When starting your gardening journey, you’ll quickly discover a wide range of seed types – hybrid, organic & heirloom seeds.
Heirloom seeds stand out for their rich & interesting history,
their flavour, resilience & vital role in food security.
Let’s explore what heirloom seeds are, why we think heirloom seeds are a great choice & how they contribute to a more secure,
sustainable future for our food systems.
What Are Heirloom Seeds?
Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated seeds that have been passed down from generation to generation, often for more than 50 year. They are prized for their historical significance, genetic purity and unique traits that have been carefully preserved by gardeners and farmers over decades and sometimes centuries.
Key Characteristics of Heirloom Seeds:
- Open-pollinated: They are pollinated naturally by beneficial insects, birds or wind with no human interference required.
- Genetically stable: They produce plants that are ‘true-to-type’, meaning the offspring closely resemble the parent plant.
- Time-tested: Typically grown and preserved for at least 50 years.
- Culturally significant: Many heirloom varieties have fascinating backstories tied to specific regions, families, or cultures.
- Non-GMO and can be organic: Heirloom seeds are not genetically modified, making them a favourite among gardeners.
Why Heirloom Seeds Are the Best Seeds for Your Garden?
Heirloom seeds are a wonderful choice if you’re new to growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruits, or if you are looking to improve your yields, increase flavour and most often reduce common issues in the growing phase.
- Better Flavour & Nutritional Value
Heirloom vegetables, fruits and herbs are renowned for their exceptional taste, unlike their commercial, store-bought cousins, which are bred for shelf life and uniformity. Heirloom varieties are chosen for their flavour. Tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes, carrots with sweetness and crunch or beans with rich, earthy tones.
- Seed Saving Made Cost Effective and Easy
Because heirloom seeds are ‘open-pollinated’ and ‘genetically stable’, you can save seeds from your best plants and grow them again next season at no extra cost, and with the same great results (or better!) You can build your own personal, resilient seed bank and pass down your seeds like heirloom growers before you. You’ll probably even find ‘Seed Swapping’ clubs and community near you.
- Unique Varieties You Won’t Find In Your Local Grocery Stores
Looking for purple carrots, striped tomatoes or beetroots, or African cucumbers? Heirloom seeds give you access to rare, colourful and fun varieties you won’t see in most supermarkets and grocery stores.
- Adapted to Local Conditions
Many heirloom varieties have been regionally adapted (or climate zone adapted) over time. That means they often perform better in your specific climate, soil, or growing season compared to mass produced hybrids. Because of this, you’ll even find your saved seeds may produce stronger, bigger fruits next season
- Supporting Biodiversity
Each heirloom seed is a genetic gem. By growing heirlooms, you’re helping preserve plant biodiversity which is critical to healthy ecosystems and resilient food systems. Every seed counts.
Why are Heirloom Seeds Crucial for Food Security?
Food security is more than just about having enough to eat. It’s about having consistent access to healthy, diverse and locally adapted food sources. Heirloom seeds play a big role in making this possible.
So, how do heirloom seeds help secure our food future?
- Genetic Diversity = Crop Resilience
Monoculture’s ‘fields of identical plants’ are more vulnerable to an array of pests, diseases and climate changes. Heirloom seeds offer ‘genetic variety’, which means some plants are more likely to survive and thrive under a range of tough conditions.
- Local Seed Sovereignty
Saving and sharing your heirloom seeds ultimately empowers communities to take control of their food supply. This can be especially important where access to commercial seeds is limited and/or costly.
- Resistance to Corporate Control
Many commercial ‘hybrid’ seeds are owned by large agricultural companies, often patented and designed to be non-reproducible. Heirloom seeds are open-sourced, which means you can save and share them freely.
- Sustainability (Our Favourite Reason)
Heirloom plants often require fewer (if not any) chemicals and adapt well to organic growing methods, reducing dependence on fertilisers and pesticides. Let’s also not forget to mention the saving of ‘food miles’! Often store-bought vegetables come from interstate, or even from overseas, so every vegetable or fruit grown at home helps reduce our carbon footprint.
Some Top Tips for Growing Heirloom Seeds:
Whether you’re growing heirloom tomato varieties, capsicums, or herbs, here are a few tips to get the most out of your seeds:
- Start with well-known, beginner-friendly varieties like ‘Money Maker’ or ‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes or ‘Scarlet Runner’ beans.
- Make sure to label your plants to keep track of varieties, especially if you plan to save seeds.
- Remember to isolate similar types of plants (like different squash types) to prevent cross-pollination. It’s worth doing a little research on isolating for seed saving, and here is a great link with great information: https://rootsandrefuge.com/best-methods-for-pollination-when-seed-saving/
- For great results, harvest seeds properly by letting the fruit fully mature, cleaning seeds, and storing them in a cool, dry place. Check out this post by Growveg.com for more information on starting your seed saving journey: https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/saving-seeds-from-your-homegrown-vegetables/
- For the best support (and a great way to make friends), join a local Seed Swapping club or Heirloom Gardening Group to connect with others and exchange seeds. There are also many groups to be found on Social Media platforms for chats, support and guidance.
Finally, Why Choose Heirloom Seeds?
If you’re looking to grow a productive, flavourful, and sustainable, chemical free garden, we think heirloom seeds are your best bet.
Benefits of Heirloom Seeds at a Glance:
- Richer and more superior flavour.
- Save seeds to reduce costs and create even better crops.
- Be a part of preserving rare and unique varieties.
- Boost local food resilience and even make new friends.
- Protect the biodiversity of our food.
- Avoid the need for chemical dependence.
By choosing to sow heirloom seeds, you’re not just planting a garden, you’re planting history, flavour and food sovereignty. Whether you’re starting a few containers on your balcony or turning your entire backyard into a veggie paradise, heirloom seeds will reward you with beauty, bounty and a sense of connection to generations of growers before you.
More information:
There is so much information to be found on heirloom seeds. Remember to check out your local Community Groups, Social Media and online. Here is a great resource if you are beginning out: https://seedsavers.net/
