Grow Heirloom Plants

Benefits

Environmental Benefit: ★★★★☆

Heirloom plants are varieties that were grown many years ago but are not used in modern large-scale agriculture. They are open pollinated, unlike hybridized varieties. By growing them, you help increase the gene pool for future generations. Heirloom plants can self-propagate, unlike hybridized versions which depend on seed companies to produce them. It's a little scary to me that the most of the plants we depend on for food are unable to propagate without direct human intervention! It's also unpleasant to realize how few actual varieties of food are depended upon for feeding the world's masses. Helping to improve that situation by supporting heirloom plant preservation is the main environmental benefit.

Money Saved: ★★☆☆☆

Although the heirloom starter seeds may be more expensive to start with, you can harvest seeds from your produce and flowers and use them for next year's crop. This can greatly reduce the cost of keeping up your garden! With hybridized "non-heirloom" plant varieties, any seeds produced are generally sterile or unable to grow into the same plant.

Lifestyle Benefit: ★★☆☆☆

Although genetically modified foods may usually be completely safe for human consumption, with heirloom varieties you aren't having to take the chance they aren't. Also, by having the ability to produce your own usable seeds, you are independent of the seed companies. It's nice to be independent, isn't it? To be completely honest though, many of the heirloom vegetable garden varieties don't produce as much or as large of produce, or are more insect/disease prone. That's the incentive for buying the hybridized in the first place! But you may find that the heirlooms taste better . . .

What We're Doing

I'm afraid I'm no expert at gardening - Shannon does nearly all of it for our family. She has studied the different plants she grows, and knows how and when to collect their seeds. She packages them up in little paper envelopes which are carefully labelled. Then most of them are stored in a jar in our refrigerator until the next planting season (with a little rice to control humidity I think). Wouldn't it be great to be able to produce your own seeds?

A Little Humor

What did the blonde say when she opened the box of Cheerios? "Oh look, doughnut seeds!"

(Wish there was a politically correct way to refer to "dumbells" but can't think of one. I don't mean to rag on blondes!)