With seed catalogs arriving, it’s easy to be lured by the glossy photos of juicy red tomatoes and vines dripping with deep purple grapes. Before you place your order, however, consider heirloom varieties rather than the hybrids sold by many seed companies.
“Organic heirloom-variety vegetables are nutrient–dense, packed with vitamins and minerals,” said John Fendley, owner of the Sustainable Seed Co. in Covelo, Calif. “The heirloom tomatoes grown in your backyard are up to eight times more nutritious than those you can buy at the store.”
As more gardeners grow concerned about how vegetables or fruits taste, how seeds are processed and whether they’re genetically modified, sales of heirloom seeds have grown. But what exactly is an heirloom?
Heirloom seeds and plants, Fendley said, are “generally defined as an open-pollinated variety that has resulted from natural selection rather than a controlled hybridization process, although some say an heirloom seed variety must be at least 50 years of age to be considered an heirloom. This topic still seems to be hotly debated.”
“Heirloom seeds will be true year after year,” said Kathy McFarland, spokeswoman for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, Mo. “Hybrid seeds will not be true to type. Those seeds won’t accurately reflect the parent plants, if they germinate at all. In some cases, the seeds from hybrids will be sterile.”
All heirlooms are open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated seeds are heirlooms, she said. In addition, no heirloom varieties have been genetically modified.
Heirlooms are a good bet for gardeners who would like to try to save seed from year to year, as well as those who want to try something different. “With heirlooms, you’re treated to hundreds of varieties of squash and melons as opposed to the handful you might find in groceries or in garden centers that stock only hybrid seeds,” McFarland said.
Older, traditional heirlooms have been grown in home gardens for generations, with gardeners saving the seeds of the best-tasting, most beautiful or hardiest plants year after year for decades to create plants that are flavorful and unique. Choosing from the hundreds of heirloom options can be overwhelming, so here are some popular heirloom plants to try in your garden this year, as recommended by the Sustainable Seed and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed companies.
• Burbank barley “was resurrected from the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) seed bank in 2009,” Fendley said. “It’s a hull-less barley that hasn’t been commercially grown since 1933; it grows fast and is high in protein.” Home gardeners can use it in soups and salads.
• Petit Marseillais is an old French heirloom pepper with 3- to 4-inch-long blocky fruits that ripen to a sunset orange-yellow, Fendley said. “The color is amazing but is rivaled only by the flavor,” he said.
• The Uzbek Sweetness melon is an incredibly sweet, white-fleshed melon from Uzbekistan.
• The Wethersfield red onion is a reliable variety that dates to the 1700s.
• Chioggia beets, another recommendation, look more like candy canes than beets. They have red and white stripes on the inside.
• Aswad eggplant, a heat-tolerant eggplant that hails from Iraq, produces flavorful fruits that weigh up to 3 pounds each.
• Vintage Wine tomatoes grow up to 6 feet tall and produce fruit with a “deep, rich chocolate-red color with bright green and gold stripes,” Fendley said. “Cut this tomato open and you will see why it gets the name Vintage Wine. It’s like looking into a glass of Sonoma County merlot. The flavor is rich, sweet, meaty, but it’s still thin-skinned.”
• Peppermint Stick celery has deep red 16- to 20-inch stems with light stripes, bright green leaves and a rich celery flavor.
Heirloom status isn’t reserved only for edibles. Bakers Creek also recommends Peppermint Stick zinnia, which has bright blooms with red stripes.
“Heirlooms hold a special place in people’s hearts because it is what Grandma used to grow,” Fendley said. “They associate them with time and memories they spent with loved ones. They bring back happy childhood memories.”
Denise Trowbridge is a Columbus freelance writer who covers garden topics.