Vegetables or fruit varieties that have been grown for a number of decades and whose seeds have been passed down within a family, a region or a culture.

To be considered an heirloom variety, many experts say the seed type must be at least 50 years old, although some insist that heirlooms should be at least 100 years old. The heirloom cultivars, or varieties, may have been developed long ago by seed companies, or grown by home gardeners who passed the seeds down from generation to generation, or originated in other countries.

Heirloom plants open-pollinate, which means they are able to reproduce themselves through their seeds, unlike hybrids, which will not yield the same plant from a seed grown from their fruit. The longevity of heirloom cultivars is an example of evolution at its finest—gardeners historically saved the seeds of their best-tasting and most vital plants to plant in next year’s garden. Over time, the open-pollinated seeds adapted to the region and its soil, microclimate and pests.

Many different types of fruits and vegetables have heirloom cultivars; look particularly for beans, potatoes, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes, and corn. Their unusual names, like Boothby’s Blonde (cucumber), Lazy Wife (pole bean) or Mortgage Lifter (tomato), often tell the story of their heritage.

History

No one is quite sure where the term heirloom first appeared. William Hepler, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, was said to have used the term to describe some beans given to him in the 1940s. The term then started appearing in seed catalogs, and it may have first been used publicly in 1981 during a speech made by Kent Whealy, founder of Seed Savers, a non-profit seed-saving program focused on keeping heirlooms in existence.

But the concept of heirloom cultivars goes back hundreds of years, to a time when fruits and vegetables were grown locally, consumed by the family and the community, and seeds were saved and replanted year after year. When farmers and gardeners began immigrating to the United States, they brought these seeds and plants with them, to cultivate in the New World for a little taste of home.

Thomas Jefferson, an avid gardener, was one of the first Americans to appreciate the many varieties of fruits and vegetables. He planted his garden at Monticello with produce brought to America from European traders and explorers. Today, Monticello’s gardens are still planted with the same vegetables and flowers he grew, many of which are descendants of seeds first planted 200 years ago.

The rich variety of fruits and vegetables began diminishing during the 1940s, when industrial agriculture began to look for new efficiencies in the growing and distribution of produce across the country. Creating hybrid plants, which were made of two plants bred together to optimize certain traits, was one of the industry’s solution. Hybrids could guarantee consistency, productivity, tolerance to negative elements like weather and pesticides, and, best of all, would ship without too much damage. However, breeding these qualities into the plants often meant sacrificing flavor and variety.

The effects of commercial farming had other consequences—the disappearance of special varieties of fruits and vegetables. In the early 1900s, nearly 7,000 varieties of apples existed in the United States. But today, there are only about 1,000 varieties.

Without the diversity of heirloom plants, with their unique evolutionary characteristics and resistances to diseases and pests, today’s crops—which rely on these varieties to breed resistance into modern crops—are at risk for infestations and epidemics.

The Irish potato famine in the 1840s is believed to have been caused by farmers planting only one type of potato, which had no resistance to a particular disease, and resulted in an entire country’s food supply being decimated.

The movement to preserve heirloom cultivars has been afoot since the 1970s, with non-profit organizations, university agricultural programs and seed manufacturers, as well as small-scale farmers and home gardeners, seeing the value of keeping a little piece of history alive through cultivating heirloom seeds.

Context

Buying heirloom fruits and vegetables at a farmer’s market or a grocery store could ringing up a higher ticket than you would buying hybrid versions—heirloom tomatoes can sell for as much as $5.99 a pound, since they require a little more care in growing and handling than their sturdier hybrid counterparts. But planting heirloom is not necessarily more expensive than planting hybrids—in the Burpee seed catalog, for instance, a packet of 30 Big Boy hybrid tomato seeds is $2.25, while seeds of the popular Brandywine heirloom tomatoes are $2.50 for 25 from Heirloom Seeds. If you take the time to dry and save the seeds for next year’s harvest, it could be even more economical—just be warned that sometimes these older seed varieties could have quirky growing habits, unusual germination times, or adverse reactions to your local soil.

External Links:

Wikipedia - Heirloom Plant

The Old Farmers’ Almanac’s Best Heirloom Varieties

Vegetarians in Paradise

Clemson University Coopearative Extension Service

Heirloom Seeds

GardenWeb Heirloom Plants and Gardens Forum

The Heirloom Seed Project at Landis Valley Museum

National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Selling Great Tasting Heirloom Crops

Further Reading:

The Seeds of Kokopelli by the Kokopelli Seed Foundation

Taylor’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables: A Complete Guide to the Best Historic and Ethnic Varieties (Taylor’s Gardening Guides) by Benjamin A. Watson

Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for a New Generation by Lynn Coulter

Heirloom Gardens by Chronicle Books Staff

The Edible Heirloom Garden by Rosalind Creasy

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth