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.

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