Well KEK, I see you have waited almost two days for someone more knowledgeable than I to comment. Let me just say you are partly right and certainly on the right track.

My gardening as an example - - I was given some tomato seeds by an uncle. They were saved from tomatoes grown by my grandmother during the Great Depression. Grandmother lived up until about 20 years ago and my uncle is now 80 (Dad is his older brother :o).

I've grown the tomato for about 15 years now. It may well be a Porter tomato originally from the Porter and Sons Seed Company but Grandma called it "the peddlerÂs tomato" and that probably explains how she came to have it.

Grandma may have gotten the tomato seed in Texas where she was born and raised or she may have gotten it in New Mexico. The Porter and Sons Seed Company was in Texas but itÂs been out of business for a number of years. I have grown Grandma's tomato and Porter side-by-side and still can't figure it out. Grandma's has lighter-colored foliage, the fruit is earlier and a little larger but the fruit shape is very similar and the taste is about the same. Well, these things can get a little muddled after 70 years. And, that's characteristic of heirlooms - both the history and the genetics get a little muddled.

Porters is an open pollinated (OP), heirloom tomato by almost anyone's standards. It is widely acknowledged as having been grown for well-over 50 years (if that length of time has a meaning for some). My grandmother's tomato is a family heirloom and it has also been continuously grown for over 50 years.

There's always going to be confusion over a definition of heirloom. Some new-to-America varieties have been arriving from Eastern Europe in recent years. Some of these plant varieties were developed by breeders not all that long ago. The tendency amongst American growers is to assume that they are heirlooms because they are OP and their history is not known.

Hybrid corn was first developed by George Shull in 1908. Does that make his early hybrids heirlooms because they have been around for over 50 years? Well, probably not since it is necessary to have the parent stock so that the hybridizing can occur. I suppose the parents would need to be seen as heirlooms and their offspring are not "modern" hybrids. There are, however, plenty of modern OP cultivated varieties. Modern plant breeding is often not simply a matter of cross-pollination  but that's another story, KEK.

The University of Illinois Extension has some ideas on hybrids and heirlooms (see link below). It is by no means definitive and others on this forum have their own ideas, as well.

Why don't you think some more about Open Pollinated and "cultivated varieties" and come up with your own definition of heirloom. And, by all means, grow some.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Hybrids & Heirlooms U of I

KEK, linked below is a website that "exists solely as a clearinghouse of heirloom vegetable images and information (primarily peppers & tomatoes)." (If you start looking for Porter tomato seeds, you'll need to run a google search, however. ;o)

The website provides links to the Seed Savers Exchange and Native Seeds Search - important organizations involved in bio-diversity.

S

Here is a link that might be useful: the Heirloom Archive

Wow, Steve, is that a great link!!! It puts photos to the names for hundreds of heirloom vegetables. Especially valuable for SSE members, since it lists the sources & accession numbers. I wondered where Jeff Nekola had gone off to... he is missed here in Wisconsin.

I probably would have answered this question with definitions & semantics... you provided a really great resource. I'd say the right man got the job the first time. ;-)

Thank you, Zeedman, for the compliment. It is good to see after I spend so much time stumbling about.

But, we still could answer, "I see a lot of people who only plant heirlooms, why? Is it just a way of preserving something from the past?"

Steve
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." ~ Cicero

Thanks digit!! Those websites were very good. I still find it odd that a pack of seeds I bought at Meijers is an heirloom seed. It says so on the packet, and was listed on that website. But I bought it at Meijers!! I have another question too, what's the differance between antique and heirloom? I noticed that there's an antique rose forum. Wouldn't that almost be the same as an heirloom?

"I see a lot of people who only plant heirlooms, why? Is it just a way of preserving something from the past?"

There are several reasons that some prefer heirlooms, or at least give them a place in their garden. Indeed, for many, it is a link to the past, a living memory that reminds us of our heritage, our family & happy childhood moments.

For others, it represents independence... not relying on the seed companies, having more control over one's food supply. In an age when hybrids (and soon GMO's) are gaining ever greater control over the marketplace, it's reassuring to know that we can still choose what we eat, and save our own seed.

For some (like myself) it is a cause; an effort to preserve our vanishing food legacy from extinction.

And for others, it's the wonderful flavors, and the thrill of growing something unusual.

For those who love heirlooms, some - or all - of the above may apply.

I began my heirloom journey when I tired of the pretty-but-tasteless AAS Selections, and when seed companies began dropping the tried-and-true varieties that I loved. It showed me how fragile our food supply can be, and that some things are worth the effort it takes to preserve them.

Hmm.. interesting. When it comes to flavor, I probally have never tasted an heirloom variety, just store bought, or seeds from the store. Maybe I should look into finding more heirloom varieties.