Released Feb. 6, 2008
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Are you enjoying thumbing through the many seed catalogs that have come to you lately, or browsing the Internet for seed sources? Of course, the photos are beautifully presented and wonderful to look at, but some of the terminology can be confusing. For example, just exactly what constitutes an heirloom variety, and why are they so popular these days?
Fifty years ago or more, the best vegetables were saved for their seeds. This is because the old, open-pollinated cultivars produced new vegetables true to type from their seeds. Seeds of heirloom vegetables were often moved from country to country by emigrants who wanted to bring along plants from home. These seeds "came true" to the original plant in their native country, as long as there was no other variety within a certain distance to contaminate the seed. For instance, if we planted seed from a healthy ear of the 1890 heirloom "Country Gentleman" sweet corn we got "Country Gentleman" again, so long as there were no other corn cultivars within a mile or so. It "came true."
Corn, spinach, chard, and beets are pollinated by wind, and also need that mile of isolation from others of the same kind for their seeds to "come true." Other open-pollinated vegetables, like radish, carrots, brassicas, leeks and onions, and rutabagas, are pollinated by insects and need only about 200 yards of isolation. There are some open-pollinated vegetables that are self-pollinated and need no isolation at all. These include peas, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes. Just as a caveat, while these vegetables are self-pollinated, if you intend to save seed, we suggest you plant different cultivars at different ends of the garden.
They may also have some pretty neat names, like the 1810 "Lazy Housewife" bean and "Bulls Blood Beet" from the early 1800s. Heirloom varieties were often delicious, but at the same time, they did not produce consistent yields or uniform fruit, were disease prone, and generally had a short shelf life.
Nowadays, more often than not, gardeners choose to plant hybrid vegetables for the improvements breeders have made in one or several of the vegetables' characteristics, so we eat the best vegetables instead of saving their seed. Hybrid vegetables, often listed as "F1 hybrids" do not produce the next generation true to type. If you save their seeds to plant the following year, you are likely to have a plant that does not resemble the one you so enjoyed the previous year.
F1 hybrids are produced by breeders to emphasize certain characteristics, like color, hardiness, ship-ability, and vigor. The crosses that are made for desirable characteristics are only good for one generation. But what sometimes happens is that during these breeding efforts, some of the desirable characteristics of the vegetable are lost. For example, a breeder may be able to breed a tomato with tougher skin so it ships well, while excellent flavor is sacrificed.
During the 1950s and 1960s, breakthroughs in vegetable breeding resulted in hybrids. These hybrids were more vigorous and pest resistant and produced nice uniform fruit, characteristics that were all very important for commercial growers. But if you plant seed in the spring saved from "Kandy Kwik" F1 hybrid sweet corn last fall you'll get a mutt in summer as the corn genes segregated out in the second, or F2 generation. As it turned out, hybrid seed was plentiful and cheap, so growers didn't mind buying new seed every year. But something happened - the old cultivars started disappearing, and folks started getting concerned that these older varieties were being lost, and started saving and even multiplying their seed. The term, "heirloom vegetable" was coined and a concerted and organized effort was made to save, share, and perpetuate these old, imperfect vegetables.
Growing heirloom vegetables is not for everyone. Their ripening season is often frustratingly long. They can be finicky about their growing requirements. Some have too much plant for the amount of vegetables they produce. Some heirloom tomatoes crack, catface and zipper making them unsaleable at the local Farmers' Market, and some heirlooms, like "Black Sea Man" are just plain ugly, but delicious.
All this being said, there are a number of heirloom vegetables with characteristics that make them possibilities for our northern gardens. Let's name a few names of these vegetables. Plenty of gardeners think heirloom refers only to tomatoes, but boy, are they misinformed. Lots of folks are pretty excited about "Lemon" cucumbers, thinking they are a pretty new development. However, this 58 - 70 day kid-pleasing cuke has been documented since 1894. "Detroit Dark Red" beet is a 55-60 day beet that is good for canning and the table. It's been documented since 1892. The 1863 kale, "Ragged Jack," was brought to Canada by Russian traders. Its leaf veins and stems are reddish purple, and it's hardy to 10 below zero! And my all-time favorite lettuce, "Black Seeded Simpson," documented since 1850, has also been known as "First Early," "Earliest Cutting," "Carter's Long Standing" and "Longstreath's Earliest."
There are a number of other heirloom lettuces available. "Red Deer Tongue" was grown in most pioneer gardens, and the small butterhead "Tom Thumb" has been around since 1830. Of the tomatoes, don't limit yourselves to the famous 1885 "Brandywine." Literature says it's arguably one of the best-tasting heirlooms, but don't forget cultivars like "Bloody Butcher," "Black Sea Man" and "Riesentraube,"
Remember to look for shorter season cultivars, start your seeds early when appropriate, and most of all, enjoy your heirlooms!
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http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=5571
Contact: Cheryl Moore-Gough, (406) 994-6523 or hort@montana.edu
