Heirloom veggies make comeback
By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News
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Heirloom vegetables weren't exactly the "in" thing 20 years ago,
but that's when Sue Oberle first got interested in them. At the time, she had a
degree in agronomy and a job at the Botanic Gardens at Cornell University. In
one of the many gardens there, vegetables with long, distinguished bloodlines
were grown.
Oberle has been raising heirloom vegetables ever since. She and her husband,
Matt, own Oberle Botanicals in northwest Fort Collins, and she sells flowers,
herbs and specialty vegetables at the Farmers Market and to local restaurants.
Her specialty is heirloom tomatoes. A visit to the Farmers Market will find
Oberle selling many varieties of tomato plants to gardeners who want to enjoy
the taste and tenderness of these old-style orbs.
Heirloom varieties have gained in popularity since those days at Cornell.
"Twenty years ago," said Oberle, "there was one book on heirloom
vegetables, and the Seed Savers Exchange was a tiny organization. Now there are
lots of books, and heirloom varieties - which may or may not be authentic - have
appeared out of nowhere."
According to Oberle, an heirloom variety must be from 60 to 100 years old -
opinions vary on that score. The plants are never hybrids, and they must be
self-pollinated or open-pollinated by other plants of the same variety.
Historically, seeds from these plants have been passed down from generation to
generation.
Diversity in peril
Since the United States is a nation of immigrants, an immense variety of
vegetables was brought to this country. Our ancestors saved seeds as a matter of
necessity, and seeds from the best plants were selected to produce the next
generation. These plants were bred for flavor and tenderness, and they became
well adapted to their specific environments.
Over the years, however, many varieties were lost as a more urbanized society
gardened less, and the gardeners who remained began relying on commercially
produced seeds. Commercial varieties are usually hybrids that grow reasonably
well across the country but are not adapted to a specific locale.
The Seed Savers Exchange, a grassroots organization started in Iowa 25 years
ago, began a movement to preserve genetic diversity by rescuing endangered
vegetable varieties from extinction.
Oberle noted that most commercial hybrids were developed more for shipping
ability than for flavor. Tomato lovers, hungry for that old-time taste, are
going back to the home garden varieties for both their flavor and their tender
consistency.
"A lot of the heirlooms are so tender it's even hard to get them to the
Farmers Market without bruising," said Oberle, "but that makes for
wonderful eating quality."
Most heirlooms have a tendency to crack and may have "green
shoulders," making them undesirable to commercial growers. In moist
climates, heirloom tomatoes are more susceptible to disease than hybrids, Oberle
said, but that's not a problem in Colorado.
Watering and care are the same for heirloom tomatoes as hybrids. Most
heirlooms, however, require a longer time to ripen than hybrids, at least 80
days.
Heirloom varieties vary widely in flavor and they're usually distinguished as
either acidic or sweet. Partial to the acid taste, Oberle favors the Pruden's
Purple, Mortgage Lifter and Black Krim tomatoes. Sweet varieties she recommends
include Mr. Stripey and Pineapple Golden. In general, she said, yellow tomatoes
are sweeter than red ones. Brandywine is the best known of the heirloom tomatoes
although it's not her favorite.
Heirloom tomato plants, can be purchased from growers at the Farmers Market.
They are also stocked at some local nurseries.
For gardeners who want to grow their own tomatoes from seed, there are many
sources for ordering heirloom varieties. These include:
A wealth of information about heirloom tomatoes is available on an
interactive web site, www.gardenweb.com.
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