Heirloom seeds have been a hot topic lately.
But what is an heirloom seed?
Heirloom is the term used to describe a seed’s untainted heritage of being passed down from one generation to the next. They do this by either self-reproducing or through the assistance of pollinating insects and/or birds — bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, and moths – hummingbirds and other birds, and even some animals, like bats.
Heirloom seeds have been around hundreds, even thousands of years, often uninterrupted – meaning they are free from any type of genetic modification generation to generation.
The success of plant growth is dependent on the primary factors of temperature, the number of frost-free days, and the amount of rainfall most conducive for proper growth. The resulting plants that are hearty enough to withstand changes within this group of factors will then allow observant and experienced growers to develop varieties of heirloom seeds. Over time many varieties – based on the product’s desired appearance and/or taste — were developed by local populations which could survive certain geographic climates.
Starting post WWII, an attempt was made by corporate agrochemical companies at making farmers wholly reliant on them. These companies employed the use of hybridization – which produced incompatible parental DNA, thereby rendering sterile and inconsistent plants following the first crop grown. Growers could not predict the success rate of the next year’s crop — basically forcing them to buy new batches of seeds from the supply houses year after year.
A small group of visionary individuals (Seeds of Change – Richard Pecoraro and Seed Savers – Alan Kapuler) have brought about awareness and positive developments so to tackle these nefarious and strong-arm tactics from the agrochemical companies. These same individuals have been researching, gathering, preserving, storing, cataloging, and disseminating their knowledge of heirloom seeds. They teach the importance of a seed’s genetic diversity which protects against the possibilities of complete seasonal loss of crops, and elimination of entire species of plants from imported plant diseases and insect blights. Many growers are now confident they can generate their own seeds; these seeds which result in consistent and hearty crops.
Most often the seeds of heirloom variety plants can be gathered from one’s own current heirloom vegetable crops for next year’s planting. Germination rates are often at a considerably higher rate than hybrid seed, especially if properly prepared and stored.
We all owe it to ourselves and future generations to continue to invest in and cultivate heirloom seeds!
Seed Catalog – Richard Pecoraro
The Rise of Heirloom Seeds – Alan Kapuler
By: P. Vorel