One Seed Chicago Battle of the Herbs

On Sunday, Feb 5th 2012 The Mike Nowak Show will host the first One Seed Chicago debate. Each of the candidates this year (cilantro, basil, chamomile) will have a representative on the air to make the case for the herb they hope to be the One Seed Chicago in 2012. 

The Mike Nowak Show airs on Sundays, from 9 to 11am central time,  WCPT 820AM and 92.5FM, 92.7FM, and 99.9FM. The debate will be streamed on the Internet, for those who prefer to listen that way or who live outside the broadcast area.  You can also participate via social media. On Twitter we'll be using the #HerbDebate hashtag to cheer on our candidates and their representatives.   I'll be on the show tomorrow, making the case for chamomile.

Hope you can join us for what should be a fun segment of seed politics soil slinging. You can learn more about chamomile, basil, and cilantro.  Chicago metro-area residents can vote for their favorite seed here. A packet of the winner's seeds will be mailed out to every eligible participant in the Chicago area. 

cilantro              chamomile            basil

Also tomorrow, Mike will be talking to  "Dr." Wally Schmidtke about one of the banes of indoor gardening, the fungus gnat.  If you've ever had fungus gnats indoors, you know what an annoyance they can be.  I'm looking forward to hearing Dr. Wally's strategies for controlling them (not that I've ever had this problem . . . ;)

Let's Grow Together, Chicagoland!

This New Year's Day, One Seed Chicago kicked off the voting in its annual campaign uniting Chicagoans in a season-long celebration of urban gardening and local eating. This year’s candidates are basil, chamomile, and cilantro.

One Seed Chicago suports novice and experienced gardeners learning to grow the winning seed in their gardens. Just like last year when vegetables were on the ballot, chefs and foodies are encouraged to submit recipes for these herbs for inclusion on the One Seed Chicago website.

Participants vote for their choice using the ballot at www.OneSeedChicago.com. The plant with the most votes wins. Voting closes on April 1st, and the winning seed will be unveiled at the Green and Growing Urban Gardening Fair at Garfield Park Conservatory on April 30th. Free seeds will be distributed at the fair, and subsequently mailed to Chicagoland residents who participate in the website vote.

One Seed Chicago is a project of NeighborSpace, Chicago’s land trust for community gardens. It encourages community by bringing us together in a common gardening project and introducing more Chicagoans to the joys and benefits of gardening. Previous One Seed Chicago winners were sunflowers in 2008, Blue Lake pole beans in 2009, native beebalm/monarda in 2010, and Swiss chard last year. Since 2008 One Seed Chicago has distributed over a million seeds to Chicago-area residents.

NeighborSpace is a nonprofit urban land trust dedicated to preserving and sustaining community-managed open spaces in Chicago. Their growing network of gardens provides thousands of people the opportunity to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers, to restore habitats, and to create unique gathering places in their own neighborhoods. For more information, please visit www.neighbor-space.org .

My vote this year went to chamomile. I've never grown it before. I chose it for it's pretty, daisy-like little blooms, and because I've grown basil and cilantro for many years. Chamomile is an aromatic plant, and makes a good companion for vegetables in the brassica family. It's said to enhance their flavor, discourage cabbage worms, host hoverflies and wasps, and to accumulate minerals such as calcium, potassium and sulfur in the soil.

One Seed Chicago

2011 marks the fourth year One Seed Chicago is uniting Chicago-area gardeners in an annual project planting a common seed as part of a season-long celebration of urban gardening and local food. A project of NeighborSpace, Chicago’s land trust for community gardens, One Seed Chicago grows each year, as home, school, and community gardening continues to rise in popularity.

The project begins with the announcement of three seed candidates followed by democratic selection of the kind of seeds we'll be growing. Voting has already begun, and continues through April 1, 2011. The winning seed will be announced at the annual Green and Growing Fair, April 30th at the Garfield Park Conservatory. If you live in the Chicagoland area and would like to vote, please visit OneSeedChicago.com. Following the announcement of the winner, participants will receive a free packet of the winning seed mailed to their home (or school) for planting in their own gardens.

Last year's candidates were three favorite native forbs: nodding onion, bee balm, and purple coneflower, with bee balm bee-ing the winner. This year's choices are eggplant, (yum!) Swiss chard, (beautiful!) and radish (my choice!) I chose radishes since they were the first vegetable planted and harvested in the first vegetable garden my family ever planted when I was a skinny little ten-year-old kid. I guess you could call them my gateway plant, since I've been gardening all my life, starting with those radishes.

Radishes are easy for beginning veggie gardeners, including children, to grow. They don't need a lot of space, and are perfect vegetables for containers and other small urban growing spaces. Involving children in gardening, especially vegetable gardening, can be a healthful, fun, hands-on educational experience. Gardening gets kids outdoors and provides healthy exercise, fresh air and sunshine, and is a wonderful family activity. Research has shown that kids who grow vegetables, whether at home or at school, "eat them regularly and with gusto."

Radishes can be ready to harvest as little as four weeks after planting. The satisfaction of enjoying these crunchy, delicious nuggets so early in the gardening season is quick reward for both new and experienced vegetable gardeners, young or old. Succession planting while the weather is still cool can provide weeks of wholesome snacking and colorful salad additions. As they're harvested, their space in the garden can be replanted with warm-season vegetables.

Radishes are rich in vitamin C and other anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, and fiber. The entire plant - root and leaves - is edible. (I think the leaves are best cooked, but young, tender leaves can also be used as salad greens.)

One Seed Chicago aims to introduce more Chicagoans to the joys and benefits of gardening, and has distributed over one million seeds to Chicago-area residents since 2008. If you live in the Chicago metro area, we'd love to have you join us! (While those outside the Chicago area aren't eligible for the free seeds, we'd love to have YOU join us by planting the winning veggie in your garden too!)

