This will be the first week of spring so it seems like a good time to get this blog thing rolling. Winter doesn’t want to end here in Ann Arbor and we haven’t really begun any digging in the dirt just yet but maybe next week. The planning for this years crops began in early January with the arrival of seed catalogs. We have looked for veggies we want to grow based on flavor. Sometimes seed catalogs will list items that are easy to grow for beginners but maybe they aren’t that flavorful. Our radar was focused on heirloom varieties that have always been appreciated for their flavor but have fallen out of favor perhaps because of fickle growing patterns or commercial production issues. For example, many foodies prize the balanced flavor of a juicy Brandywine tomato but its thin skin doesn’t hold up to shipping across the country. To taste it you have to grow it yourself or know someone who does. So I’ll let you in on the first Cornman news of the season. We intend to grow just about every Brandywine variety there is out there - potato leaf Brandywine, Sudduth’s Strain Brandywine, Brandywine OTV, Yellow Brandywine, Brandywine Landis Valley Strain - about 50 plants of each in all. If we have a good growing season we’ll schedule a tasting to see which is best. Sounds like a great way to spend a hot August afternoon.