Growing Heirloom
Heirloom vegetable and fruit varieties have grown enormously in popularity with home and market gardeners alike in recent years
Many people are turning or returning to home gardening for a variety of reasons, and heirloom seeds figure prominently.
Some of these include an interest in fresh, local and healthy foods, Organic foods, concerns with GMO seeds, others need to stretch the family food budget, and still others are searching for the lost flavours of the family garden when they were growing up.
What are Heirloom seeds, vegetables & flowers?
Heirloom seeds are rare, precious and treasured seeds that grow into plants that can bear seed just like their parents. They can reproduce themselves as Nature intended, parent to child, child to parent, and so forth.
Heirlooms can be either open-pollinated, which is pollination carried on by bees, butterflies, wind and other natural methods, or, hand pollinated by loving and dedicated farmers.
Why grow Heirloom varieties ?
- The most classic and well preserved delicious varieties
- Careful cultivation over centuries, picking best of best
- More pronounced natural flavours
- Many many years of pest and blight resistance
- Non-chemically or genetically modified or altered
- Free from fungicides, pesticides or biocides
- Free from chemicals and preservatives
- Good tolerance to environmental stresses
- Good resistance to fungus, bacteria, virus
- Mostly conceived and grown organically
- Considered the most gourmet of varieties
- Not artificially cross-pollinated resulting in sterility
- Biodiverse - mixture of the best genetics
- Considered the most flavourful, sweet and delicious of all
- The Best of the Best seed collected season after season
- Preservation of the most quality seed with high yield
to watch video go to bottom of page here
Australia & NewZealand Heirloom seed suppliers
Thanks to the team at off-grid-info we are able to present you with this comprehensive list of Heirloom seed suppliers from around the world which can be found in this link
http://www.off-grid.info/food-independence/heirloom-seed-suppliers.html
Name |
URL |
Location |
Notes / more info |
Green Harvest Organic Gardening Supplies |
Maleny, QLD, Australia |
Organically certified seed supplier. Has heirloom and rare varieties and has signed the safe seed pledge. |
|
The Diggers Club |
Dromana VIC, |
Australias largest range of heirloom vegetables, cottage flowers and fruit plants that can be delivered direct to you. We have specialised in growing hard to find, non-mainstream seeds and plants for over 30 years. All our plants are trialled for hardiness, drought tolerance and flavour before we list them for sale. |
|
Seeds2Freedom |
Australia |
Seeds2freedom sells Organic, Heirloom and Open Pollinated seeds. Great selection and online ordering. |
|
The Italian Gardener |
Fullarton, SA |
Distributor of Italian vegetable and herb seed from Franchi Sementi SpA of Bergamo, in Northern Italy. |
|
Jankala Organic Seeds |
Middleton, SA, Australia |
Online provider of quality organic seed. Providing organic and heirloom seed varieties of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. |
|
The Seed Collection |
Boronia, VIC |
Our seeds are all non-hybrid varieties with no chemical treatment and no genetic engineering. |
|
Eden Seeds |
Lower Beechmont, Australia |
Old traditional open pollinated varieties of vegetable seed, preferably old Australian varieties and organically or bio-dynamically grown where possible. No chemical treatment, and no genetic engineering. |
|
Select Organic |
Middleton, Australia |
We sell organic seed, non-hybrid seed, open pollinated seed and heirloom seed. |
|
Seed Savers network |
Byron Bay, Australia |
Join a network of local seed savers! |
|
Heirloom Harvest |
Walkerville, SA, |
Your source for traditional, heirloom, open-pollinated and organic vegetable seeds for your home garden. |
|
Koanga Institute |
Wairoa, |
The Koanga Institute is a nationally recognised seed saving, permaculture research and sustainable education organisation dedicatd to the protection, conservation and development of NZ's heritage food plants. |
|
Fair Dinkum Seeds |
Gin Gin, QLD, Australia |
We sell seeds, plants, herbs that are non-GMO and non-hybrid. A huge and constantly changing selection of seeds, plants and even the odd herbs. Selling worldwide via the eBay store! Old style Heirlooms, Rare and interesting forms, Bushtucker species, and lots of stuff that's just plain old cool! |
|
Phoenix Seeds |
Snug TAS, Australia |
All our organic, biological, biodynamic vegetable and herb seed are marked O/G both in the catalogue and on seed packets. |
Further reading sources