By Danny Thompson
Imagine, a single genetic line guarded closely, it’s secret passed quietly from generation to generation while the masses are blissfully unaware of the simple yet profound truth.
No, it’s not a best-selling novel or blockbuster movie.
It’s the history of the Heirloom Tomato.
By Amelia Tucker
An heirloom is an old fashioned breed or strain of tomato that is not scientifically altered and can be reproduced from seed.
They are full of flavor and style - meaning they can grow a wonderfully unsymmetrical, often wacky shape.
These tomato seeds are treasures because they are not the mainstream, grocery store fruits that are picked while green and gas-forced to change color but never ripen naturally.
Heirloom tomatoes are not only flavorful, the seeds can be stored to grow plants the following year.
Most big market tomatoes are hybrids and are designed to survive the long transit from large-scale farms with thick skins and low moisture. Many of the seeds are sterile and won’t grow plants.
An Heirloom tomato is worth the effort to grow and saving seeds can help make the practice of growing them sustainable.
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