Heirloom plants are becoming extremely popular among home gardeners and avid hobbyists, since there are many benefits in trying to grow these beautiful plants.
If you take it as a hobby, it is assured that it can quickly become quite addictive.
What are heirloom plants?
While some people try to explain ‘heirloom’ by its age, which is that these breeds originated before 1950s, after which hybrids became popular. However, today the most accepted definition is that these plans were grown in an earlier era and that it is open-pollinated.
Some heirloom plants are centuries old while others are around from the 20th century. The most common heirloom plant is heirloom tomatoes and the best heirloom tomatoes seem to be the favorite of many organic growers.
What are the benefits of growing heirloom plants?
Heirloom plants have huge followers among organic gardeners and home gardeners in particular. Some of the most common reasons as to why people grow heirloom plants are:
- Diversity: one of the biggest benefits of growing heirloom plants are that you have an access to plants that were grown generations ago. With these plants you still get to experience the thrill of having such large variety of plants available in your garden. For example, there are 77 varieties in heirloom tomatoes, and it would take you years to grow them in your garden and try them all. Among the 77 varieties each variety has a different size, color and flavor that you might have never imagined.
- Regaining species: it’s a pride when you get to say that you have an heirloom plant species that cannot be found anywhere now. Plant species are dying out each day and when heirloom gardeners save these seeds and grow these treasured crops; it is ensured that these plants will never go into extinction. Moreover, keeping a large variety of food chain supply can be a great help against crop failures and large plagues.
- Enhanced flavor: in most cases, hybrid plants have properties that make them highly resistant to diseases and concentrate more on high yield rather than flavor. On the other hand heirloom plants maintain their natural growing process which makes them better tasting and natural. Moreover, the effects of pesticides and high yield enhancers on hybrids for commercial purposes have resulted in a lot of diseases among consumers. Heirloom plants are for those who would like to feel the natural taste of these beautiful plants and how it tasted years ago.
- Economical – Growing heirloom plants are more economical than buying vegetables from the market, because once you grow a crop, you can harvest the food and save the seeds and store them till you do a re-plantation in the next year’s garden. This way you will always have a bountiful garden full of crops and if you save a lot of seeds you can also get involved in seed exchanges, which will give you more diversity in your heirloom garden.
Growing heirloom plants is always fun and an educational experience that every home gardener must try. It does not matter whether you are an avid gardener or not, a single try will make you addicted to these beautiful and precious plants.