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I've gotten several emails from folks who are either confused about what heirlooms are, or who just wanted to know.
First, let's talk about open-pollinated plants. These are plants that breed true-to-type from seed the plant produces. In other words, if you save seed and plant it, in the absence of other varieties of the same species that could cross with it, the new plants will look just like their parents and be genetically the same.
All heirlooms are OP plants. But not all OPs are heirlooms. New OP varieties are developed every day.
The general definition of heirloom is any OP vegetable variety that has been grown for at least 50 years.
Some think this is too loose, and want to confine it to varieties that were not commercially available. For ones that were, they use terms like "heritage" "historic" "old fashioned" and "traditional." Personally, I think they do a disservice, because there are many heirlooms that were introduced as commercial varieties that are now only available through seed savers.
Perhaps the best definition is given by Ben Watson, who uses three criteria:
1. The variety must be able to reproduce itself from seed. That is, it is a standard or open-pollinated variety.
2. The varity must have been introduced more than 50 years ago.
3. The variety must have a history of its own. Perhaps the vaieity was brought to America by immigrants, or saved and improved over the years by a single family or a religious group such as the Amish. Perhaps it figured importantly as a staple or ceremonial crop for indigenous peoples.Or it has simply become well-suited to the climate and growing conditions of a particular region.
Personally, I especially like part three, because the history is important to me. This makes them, as my friend Julia says, "the ones with the wonderful certifiable type of provenance, which gives them that real spark of life that makes them more than just a seed."
If you want more on this, try and find a copy of last February's Mother Earth News, and see my article, "Nostalgia You Can Eat."
Sometimes tracking down the history can lead to some interesting ironies. Take Bullnose peppers. Amelia Simmons refers to them in her 1796 "American Cookery," (said to be the first American cookbook, by the way). In the mid-19th century, Bullnose was a very popular commercial bell pepper.
However, Simmons' Bullnose were small, and had some heat, especially in the ribs. The 19th century bell pepper was large, and sweet.
What happened is that they kept selecting for size and sweetness, but never crossed it with anything else. In other words, there are physical differences, but _not_ genetic ones. Yet the two peppers are as different as day and night.
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