Heirloom plants, in their purest essence, means something that has been with a family for a long time, passed on from generation to generation. An heirloom plant is also in many ways similar to an heirloom. Seeds of heirloom plants are probably as old as your grandparents, sometimes maybe even older. Plus it has been passed from generations to generations too. But raising such a plant rewards an avid gardener superior flavor over the usual varieties.They are open pollinated as opposed the first-generation, hand-pollinated types that are sold to companies or the bio-engineered ones that have been resisted by a lot purists because they believe that the seeds are being contaminated.
Due to open pollination, heirloom plants can grow more than 10,000 varieties of one plant, compared to only a few types of first generation seeds. To highlight the importance of various varieties, one has to take a look at what the Irish experienced during the nineteenth century. A blight caused by a water mold almost single handedly wiped out the scores of potatoes in various plantations in the country between 1845 and 1849.
The few types of potatoes cultivated were not able to resist the blight. This caused the widespread hunger and famine in Ireland since potatoes were considered their staple food at that time.
More than a tenth of the country’s population died, and some two million migrated to nearby countries. Had there been more than a few types of potatoes planted, a resistant kind would have been discovered and immediately spread over the countryside. This could have alleviated the shortage of the potatoes and would have stopped the famine altogether.
Heirloom plants carry such a heritage with them since they have been grown for hundreds of years. Some heirloom plants have been grown by a family of farmers more than half a century ago and in turn was probably handed to them by their European lineage. The result is a uniqueness that cannot be imitated by company bred seeds or hybrid ones. Those who have tasted heirloom plants attest to its added juiciness and sweetness.
People have very different motivations as to why they choose to grow heirloom plants. Others are interested about the heritage; some because of their interest in natural farming. Still others may simply want to contribute to the gene pool of a specific to preserve its multiple varieties for posterity. Whatever reasons though, heirloom plants provide more than just a past time to millions of home gardeners.
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