Heirloom varieties at Runåbergs
“Heirloom variety” – what does it actually mean? In this article, we explain how we use the heirloom-label here at Runåbergs Fröer, and why we think the term should not be watered down.
Ever since starting up Runåbergs Fröer, we have worked to offer seeds from older plant varieties that we find worth growing and preserving. Older varieties are often adapted to our climate and more tolerant to changes in weather and growing conditions. Some of them are also more resistant to pests infestations. On our website, we have marked these seeds with the symbol “heirloom variety”.
But what does the term actually mean? It is not completely straightforward to pinpoint, seeing as the term is now used in different ways in different contexts. Traditionally, the term has been used for varieties that have been grown for hundreds of years, in Sweden or globally. Today, however, younger varieties are often also included, for marketing reasons.
Many retailers brand a variety “heirloom” as long as it has been grown and traded somewhere in the world for 50 years – in other words, since before the 1970s. This includes almost our whole range of seeds at Runåbergs Fröer. More importantly, it also includes the early hybrids that were introduced during the 1960s. These hybrids cannot be reproduced through open pollination, which means that the plant cannot be pollinated by insects, birds or wind. In our opinion, if a variety is to be described as an heirloom, they need to be reproducible through open pollination. To us, this is non-negotiable.
If you stick to the fifty-year rule, in a few decades all varieties introduced before the 1980s and 1990s can be called heirloom varieties. The predominant part will be hybrids that cannot be reproduced naturally. The term will then completely lose its meaning.
For this reason, we at Runåbergs Fröer have decided not to take part in the watering down of the term “heirloom variety”, and only use it for seeds that we know for sure are to be considered a true heirloom. We will only use the term if we are certain that a variety has been grown and traded, in Sweden or globally, since before 1950. For all heirloom-labelled varieties, we will also state when it was first introduced to retail, or that it’s been grown and traded for centuries.
Heirloom varieties have been grown through generations, and we consider it our responsibility to make these seeds available and help spread them, for the sake of our cultural heritage and the cultivated biodiversity. Of course, just because a variety is old, it does not mean that we will include it in our range of products. It must also prove itself in competition with the newer varieties when it comes to taste, appearance, and resistance to crop pests.
On our website, you find the heirloom symbol just below the variety name.
