An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, or
heirloom vegetable is a cultivar that was commonly grown
during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used
in modern large-scale agriculture. Many heirloom
vegetables have kept their traits through open pollination while
fruit varieties such as apples have been propagated over the
centuries through grafts and cuttings. The trend of growing
heirloom plants in gardens has been growing in popularity over
the last decade. Typically, heirlooms have adapted
over time to whatever climate and soil they have grown in. Due
to their genetics, they are often resistant to local pests,
diseases, and extremes of weather
Heirloom growers have different motivations. Some people grow heirlooms for historical interest, while others want to increase the available gene pool for a particular plant for future generations. Some select heirloom plants due to an interest in traditional organic gardening. Many simply want to taste the different varieties of vegetables, or see whether they can grow a rare variety of plant.
Heirloom tomato cultivars can be found in a wide variety of
colors, shapes, flavors and sizes. Some cultivars can be
prone to cracking or lack disease resistance. As with most
garden plants, cultivars can be acclimated over several
gardening seasons to thrive in a geographical location
through careful selection and seed saving.