Heirloom Vegetables

Do you remember those old-time vegetables varieties that your grandmother used to
grow in her garden? They were eaten right from the garden and were so very good. Today, you as a gardener, have the opportunity to grow those same vegetable varieties by growing heirloom vegetables.

There are many definitions of heirloom vegetables. Some claim that these vegetable varieties are over 50 years of age. Others say they are cultivars or varieties that were developed before 1925. Whatever the definition, these are varieties of vegetables that deserve to be preserved.

With all of the new varieties available in garden stores and catalogs, why would anyone be interested in growing heirloom varieties? There can be several reasons. Heirloom varieties offer vegetables that have unique colors, shapes, sizes and tastes. For example, I have grown an heirloom tomato variety known as Black Krim. At maturity, it has a unique black color both on the outside and inside that is quite different than our red tomatoes of today. Combined with the fact that it has a taste that is out of this world, and you have an heirloom tomato worth growing.

Today, commercial vegetable seed growers concentrate on such factors as storage capabilities and the ability to harvest vegetables by machine in developing new varieties. Little, if any thought, is given to the taste and quality of that vegetable. Heirloom vegetables were developed, many times by the backyard vegetable grower, for their taste and quality. Seed was saved from the varieties that had good taste and quality by the growers themselves. Today, we depend upon the seed growers for our seeds and transplants. By doing so, we lose out on some tremendous varieties of vegetables.

Another reason to preserve those varieties that our grandparents and perhaps great grandparents grew, is to preserve these varieties for the future. Each of the varieties have a unique gene makeup that determines the characteristics of that particular variety. In many cases, these varieties have a characteristic that may be needed in the future. If this characteristic is lost, it is lost forever. This might be a characteristic that is resistant to a disease, or to an insect, for example, or provides a unique color or shape that the public would like.

In the 1970s, for example, the modern corn varieties were affected by a disease known as Southern Corn Leaf Blight. Geneticists had to travel to Central America to find native corn plants that were resistant to this disease. They were able to breed this resistance into the varieties and this disease is no longer a problem. However, if that were to happen today, it would be much harder to breed out because those sights where they found this resistance are no longer there.

Certainly, growing heirloom varieties are not as easy as today’s modern varieties. They are not resistant to many of the common diseases. They grow slower and do not yield as much as their modern day relatives. However, for many, the taste and quality of the vegetables are far superior to those of the modern varieties.

Heirloom varieties are becoming a very important segment of the vegetable seed industry. Seed catalogs such as the “Seed Savers Exchange” at Decorah, Iowa and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds of Mansfield, Missouri provide a great variety of seed option for growers of heirlooms. Seed Savers Exchange was developed by a couple who became very interested in preserving seed varieties. Today, they have a huge farm dedicated to growing and preserving these old varieties. The web page http://www.halcyon.com/tmend/links.htm provides a list of heirloom seed companies that offer a tremendous variety of seed.

If you enjoy gardening, this year, why not try some heirloom seeds for a segment of your garden. It can be a lot of fun.