Heirloom Seeds and Seed Exchanges

Heirloom Seeds

In gardening the term heirloom refers to plants that have been cultivated for at least one hundred years and can be propagated year after year from seeds, cuttings, or divisions.  Technically, heirloom plants are either self-pollinating, which means they produce seeds without obtaining pollen from another plant, or open-pollinated, which means they require pollen to be delivered by insects, birds, or other external forces.  When seeds develop and are planted, they form an exact copy of the parent plant.  In contrast, a hybrid plant is formed by controlled cross-pollination, where only one variety of a species is chosen to provide pollen to another variety of the same species.  The hybrid is usually more prolific than either parent and is more disease-resistant.  However, seeds saved from a hybrid will not produce the same plant as from which it came.  It’s kind of complicated, but heirloom vegetables provide a wider range of color, texture, and flavor, and make gardening even more exciting.

Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, Iowa 52101 

Ph: (563) 382-5990 Fax: (563) 382-5872 Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit organization of gardeners who save and share heirloom seed.

Here’s a brief explanation about seed exchanges –

If you’re a gardener and you’re getting tired of what’s available at your local nursery or through garden catalogs, then you might consider becoming a member of a seed exchange.  A seed exchange is basically a society whose members trade seeds with fellow gardeners.  These seeds are most often from choice species and are not readily available to individuals.  The only way to cultivate them is to find another gardener who has seeds to pass along.  Fortunately, there are many devotees who are willing to share their seeds for nearly every plant and type of garden.  For instance, if your passion is rock gardening, you can obtain seeds through a rock garden society.  There are fern societies, carnivorous plant societies, and exchanges dealing with heirloom fruits and vegetables.  Many seed exchanges are geared to very specific climatic conditions, such as desert regions and marshy areas.

Many varieties of seeds exchanged through these groups are extremely rare and could have faced extinction, had it not been for the commitment of gardeners wanting to keep them alive.  So for a nominal fee and perhaps sharing some of your own seeds, you can enrich your garden and may also help to safeguard the genetic diversity of the world’s plant life. 

Comments

[Jennifer Fancher]

Martha- Thank you for the information about tomatoes, it would be fun to try the heirloom variety.
(The the cost is $35.00 to join the non profit exchange. You might want to add that to above info.)

[Bill McDorman]

You can find detailed online seed saving instructions for all your favorite vegetables on the website of this 20 year-old non-profit:

http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html

Thank you Martha for caring about and publicizing this important issue. We are finding more and more misunderstanding about the different labels for seeds. Your explanation about hybrids was clear and concise.

Bill

[Jay]

I was excited about my two tomato plants until I saw your crop. Wow!

[Susan]

Thanks for the tips on planting tomatoes deeply so the roots will develope. I want more info about your chickens and if you have Guineas about those too. They are good bug eaters.