giveaway: vegetable-garden tips from c.r. lawn

CRAZY, BUT TRUE: I ALWAYS THOUGHT the quirky “voice” of the Fedco Seeds catalog, named C.R. Lawn—get it? Lawn?—was a fictitious character, the made-up but pervasive green spirit of the longtime seed cooperative’s brand. But he’s not make-believe. He’s the Maine-based Fedco’s founder, and an organic gardener, market grower and seedsman with more than 30 years’ experience, and he took the time to answer some of my questions on what to grow and how to grow it better. The result is a vegetable-gardening Q&A (from peas to potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, mineral dusts and more), with the very real C.R. Lawn—and the chance to win three $20 Fedco gift certificates I bought to share with you, and say thanks to him. Let’s jump right in:

Q. Are there heroes in agriculture and horticulture—or in the seed business—whose wisdom you go back to again and again? Did you have a mentor that helped you get started in organic growing?

A. My parents farmed on a homestead scale when I was a little kid in Cornwall, Vermont. They were my first inspiration. I cut my gardening teeth with “Step-by-Step to Organic Gardening” by Sam Ogden and “Rodale’s Handbook of Organic Gardening.” I don’t even know if Ogden’s book is still in print. When I first started Fedco in 1978, Rob Johnston of Johnny’s was very generous in sharing information about the business and he has been helpful throughout. My heroes include farmer-breeders like Frank Morton, Brett Grohsgal, Alan Kapuler, Bryan O’Hara in Connecticut.

Q. Let’s talk vegetable gardening: You told me that you always do a lettuce trial each year, which means you’ve grown a lot of lettuces. Are there some varieties that you never skip? (A long-ago garden friend always grew ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ his whole life,