What is an Heirloom Seed? That was the question I first asked when I had the idea for writing The New Heirloom Garden. It was 2016. Garden Design magazine had asked me to design three heirloom gardens for a special heirloom garden issue.
I called up a seed saving friend to ask her opinion. "Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, so they will produce a seed that when replanted again the following year, will come true to the parent plant." She explained. "It is a seed that was grown before 1950 when hybrid varieties were first introduced."
Asking prominent seed savers for their definition of heirloom seeds, developed into an entire chapter of interviews which I included in my book, These include Will Bonsall of Maine who saves seeds to maintain diversity.
He writes," Genetic diversity is the hedge between us and global warming."
Rosalind Creasy, a pioneer of the edible landscape movement and a cook herself, enjoys growing heirlooms because of the flavor. Heirloom seed breeder Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds admits it was a self-sufficient impulse that bloomed into a passion to teach others how to save seeds.
In The New Heirloom Garden, I list 10 reasons for growing an heirloom garden, and I'd be hard-pressed to choose just one favorite. As you order your garden seeds, look for heirloom varieties that you can sow, grow, save and share with other gardeners. You might discover something new that is old.
As Always,
Ellen Ecker Ogden
www.ellenogden.com
Author of The Complete Kitchen Garden and The New Heirloom Garden. Designs, Books and Classes For Gardeners Who Love to Cook.
