eirloom Seeds
With the recent slow rise in temperatures, Maine farmers and gardeners are preparing for planting in the spring soil. While many pour over seed catalogues, either physically or virtually, some farmers use seeds passed down from their parents and parents’ parents. These seeds are known as ‘heirloom’ or ‘heritage’ seeds.
One of these farmers who eagerly await planting time is Annette Cochran who owns and operates the No View Farm in South Rumford says, “I have been planting heirloom seeds since 2000, though right now I only have Yellow Pear tomato seeds that I have kept since then.” Unfortunately her others got lost due to a plant blight in 2012. However in 2013 she reestablished all of the farm’s tomatoes and started preserving and replanting the seeds. She added, “I have 25 varieties of vegetables, and I'd over 100 flower and herb varieties.”
An heirloom, by definition, is an object, often valuable that has belonged to a family for several generations, having been handed down, often from parents to their children.
Daniel Rennie of Waterford, says, “I use heirloom seeds as often as I can.”
Heirloom or heritage seeds are old seed varieties created by centuries of open-pollination by birds, insects, wind, or other natural means. They are often passed down through generations in a family, but can also be obtained from companies or local farmers. Some in the seed saving community say a seed must be at least 100 years old to be considered an heirloom, while others say it must have originated before widespread plant hybridization in the wake of World War II.
Mrs. Cochran adds, “although my seeds are ‘only nine years old,’ their lineage depends on the seeds I collect, brandywines alone have been winning taste tests for over 225 years.” She won a taste test with her No View Farm grown tomatoes in Bethel in 2014.
Jeanne Miller of Rumford uses heirloom and heritage seeds that trace their lineage back to the Earlybird Organic Farm, which was in East Milton. It was one of the first organically certified farms in Maine, and re-established seed saving and purity principles. Many of the seeds she is planting this spring originated in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. She says, “I inherited seeds from my dad and share them with my siblings and son, who currently works at the No View Farm.”
The fruits and vegetables you typically find at the grocery store are more likely to come from hybridized or GMO seeds than heirloom seeds. Hybrids are created through cross-pollination of two different varieties of a plant. Thanks to the advent of the supermarket, produce needed to be high yield, durable to withstand travelling long distances, uniform and aesthetically pleasing. Created for similar reasons, GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are made by genetically altering the plant’s DNA so that it has a longer shelf life or a higher concentration of specific nutrients that might be lacking in a region’s diet.
The seeds inside heirloom produce can be saved and planted countless times over with nearly the same result. For most farmers this makes heirloom farming more stable and economical. Farmers who grow hybrid plants may have to buy seeds every year because the seeds from their crop may be sterile, produce an entirely different offspring, or contain no seeds at all.
Ms. Miller says, “my favorite vegetable to grow, harvest, and eat is buttercup squash. I got seeds from my dad when I first started gardening, and have saved seeds and replanted them for years. I love how I get the same plant and squash year after year, and it reminds me of where the seeds first came from.”
If you would like to plant heirloom or heritage seeds, many mail order seed houses offer pre-packaged heirloom varieties. Here are some of the most popular seed companies in Maine and throughout the United States that offer online services are:
Pine Tree Gardens in New Gloucester, ME
Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, ME
Fedco Seeds in Waterville, ME
Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, IA
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, MO
Clear Creek Seeds in Hulbert, OK
MIGardener in Port Huron, MI
Botanical Interests in Broomfield, CO
Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply in Grass Valley, CA
Territorial Seed Company in Cottage Grove, OR
Seeds of Change in Rancho Dominguez, CA
One of these sources, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, of Winslow Maine, has more than 1,200 varieties of hybrid, open pollinated and heirloom vegetables, medicinal, culinary herbs and flowers.
Here are some of the most popular heirloom variety seeds available from Johnny’s:
Henderson Lima Bean. ...
Brandywine Pink Tomato. ...
Rainbow Carrots. ...
Big Jim Peppers. ...
Blue Hubbard Squash. ...
Purple Orach. ...
Royal Burgundy Beans. ...
Lemon Cucumber.
Mrs. Cochran reminds us, “You can always grow a plant exactly to its parentage whereas that is not the case with hybrids.” And, thanks to generations of open-pollination, heirloom seeds are slowly becoming more resistant to disease and pests typical in the areas where they’re grown. This reduces the need for farmers to buy pesticides and prevents soil and water contamination from pesticide use and leakage.
Heirloom produce most often is grown organically and benefits from maturing in soil uncontaminated by pesticides. It often contains more minerals from healthy soil and more overall nutritional value than hybrid and GMO produce. This higher concentration of nutrients and minerals can actually make heirlooms produce much more flavorful.
Some gardeners do not plant many vegetables but instead save and grow flower seeds, bulbs, or corms. According to AC Yard Services in Windham, here are the top 10 flowers for spring planting in Maine, which add life and color to properties and are saved and handed down for years and often generations:
Coreopsis (golden glow)
Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan)
Lupine
Bloodroot
Iris
Grape hyacinth
Daffodils
Lilacs
Gladiolas
Dianne Mitchell of Rumford says, “I have them all except gladiolas and love to see them grow year after year, but I really need to dig my garden up and replant. Some perennials have overgrown their space.”
Mrs. Mitchell adds, “You have to be careful moving flowering plants around and cutting them back though or you can damage and destroy them.” Obviously damaged or destroyed plants can lead to less seed yields.
Annette cautions, “Just because you buy heirloom seeds and plant them, doesn’t always mean you can collect them yourselves.. Some things like squash have to only be pollinated by its own species or produce a hybridized type as well.”
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