by Greg Spinks

Created on: February 28, 2009

While there is a general understanding and consensus on heirloom seeds, there is no exact definition engraved in stone. Heirloom seeds of vegetables or flowers, are generally thought of as "old time" favorites which have been grown for generations. The seeds, saved after each growing season, produce the same vegetable or flower year after year.

The general consensus gets a little foggy after that. Does "old time" mean twenty-five years or fifty years, or possibly longer? What about vegetables and flowers, which are open pollinated, that is plants which produce the same result year after year from saved seed, and which were developed or even improved by plant breeders a century ago?

All plants have a history, some known, some unknown. Some of the stories are fascinating and provide insights into human nature. If the history is unknown, does the plant still qualify for heirloom status?

Some of the questions should be and likely will remain blank. There is not much sense to dwelling on strict definitions about plants that produce well year after year from seed saved. Heirlooms just offer much more than many of newer hybrid developments and that in itself should settle some questions and concerns.

A hybrid is generally viewed as a plant which is the product of two other varieties which does not reproduce true to to the parent plant from seed in following years. While it is possible to save and replant the seed from a hybrid, the next generation will be far different from the parent plant.

That is one difference for both vegetable gardeners and flowers gardeners which make the heirloom an important plant. They produce like clockwork, year after year, with the same reliability from seed saved the year before. There is no need to purchase new seed year after year.

Heirloom vegetables do have a reputation for being better tasting than many of the hybrids which have been developed for more resistance to some disease problems that vegetables encounter, heavier yields and more uniform produce. However, with a little attention to detail and care, the heirloom varieties can yield as much and plant disease problems can be controlled or solved with organic methods.

Over the years, the heirlooms have developed and refined their own unique traits. Nature is constant change and process. Some can be more resistant to cooler and drier conditions; others are more suitable for canning, freezing or drying and it is likely they have developed their own particular immune systems. The heirloom

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