Give Heirloom vegetables a home today!
Are you a part of the Heirloom Revolution?
Heirloom vegetables and fruit are delicious – but you won’t normally see them in supermarkets.
You might see them in Farmers’ Markets – and sometimes they look a little weird. We’ve become so used to “perfect” fruit and vegetables that a misshapen carrot looks bad – but it’s not!
(Do buy “odd” or “ugly” or imperfect fruit and vegetables when you can – it helps to reduce our vast amount of food waste).
What are Heirloom Vegetables?
Heirloom is such a lovely word! It refers to something valuable passed down from generation to generation.
Also known as Heritage, Heirloom vegetables are varieties which are at least 50 years old, have been grown for many years and passed down from generation to generation.
Did you know that we used to grow many, many more varieties of food than we do now?
Then food production became more centralised. Modern agriculture grows crops in huge monoculture fields so that they can be more easily harvested by machines. The yields per acre or hectare are higher and there’s less human labour involved.
But only a very few varieties are grown now. They are chosen for their ability to withstand mechanical harvesting and cross-country shipping. Mostly, they look good and are all identical.
Sadly, they rarely have the nutrients (and diversity) of Heirloom vegetable varieties.
Heirloom vegetables are open pollinated i.e. pollinated by insects.
Tip: Heirloom vegetables themselves are not necessarily organic, but when you grow them using organic techniques, they most definitely are. If you want organic produce and see Heirlooms at a Farmers’ Market, ask the farmer if they have been grown organically or not.
Let’s see how Heirloom vegetables compare with other types of seeds and produce – hybrids and GMOs.
Hybrid Seeds
A Hybrid is the cross-breeding of two species to produce a new plant. Sometimes hybrids occur naturally, sometimes they are done intentionally to acquire specific characteristics – hybrid seeds often produce high yields.
Hybrids can produce great results, but are problematic when home growers or small farmers want to use the seeds from their hybrid crop to create new crops. Seeds from a second-generation hybrid plant simply do not produce predictable results. So, hybrid seeds are usually purchased again for each planting.
GMO Seeds
GMO seeds are intentionally genetically modified to produce very specific results. It’s the actual transfer of DNA from one organism (not necessarily other plants – it can be from animals or bacteria) to another to get those results. There are a number of debatable issues in regard to GMO ranging from ethics to ecology to economy.
Examples of GMOs in our food supply include corn and some potato varieties which produce a pesticide which kills insects. Soybeans, tomatoes, squash, canola, strawberries, and more have been genetically modified to stay fresh longer.
Because they may not be labelled as such, you may not know if you are eating GMO produce or not. It is not fully proven if they are harmful to humans or not, but certainly GMOs have an impact on the environment.
In general, only large agricultural corporations can afford to genetically modify crops. It’s concerning that these companies are so large that they may end up controlling the majority of the world’s food supply.
By making the plants sterile, these companies can prevent farmers from growing plant-seed for the following year – forcing them to buy new seed from the companies.
In addition, many farmers have reported bullying tactics from the large seed companies, saying they are forced to either shut down or comply with buying their seeds from the GMO producers, because they simply cannot afford to fight legal battles.
Buy Heirlooms!
Next time you see a gnarled carrot or misshapen tomato at the farmer’s market, consider giving it a home. Heirloom vegetables are the type of produce we need to support if we want to sustain organic cultivation.
And if you grow your own, try out some Heirloom vegetables and enjoy the diversity and richness of flavour – and more nutritious food.
If you enjoyed this article, please Share it (buttons below) and spread the word about nutritious Heirlooms – thank you!
See also: How to get the very best produce at Farmers’ Markets
This article was originally published in 2014 and has been updated in 2023.
I love the whole idea of heirlooms! They are a great link to the past. They also help us with biodiversity … it’s sad that most people no longer have very many choices when it comes to buying produce in the market. Thank you for a wonderful post and for clarifying the meaning of hybrid, GMO, etc.
Yes, even just the word “heirloom” gives you a kind of warm, fuzzy feeling, doesn’t it? I really like the idea of growing things that our ancestors used to grow – and you’re right, we need that biodiversity. Thanks for your comment!
Those were some weird looking tomatoes! It looks like the old is becoming new again. My husband says he wants a garden so I think I will be seeing some of these in my future.
Thank you for posting this and have a great day!
You’re right, a lot of what we discarded post-war as “old fashioned” were actually good things, and I’m glad they’re coming back again. Thanks for stopping by!
You are welcome. If you have any information on what grows in partial shade that isn’t too tall I would love to add that to one of my older articles. I did an article on solar energy and one of the complaints is that the panels take up land for food. I got a list from some of my gardening connections of what could grow under a solar panel and I am always happy to add to the list.
Have a sunny day!
Keep those pictures of the weird stuff coming, please!
If you can get 3-4 hours of sun a day under the panels, then you can grow most heirloom varieties of potatoes, beets, bok choy, chard, carrots, spinach and turnips, as well as many herbs such as parsley and cilantro.
If you prefer wildflowers you can grow Chinese Forget-me-not, Spurred Snapdragon, Blue Flax, Baby Blue Eyes, Shirley Poppy and Nasturtium. Also Ox-Eye Daisy, Chinese Houses, Mountain Phlox.
Hope this helps!