Heirloom obsession Old-time vegetable varieties activate senses while stirring memories
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY NICOLE ZEMA
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lavor is a language that tells a story without words. The pursuit of tastes and textures from the past has many Virginians clamoring for heirloom vegetable varieties, made possible by the obsessive dedication of heirloom seed savers who ensure unique, old-time varieties endure. Like an oral history that was never recorded, heirloom varieties can be lost if not perpetuated, existing only in memories that inevitably fade. “Heirloom” produce is loosely defined, though its varieties are distinctive. “An heirloom doesn’t have to be very, very old, but it has to have been grown long enough ago to be a stabilized variety that has demonstrated its identity and value,” said Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Louisa County. Its network of seed growers offer more than 700 varieties of seeds, specializing in heirlooms that perform well in the region. “Traditionally, heirlooms have been maintained for 50 or more years by a family or community, though there are exceptions,” Wallace continued. “Many modern heirlooms were originally commercial varieties dropped from the seed trade, but have been saved by gardeners and passed on through the years since.” 12
CULTIVATE
DINOSAUR KALE
OAK LEAF LETTUCE
