It's the time of year when many of us are inundated by seed catalogs. Whether it's Michigan Bulb, or Gurney's, or Burpee, these catalogs offer us an opportunity to take a break from the winter cold and daydream about our vegetable gardens... the snap of the green beans, bees on squash blossoms, the taste of that first tomato. Have you ever noticed that when you are picturing your garden in your mind, you conveniently leave out the weeds?
Anyway, if you're looking to change it up a little this year, and manage your garden in a more sustainable way, consider using heirloom vegetable seeds. Vegetables considered "heirloom varieties" are generally those that are 100 years old or more and were widely planted before the advent of large-scale commercial farming. As larger and larger commercial farming operations spread across the US after World War II, hybrid vegetable varieties developed for production and simultaneous ripening, often at the expense of taste, dominated the gardening landscape. Over the past decade however, an effort has been underway to reintroduce heirloom vegetables into home gardens to preserve and proliferate some of these historic varieties.
There are many advantages to planting heirloom vegetables. Most are naturally well adapted to variable environmental conditions and disease resistance due to natural selection over hundreds or even thousands of years, rather than man-made genetic modification. In addition, these historical vegetable varieties provide an opportunity for the Sustainable Family to learn about historical agriculture and the need to sustain viable seed strains for future generations.
You can find many companies across the country that specialize in the preservation and sale of heirloom vegetable seeds. My personal preference is Comstock, Ferre & Co. located right here in Connecticut. You can order heirloom seeds right from their website, or request a catalog and picture yourself in a new and exciting garden this summer... oh, and don't forget the weeds.
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