I am looking to grow my own herbs. What is the difference between Organic, Heirloom and Heritage Seeds?
Novice Herb Grower asked:
To my understanding Organic is “healthier” which is what I am leaning towards, but then when I look at the Heritage and Heirloom descriptions on google, they throw in the word organic here and there. It is confusing.
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To my understanding Organic is “healthier” which is what I am leaning towards, but then when I look at the Heritage and Heirloom descriptions on google, they throw in the word organic here and there. It is confusing.
Your clarification is appreciated, thank you!
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:38 am
Organic means that the seeds were grown from plants that were grown without insecticide or chemical fertilizers.
Heirloom are original seeds styles (not genetically engineered)
Not sure what Heritage means. mark
March 4th, 2010 at 4:47 am
Organic refers only to the growing method. When talking about plants it is a growing method where there are no synthetic chemical fertilizers or pesticides. When talking about animals it means that the animals are eating plants that are produced in an organic matter, and in addition are not given antibiotics or hormones.
Chemical fertilizers generally designed to grow plants faster, and not necessarily for the plant to absorb the array of trace minerals that are found in a natural soil environment. The plants do not have the time to take in any more than the basic nutrients, and both their nutritional value and taste tend to suffer because of this. There are also risk factors involved with what the added chemicals/pesticides will do to a human when they ingest them. Since herbs tend to grow at an relatively fast rate (at least for a gardener) and the leaves tend not be bothered too much by pests - as they have their own natural defense systems - there is no reason that you shouldn’t grow them organically.
Heritage and Heirloom refer to the breed or variety of animal or plant. Heirloom refers to plant varieties which have remained unchanged over many many decades. As many plants have been bred or genetically engineered for maximized production, many of the old heirloom varieties have become very rare. These varieties benefit from many different individual genetic makeups, giving all sorts of different flavors, as well as resistance to different diseases or adverse conditions that other varieties might be affected by. Heirloom varieties include Purple Peruvian Potatoes, Brandywine Tomatoes, and Genovese Basil… the list goes on.
Heritage is the term used when referring to animals. The idea is the same. A good example would be with dairy cows: At this point in time Holsteins (not a heritage breed) have been bred to be bovine milk factories, they produce lots of watery milk and aren’t particularly hardy animals. On the other hand Tarentaise Cows (a heritage breed) are very hardy and produce rich milk. Different breeds of cow will produce slightly different proteins due to their varied DNA, giving different flavor to their meat/milk as well as making them ideal for all sorts of different conditions ranging from anything from specific weather or altitude, to disease resistance. Heritage breeds include Dutch belted Cows, Fainting Goats, and Araucana Chickens… the list goes on.
So that being said one can grow an heirloom variety or heritage breed without it being organic. It happens that many of the people who care a lot about their production methods will choose use organic growing methods in combination with use of heirloom cultivators/heritage breeds because they feel that this combination will give them the best end product. That is why you see the terms organic and heirloom (or heritage) side by side so often, even though neither are dependent on the other. Seth K