I'm a recent recruit to the glory of Garden Rant but I recommend it to anyone who likes to grow things and likes ranting. Me, on both counts! Given that I just ordered some tomato seeds from Eden Seeds (and thanks to Eden for quick, easy and cheap ordering) and have been tending my germinating babies with obsessive care, I was interested to read this post on heirloom tomatoes.

A couple of things interest me about this debate. First is the tendency that anything painted with the glowing terms of organic, heirloom or (egads, crazy Steiner cow-horn-burying philosopy warning) biodynamic are supposedly Better and Holier and Saintlier than 'conventional' methods of production. Second is the quite hilarious belief that old varieties of crops are somehow static entities that perfectly encapsulate the good ol' days and are immune to basic biological principles such as mutation, genetic drift or hybridisation.

Another thought: my dad is nostalgic about kohlrabi which he ate in abundance during his stodgy eastern European childhood. I'm sure that was an old variety and the family saved seeds every year to continue their plodding peasant subsistance. I'm also sure that the bloody things were just as woody and unpalatable then as they are now. Personal preference is a big factor and, as ever, generalisations are pretty silly.

I like heirloom vegies because they come in wacky colours and are diverse and surprising. Sometimes surprisingly bad. I don't spray my garden because I'm cheap, I'm suspicious of subtances designed to kill other organisms being sprayed on something I plan to eat, and I'm a bug nerd. I don't mind the odd aphid in the broccoli because it means I get to watch ladyird and lacewing larvae rampage through colonies biting little homopteran heads off, like insect Godzillas. However I don't begrudge farmers who do, since I understand that Coles and Woolworths offering chump change for their hard-earned crops means they can't afford to risk unsightly damage or losses that erode away at their income. But I will never plant anything by the moon or bury a cow horn for its mystical fertility properties. I also don't think that an old variety I plant now is a carbon copy of a tomato grown in some Russian village back when Nicholas II was wearing all his fancy Tsar-bling.

By the way, I bought Amish Paste (Roma-style heavy cropper good for cooking and preserving), Black Krim (big black meaty thing), Grosse Lisse (default setting) and Pink Oxheart (um... pink... and heart-shaped). Expect updates on whether these heirlooms are any good. Maybe I'll let 'em all cross-pollinate and produce a brand new heirloom, the Krimisse Pastox.