What’s the absolute best crop to grow in your garden? That’s every planting season’s perennial question.
My answer? Heirloom plants, and let me share why!
What Are Heirloom Seeds?
Heirlooms are time-tested plant cultivars, many at least five decades old, some centuries old. They’ve picked up all the finest traits over time, including mouth-watering flavors and remarkable hardiness.
They delight in the weird and wonderful! Purple carrots? Gem glass corn?
You can expect the same unique qualities year after year. Your beefsteak tomato is the same tomato your great-great-grandma had!
These old-timers are open-pollinated. That means they rely on natural pollinators like insects, birds, and wind.
The result? Seeds that grow into copy-paste versions of their parents!
Many heirloom plants have fascinating histories tied to specific regions or cultures.
Growing them connects you to generations of gardeners who’ve tended these same varieties.
Plant Black Hollyhocks, for instance, and you’re caring for a piece of history that goes back to Thomas Jefferson’s gardening days at Monticello!
To preserve these living treasures, I say, choose your champions. Save seeds from your healthiest, tastiest heirloom crops!
Word to the wise: Don’t bother saving seeds from hybrid varieties (the ones labeled “F1” on the packet). While great for one season, their offspring don’t grow true to type—unpredictable at best and duds at worst.
Benefits of Saving Heirloom Seeds
Here’s why you should start saving heirloom seeds:
- Genetic Diversity
Heirloom seeds are living museums of plant genetics. Each variety carries a unique set of genes, fine-tuned by Mother Nature herself to flourish in specific environments.
Many heirlooms were selected for flavor and nutritional value. Commercial agriculture prioritizes creating hybrid crops for faster growth and higher yield, often at a cost—taste.
If you’re avoiding GMOs, you’re in the clear with heirloom seeds. Their DNA is just as nature intended, meaning zero foreign genes from unrelated species!
When you save seeds from your heirloom plants, you’re not just planning for next year’s garden. You’re doing your part to protect rare varieties for future generations to enjoy!
- Free Seeds, Anyone?
I mean, who doesn’t want free plants? Save your seeds, and you’re saving money each spring.
One tomato can give you enough seeds for a small tomato empire! And you still have plenty to share or trade with your garden club.
Remember the great seed-buying frenzy of 2020? While others were frantically combing garden supply websites for seeds, I was calmly sorting through my stash.
I never have to worry about those rare heirloom varieties vanishing from commercial catalogs.
- Custom-Breeding for Your Backyard
Every garden has its microclimate. Plants grown from saved seeds are often tougher and better at handling local pests, diseases, and environmental stresses.
Plus, you’ll have custom varieties that love your yard as much as you do.
How to Collect Heirloom Seeds
Plants hide their seeds in all sorts of places—pods, capsules, hulls, and other seed cases.
Often, you’ll have to wait for the produce to ripen. Some seeds need to mature past the point when the fruit or vegetable is edible.
The best time to save seeds is on a dry day. Check below on how to collect them based on plant type:
Beans and Peas
With big seeds that are easy to remove from their pods, these are the easiest to save.
Wait for the leaves to die back and the seed pods to dry on the plant until they turn brown. Collect the pods and split them open to release the seeds.
Fleshy Fruits
Scoop out squash and pumpkin seeds and rinse them in running water to remove all the stringy stuff.
Seeds from wet, fleshy fruits like tomatoes and cucumbers are surrounded by a slimy goop that’s hard to remove.
Toss those seeds in a jar or bucket with some water and let them marinate for a few days. It might sound weird, but you’re basically letting them ferment.
This does two things: it breaks down the stubborn goo and helps the seeds germinate better later.
Once fermented, strain the seeds from the water. Line your seeds on a paper towel and let them dry completely.
Greens and Root Crops
Allow a few extra plants to send up those gangly flower stalks (bolt).
By then, the leaves are pretty much done for—yellowing, wrinkled, and bitter. Collect seeds when the heads are dry and fluffy.
Peppers
Let peppers turn their final color and shrivel a bit. Cut open and scrape out seeds from the vein.
How to Store Seeds
Make sure your seeds are bone-dry before you store them. Paper envelopes or bags work best as they let the seeds breathe and prevent mold.
Keep your seeds cool, dry, and out of the sun. Most will last about four years, some even longer.
But remember, the older they are, the less likely they are to sprout. And don’t forget to label everything!
You think you’ll remember which seeds are which? You won’t, especially if you’ve got different varieties of the same plant!
Final Thoughts
Saving heirloom seeds hit three stones at once. You protect biodiversity, preserve the best flavors, and become self-reliant.
Start small, maybe with a couple of your favorite veggies. Trust me, once you taste the difference and see your seed bank grow, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.