People at times compare the idea of organic gardening with heirloom gardening, but the ideas are not quite the same, though they do overlap to a large extent. “Heirloom” essentially refers to original types of plants, many of which aren’t commercially produced on a large scale but which are survive becaise of those who hand down the seeds, generation after generation. Many heirloom fruits, vegetables, and flowering plants are virtually the same as they existed hundreds of years ago.
Most currently cultivated, commercially grown fruits and veggies are hybrids, basically, plants that have had their genetics altered by cross-breeding or just plain genetic adjustment. They have been bred to be cultives in l vast quantities and to be disease- or drought-resistant, and plus to last a long time when they are transported over vast distances. Therefore, flavor itself has oftentimes been sacrificed to accomodate mass production, long life, and to increase the monetary bottom line. And oftentimes these genetic modifications mean that there might only be a very few different varietyes of specific fruits or vegetables grocery store , replacing the multitude of varieties of the same plant that was previously grown.
Most folks don’t realize that this situation, this “monoculture” as it’s referred to, can put those few varieties in true danger. One monolithic variety could be susceptible to a specific deadly virus, and that whole kind of food could truly become extinct if the disease strikes. On the other hand, having lots of different kinds increases the chance of the survival of the fruit or vegetable, as one breed might fall to a virus which others resist.
For these reasons and lots of others, groups and individuals have arisen that seek to save and increase the food and other plant types that have fallen out of commercial favor. The seeds they save from the growing of these older varieties proceed as organic by definition, because they have not been altered by non-natural means, nor have they been chemically treatedtreated with chemicals. Yet their planting, fertilization, and harvesting could still end up not falling into the “organic” category if pesticides or herbicides are used, or if non-organic techniques are used in the horticulature.
It’s obvious that while heirloom gardening has many of the same goals as organic gardening, they aren’t always one and the same.
The true organic hobby gardener who wishes to grow heirloom varieties will use these preserved seeds, and and will absolutely employ the methods associated with organic gardening on top of that. He or she will avoid the synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, will use natural methods of dealings with insects and other pests, and will always use natural composts and fertilizing techniques to keep the soil healthy and full of nutrients. Even the pollination of the blossoms that produce the fruits or vegetables will be accomplished by “open pollination,” that is, via bees, insects, or the wind. This will result in vigorous seeds that breed true in the succeeding(a) generation, unlike lots of of the hybrids that don’t always produce the same results in the second or third generations.
An organic gardener may plant hybrid varieties, yet use organic methods in the actual gardening. And conversely, an heirloom gardener could begin with organic heirloom seeds, but use non-organic techniques. It’s only when the two are conjunctive that a person is a true organic heirloom gardener.