And the Winner Is . . .

Last weekend while K, her new daughter, and I attended a wild foods/medicinal plants seminar, Monarda fistulosa was serendipitously announced as the winner of this year's One Seed Chicago votes.

Wikipedia says Several bee balm species (Monarda fistulosa and Monarda didyma) have a long history of use as medicinal plants by many Native Americans. . . who recognized the strong antiseptic action of these plants, and used poultices of the plant for skin infections and minor wounds. A tea made from the plant was used to treat mouth and throat infections, and is the source of the antiseptic Thymol, the primary active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas. The Winnebago tribe used a tea made from bee Balm as a general stimulant. Bee balm was also used as a carminative herb by Native Americans to treat excessive flatulence. An infusion of crushed Monarda leaves in boiling water has been known to treat headaches and fevers.

Although somewhat bitter, due to the thymol content in the plants leaves and buds, the plant tastes like a mix of spearmint and peppermint with oregano, to which it is closely related. Bee balm was traditionally used by Native Americans as a seasoning for wild game, particularly birds. The plants are widespread across North America and can be found in moist meadows, hillsides, and forest clearings up to 5,000 feet in elevation.

While I voted for nodding onion, One Seed Chicago provides compelling reasons to be happy bee balm is the winner: "The past few years have seen an interest in the health of insect pollinators as a sign of a breakdown in our agricultural systems of production," says Michael Thompson, Farm Manager of the Chicago Honey Co-op. "Providing habitats with nectar forage for pollinators is a positive way to help with the decline in pollinating bees and other invertebrates."

"Native plants attract native birds and insects and help to increase biodiversity in your garden," says Jennifer Davit, Director and Horticulturalist at the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park. "Our native plant friends are more adapted to their local surroundings and can handle the Chicago area's fluctuations in climate and weather."

It's not too late for Chicago-area teachers and residents to request a free packet of bee balm seeds. Please consider participating with us in this community effort and help our native bees by planting this pretty, beneficial plant in your own home and school gardens. For more information and to request seeds, please visit One Seed Chicago.

One Seed Chicago

This month gardeners across Chicagoland will begin voting for their favorite prairie seed for One Seed Chicago and the winning seed will be sent to them through the mail.

“For the third year One Seed Chicago is uniting Chicagoans,” said Ben Helphand, NeighborSpace Executive Director. “By planting a common seed, backyards, windowsills, community gardens and balconies across the City will be linked together in a season-long celebration of urban greening.”

In partnership with GreenNet, Chicago's community greening coalition, One Seed Chicago selected the three candidates Chicagoans will choose from. This year the winning seed will be from a plant that was once commonly found in the prairies around Chicago, but that is now rare in the wild outside of prairie restoration projects and cultivated gardens. Once established this native plant will require little water, is less prone to diseases and attracts beneficial insects and birds to a garden.

"Native plants attract native birds and insects and help to increase biodiversity in your garden," said Colleen Lockovitch, Director and Horticulturalist at the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park. "Our native plant friends are more adapted to their local surroundings and can handle the Chicago area's fluctuations in climate and weather."

Vote from Jan 1 until April 1st.

The winning seed will be announced at the annual Green and Growing Fair, April 24, 2010 at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

For more information or to vote visit One Seed Chicago.


Origins of One Seed Chicago
One Seed Chicago is a project of NeighborSpace, Chicago’s land trust for community gardens. Entering its third year One Seed Chicago aims to build upon the success of the previous years and get even more gardeners involved. In 2009 One Seed Chicago distributed 10,000 Blue Lake Pole green bean seeds thanks to a generous donation from the Ball Horticultural Company. “The Year of the Bean,” as 2009 was called, was popular because it dovetailed with Chicagoans who rediscovered growing their own food in a recession.


About NeighborSpace
NeighborSpace is a nonprofit urban land trust dedicated to preserving and sustaining community managed open spaces in Chicago. Their growing network of gardens provide thousands of people the opportunity to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers; to restore habitats; and create unique gathering places in their own neighborhoods.NeighborSpace’s partners in the community can rest assured that the land will remain dedicated to conservation and their efforts will never be displaced. For more information, please visit NeighborSpace.

Thank you to Mr.Brown Thumb for providing me with the press release above. Mr.Brown Thumb's working with NeighborSpace and One Seed Chicago to get the word out on this terrific project, and I'm happy doing my part to help.

Which One am I Voting For?

All are worthy plants. I'm all for adding natives to the garden, or growing an all-natives garden. I LOVE coneflowers and bee balm. We have species and cultivars of each in our garden. Last fall I added a few alliums too. Hazarding a guess, I suspect the lovely coneflower is likely to garner the most votes, or maybe bee balm. I'll be surprised if the onion wins.

I voted for the nodding onion (Allium cernuum.)

Why, you ask? Well, I'm glad you asked, and I'm happy to tell you! I voted for this pretty little allium for a few reasons.

You may remember during a visit to Mom's last September, about a third of our shade garden was chewed down to the ground. Most of the coneflowers, and all the bee balm were gone. Alliums are generally avoided by deer, rabbits, and other mammalian herbivores (a/k/a rodents/garden pests,) and may even discourage pests from other plants in the garden. As if that wasn't reason enough, nodding onions (unlike coneflowers and bee balm whose native habitats are more extensive,) are native only to Northeastern Illinois. They're adaptable to full or part sun and a variety of soils. Since most of this little native's habitat has been destroyed, since bee balm and coneflowers are so much more common in gardens, and since I like to support the underdog, the lovely nodding onion gets my vote.