Growing Your Grandmother’s Tomatoes
Written by: Pauline Corzilius
Photo Source: Cheeseslave
For gardeners here in my corner of northern New England, one of the earliest signs of spring is, literally, a sign. It’s the one out in front of the local farm store that says “Seeds are in!” I could stand in front of the racks of colorful envelopes for hours, contemplating the merits of red versus green leaf lettuce, picturing how those morning glories would look climbing up the fence behind the rhubarb patch, or trying to remember how many hills of cucumbers I put in last year.
The economy has been good for gardens; in 2009 the number of American families who grew some of their own food nearly doubled, and early reports from seed companies indicate that 2010 will be another boom year. Gardens are good for the environment for many reasons, from supporting pollinator populations to helping people understand the value of open land. And let’s face it; few things are more empowering than being able to create food with your own hands.
But the pretty pictures on the seed packages don’t tell the whole story. Many of the vegetables on offer are F1 hybrids, which means that they are created by hand pollination of two different varieties in an attempt to get the best traits of both. The practice of selling hybrid seeds commercially has been around since the early 1950’s, and for commercial growers it allows reliable production in a limited amount of space. But there are downsides to the hybrid plants. Because they are created by controlled breeding, they will not breed true; saving seeds from these plants will invariably result in a disappointing crop the following year. This forces home growers to buy new seeds every year, driving up the cost of gardening .
However, there is a greater loss to the gardener than the financial one. Hybrid vegetables are boring. Large scale plant breeding and the subsequent lack of genetic diversity result in a crop that just doesn’t taste as good as it should. For every trait that is bred into a variety, another trait is lost; breeding for large size, pest resistance, and early production have resulted in a loss of both flavor and food value.
Nutrition science tells us that the colors of fruits and vegetables provide accurate indicators of their phytonutrient content. Eating a rainbow of different colors of produce is widely recognized as an easy way to improve the quality of your diet. If you want to see a real rainbow for your plate, a search on heirloom tomatoes will reveal hundreds of varieties in an incredible array of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, pinks, and purples. And they all taste different – some are sweeter, some more acidic, some with classic flavors, and even a couple that taste like chocolate! Heirloom squash, greens, carrots, beets, grains; there are thousands of wonderful varieties out there waiting for you. If you don’t like vegetables, maybe you just haven’t met the right ones yet.
Most heirloom vegetables have been around for a half century or more. They are open, or naturally, pollinated, and are suited for specific regions of the country, as opposed to the “one size fits all” hybrids. Choosing varieties that are well suited for your local growing conditions takes a little effort, but it’s well worth it. Hybrids are more flavorful and more nutritious, and they help preserve genetic diversity. Gardening is good honest work, and it deserves good honest seeds. Even if you are limited to a planter of tomatoes on the balcony or a windowsill pot of basil, you can still grow a little food. Why not try an heirloom this year?
