A Look At The Heirloom Gardening

In the gardening world, there are vintage varieties of garden plants that are grown today that have lasting value. These vintage varieties are known as heirlooms. A florist Wellington who also knew much about Auckland landscape supplies and the railway sleepers provided the following information.

There are heirloom plants and also heirloom seeds. In fact, some of the old types of vegetables have been kept alive within families or communities by one generation keeping and saving seeds for the next generation. Commercial seed trade can be traced back to the Colonial period.Some heirloom gardeners consider true heirlooms to be those that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Others favor viewing all traditional varieties, regardless of their lineage or means of distribution as bona fide heirlooms.

Generally, most folks agree that heirloom vegetables and fruits are those varieties known through historical documentation or folk history for at least 50 years.Many originated during a very different agricultural age when waves of immigrant farmers and gardeners brought cherished seeds and plants to this country, and before the art of saving seed became a “lost art” among most North American farmers and gardeners.

In addition to their long history of use, the heirloom vegetables that are routinely grown from seed are open-pollinated, meaning that they set seed “naturally”, often aided by wind, rain, or pollinating insects such as the honeybee, and can be renewed by sowing the seeds harvested from each generation of plants.The farmers and gardeners of the past would collect and save seeds from their harvest in one year for their planting the next year. Thus, these seeds are known as standard or non-hybrid. These open-pollinated varieties tend to be stable and true-breeding.

Just the thought of an heirloom may suggest that it is a thing of the past, but quite the contrary. Heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables are by no means obsolete.Thanks to an expanding popular movement dedicated to perpetuating and distributing these garden classics has been underway since the 1970s among home gardeners and small-scale growers.There is even interest and endorsement from scientists, historians, environmentalists and consumers. Although active seed savers are a minority group, broad-based support has expanded and now enthusiast have resources that are national in scope, such as the Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa and the Seeds of Diversity in Canada.

Hopefully, through the efforts of heirloom gardeners and heirloom gardening, not only will the varieties and traditions live on, but may the movement sow the seed of a new appreciation among our generation for what all of this means to us and generations yet to come.