Monday, December 7, 2009

Heir looming



'Heirloom' or 'heritage' fruit and vegetables are essentially old varieties that have stood the test of time; these varieties are not used in modern large scale agriculture. So these plants have been engineered by nature. They are living artifacts and living history exhibits


Before the industrialization of our fresh produce, an enormous variety of crops were grown for humans to eat. Through time and with the modern agriculture in the industrialized world, most crops that are grown conventionally use large monocultural plots, which is the practice of growing one variety of crop over the whole farm. This is great if you are a farmer, easier to tend to your soil, but growing the same crops year in year out in the same soil leads to soil deficiencies, and in conventional farming, increased fertilisers, and increased pests because of the deficiencies in the soil.


These varieties that are mass produced are generally chosen for the drought/frost tolerance, crop yields etc.


Heirloom varieties are enjoying a new resurgence in our society, being chosen for the taste, visual appearance, their adaptability to grow in different environments and increasing the genetic diversity of the plants that exist. These plants have adapted through time, and as such are often resistant to local pests, diseases and extremes of weather. Flavor is one of the key reasons people like to preserve heirloom seeds. Their flavor is exceptional


We have some amazing heirloom Italian variety of zucchini, these are delicious, grown locally, certified organic and simply support to biodiversity of nature. Stay tuned for the heirloom tomatoes that are about to become available, black Russians, yellow, purple....




If you would like to organic goodness contact us tastebetter@organicempire.com.au and we can deliver it to your door, or perhaps you would like some heirloom plants for yourself contact us.



ORGANIC EMPIRE, organic home delivery melbourne, local organic foods


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