The Boom of Heirloom

So summer is here . . or at least it would appear to be as the crunch of my dry lawn underfoot indicates quite a shortage of water. It is my very hope that you have already planted a very particular vine in your garden . . this flora of the nightshade family happens to be near and dear to our American hearts as well as the dining table . . I’m talking about the tomato of course! More specifically . . the heirloom tomato. This term heirloom seems to elude many a people henceforth we’re going to break it down for you in its most sincere agricultural terms. (no recipe today – just delivering pure honesty)

An heirloom is generally considered to be a variety that has been passed down, through several generations of a family because of it's valued characteristics. Since 'heirloom' varieties have become popular in the past few years there have been liberties taken with the use of this term for commercial purposes thus diluting the integrity of this word.

In the past 40 years, we've lost many of our heirloom varieties, along with the many smaller family farms that supported heirlooms. The multitude of heirlooms that had adapted to survive well for hundreds of years were lost or replaced by fewer hybrid tomatoes, bred for their commercially attractive characteristics. In the process we have also lost much of the ownership of foods typically grown by gardeners and small farms, and we are loosing the genetic diversity at an alarming rate.
Every heirloom variety is genetically unique and inherent in this uniqueness is an evolved resistance to pests and diseases and an adaptation to specific growing conditions and climates. With the reduction in genetic diversity, food production is drastically at risk from plant epidemics and infestation by pests – this is the reality folks!
The late Jack Harlan, world-renowned plant collector who wrote the classic Crops and Man while Professor of Plant Genetics at University of Illinois, wrote, "These resources stand between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. In a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on these materials. The line between abundance and disaster is becoming thinner and thinner, and the public is unaware and unconcerned. Must we wait for disaster to be real before we are heard? Will people listen only after it is too late."
It is up to us as gardeners and responsible stewards of the earth to assure that we sustain the diversity afforded us through heirloom varieties as such I strongly urge you to join your local chapter of Slowfood, a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded to counteract the fast food movement. Till next Friday . . . get down and dirty (it’s not too late – go out and get you a tomato plant!), enjoy some homestyle marinara (you and raid your neighbors garden till your little one gets to fruiting) turn up the Josh Groban and sip your sexy Brunello di Montalcino in contemplation of how you can make our little world a better place (even if starting with one tomato seedling?)