{Garden Life} Why Heirloom is Worth It
As you may recall, I recently went into a long dissertation about why heirloom seeds are important to our future when I was mentioned the Seed Savers Exchange. But if you’re not really sure what an heirloom seed or plant actually is, let me break it down for you.
Heirloom seeds are those which have been passed down from generation to generation. They may be plants which have been growing in your garden for many years or they may be something you buy yourself to get your gardening going. Sometimes, heirlooms will actually be given an age of at least 50 years old.
Now why are heirlooms so special? Well, for starters, heirlooms allow gardeners to grow plants that are native to their area, which ensures a better success rate of growth and great produce. Using the Seed Savers Exchange, a member could actually zero in on specific gardeners in their own area based on the plants they want via the seed yearbook. Or just buy directly from their own organic fields.
But in general, heirlooms usually show a resistance and tolerance to climate changes, soil conditions, pests and overall changes in nature as they have naturally developed over time. There is no fear of GMO or adaptations by large seed producers who primarily want to make sure that you keep buying their seeds and other products year after year. Learning how to harvest seeds from your own heirloom varieties allows you the ability to completely control your own seed source and you’ll know just what your plants have been exposed to as well as how they do in your own growing environment.
If you have decided to go with heirloom seeds this year, there are tons of options. Your local farmers’ market may have vendors selling seeds or you may find them at local farm stores. And there are plenty of online sources as well. Here’s just a few popular ones in the US, as well as a couple in Germany.
- Seed Savers online store
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
- Landreth Seeds
- Victory Seeds
- Seeds of Change
- Amishland Heirloom Seeds
- El Dorado Seeds (they ship worldwide)
- For those in Germany: Bio-Saatgut
- Also in Germany: Sortenbuch des Samenarchivs (this on is kinda special with over 2800 kinds of tomatoes, 500 kinds of peppers and more — a bit like Seed Savers in Germany since you can actually trade your own seeds with the guy running this HUGE operation)
We’d love to know what is going on in your garden right now. You can share about anything related to gardening, old or new posts, from recipes to harvesting to grow reports to DIY projects or inspiration.
Here’s how this works:
PLEASE READ THESE GUIDELINES, especially if you have never linked up before!
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That’s it! Share your garden with us by linking up below!
Tiffany is an American who has been living in Germany with her husband since 2001. The two are self-proclaimed "Self-Reliant Yuppies" who are in their early-30's and bought an 1830's farmhouse several years ago, which they have been turning into a more sustainable and green dream house. Two cats, a Newfie and their 2 year old daughter enjoy the adventure with them. Tiffany enjoys cooking, rock climbing, lux-camping trying to turn her black thumbs green and taking road trips. Visit the 
Hi,
Love the blog sharing idea. I would like to link up, but when I copied and pasted the html code, I ended up with just the word garden on my blog. I’m wondering if you have another way to add your badge?
Thanks,
Lisa
This is a link to the regional club for protecting and re-propagating fruits that have become rare (due to commercialization). They are trying to find people in Hessen to take part in their project for rare and unsual fruits (particularly apples) that are no longer sold in supermarkets. Not all apples are juicy and sweet, and these breeds have become rare, because preparing them for food has become a lost art. Still, they could become important in research and medicine or even for food in future generations.
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http://www.streuobst-mtk.de/index.html
I forgot to say that I love Seed Saver’s Exchange. They are practically next door neighbors, since we are in Illinois and they are in Iowa. But I’ve never made it over to visit their gardens. Maybe this summer I’ll do a homeschooling visit
Hi there, We are moving from California to the Aachen area of Germany this March. I’m an artist & textile designer but mostly a SAHM with my littles – 3.5yo & 10mths. In the tiny bit of time I have left I spend in my gardens and love to mix edibles & ornamentals. I’m wondering how this will translate in Germany and am looking for resources on finding organic seedlings – specifically for strawberries & tomatoes, maybe sugar snap peas (my daughter’s fave). Are they sold at farmer’s markets typically? I would start with seeds but we won’t be settled into a rental home until probably May – too late for seed starting in my opinion. Let me know if you have ideas – thank you!! Your blog has been a wonderful read for me!
) Devon