What is an “heirloom” variety?
Heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown from seeds of long forgotten varieties that were found in our ancestors gardens. When this term is used to describe seeds of produce, it not only refers to age and lineage but also to the fact that the seeds themselves are not sterilized and therefore will reproduce true to their nature.
Heirloom plants are old varieties and cultivars grown by earlier generations of farmers and gardeners. To be considered an heirloom, a plant must be open-pollinated – i.e., it will grow true to type and produce plants like the parents from seed. In contrast, seeds obtained from crossing two different parent types will produce what is called an hybrid plant. Most modern plants sold are hybrids and were created through specialized breeding of plants. There is no consensus as to how old a plant variety should be before it can be considered an heirloom, but generally if it has been around for a few generations and has not changed, it is considered an heirloom.
