In the 70 ’s , my father would pack all of us in the station wagon , and drive for what seemed an eternity to visit my relatives . I was pretty young , but I can commend two details quite vividly . My brother getting me to ask , “ Are we there yet ? ” and , visit my grandparent . My Grandma was an esurient cook and gardener . While my older brothers would go fishing with my cousin-german , she would have my sister and I help with hergardens – watering , weeding , moving dirt and the like .
We roll in the hay it ! As a dainty , she would serve us her tomato plant , ripened on a windowsill , turn off and covered with sugar . As a young grownup , the rich sapidity of those deeply colored fruits escaped me . Store - bought Lycopersicon esculentum , never had the smack , and even the vainglorious beefsteaks from my own garden failed to quite capture the color and grain I recall from those hot summertime day . I have always believed that my Grandmother had some growing arcanum . A few long time back , I figured it out !
My father told me , his grandmother give him those same Lycopersicon esculentum when he was a kid . Grandma was a seed saver ! Today , her ‘ secret ’ would be considered an heirloomvegetable garden .
Growing heirloom veg is becoming progressively popular , and can provide us comestible glimpse into our agricultural inheritance . Many of the hybridsoffered todayare designed to be better suited for natural selection , offer a more consistent yield , and can be grown in a all-embracing chain of mountains of climates . But the late addition of support forgrowing heirloom fruit and vegetables has have many seedcatalogs to carry these seed , devoting entire sections to them . This makes get these seed easier than a trip to Grandma ’s . In society for plants to be considered heirloom they must have three characteristics .
First of all , almost all heirlooms areopen - pollinatedvarieties . Most of theseeds sold today are loanblend and seminal fluid from these plantswill normally take on the characteristics of just one of their genetic parents . Heirlooms will produce “ true to type ” from their come . This means seed - savers ( like Grandma ) can delight the selfsame variety yr after year . you could share the seeds of successful plants with Friend and family .
Some heirloom perennial are propagated from cutting rather than seed , and while still considered heirlooms , their seeds may not produce accurate genetic varieties . However , these are the exception rather than the regulation . Some hybrid are stabilized and will open pollinate , but have not stood the test of clip and are not considered heirloom .
You should be able to retrace heirloom variety show back fifty year or longer . This yearmarker is an arbitrary gauge . Yet many of the heirloom vegetable useable can be traced back even further . Pre World War II seed catalogs are filled with today ’s ‘ heirloom ’ . Commercial seminal fluid companies dropped most of these for the more durable crossbreed counterpart . But , these heirlooms have been rediscovered and are set out to become usable again today . The fifty - yr track - off predates the most democratic loan-blend , and many of these early varieties are lose . But this do today ’s dead on target heirloom that much more valued .
The final make up one’s mind equipment characteristic of heirloom vegetables is their histories . Many of these multifariousness were collected and save by home and ethnic groups date back to their European or South American counterpart . Seeds were gather and saved , for the following season ’s crop . This practice protectedthe genic make – up that made the specific works successful within each particular environment .
These Qaeda characteristics have become invaluable and the genetic strains of these vegetable forefather are the backbone to today ’s disease and drought - resistant hybrids . Professional seed house collect and hive away these to save these characteristics to combat succeeding unseen agricultural catastrophes . These history are what make today ’s heirloom vegetables edible movie into an often overlooked part of our heritage .
I have never hear the precise variety my nan used to develop ( although ‘ Brandywine ’ seems atrociously close ) . unluckily , the seeds she had propagate and saved for so long have been lost . But , the search to recapture those summer mean solar day treats has bring me hours of pleasure , and tons of tomatoes . I spent years learning how to garden . But , the recitation ofgrowing heirloom assortment has opened my eyes to a fascinating chronicle of plantsand agriculture . Now , when friends come over , we discuss my garden , and they get a abbreviated history of some of the plants , and apacket of seeds . The heirloomvegetables I growmay not be the accurate I my great gran grew . But , they sure could be .
by Dan Duncan
