annual species to complement them. Plus, I grow a lot of tomatoes, peppers, salad greens and lots of herbs. This year--hopefully--I'll add a patch of sweet corn.

Larry Andrews

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This year I am planting arugula. I have been saving the seeds from the seed pods for many generations. It's the easiest lettuce I have found. I will also grow tomatoes. Living in the west side of San Francisco, 1.5 miles from the beach makes it hard to grow tomatoes but they do ok in our greenhouse.

Joel Rubinstein

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Our family will plant garlic, green beans, peas, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, sunflowers, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, ornamental gourds, sumer and winter squash. ERCurrier

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I am going to try planting hops this year. I'm experimenting with beer brewing and have discovered that fresh hops can really make or break your process. The hop plants will also contribute a bit of shade to my bare-walled south facing bedroom! Claude Romig

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