5 ms·
All heirloom means is that it grows true from seed. Any other properties of the plant, including taste, are up in the air.
by jdmichal 9y ago
All heirloom means is that it grows true from seed. Any other properties of the plant, including taste, are up in the air.
- mistermann 9y agoWhere do non-heirloom tomatoes come from if not seeds?
- grzm 9y agoA key distinction is the "grows true", which I interpret as "breed true", i.e., the seeds are non-hybridized. For a bit more detail, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirloom_tomato#Seed_collecting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirloom_tomato#Seed_collectin...
- mistermann 9y agoInteresting. As for OP's experience above, a more important distinction is whether the "heirloom" tomatoes sold in grocery store are actually heirloom, according to this definition. I know that in Canada they aren't always.
- macawfish 9y agoMy point is that you can lead a horse to a stream but if its a drought and the stream's dried up, they couldn't drink from it if they tried. doesn't matter if the horse is genetically more of a pony, stallion, mule, zebra or unicorn. nope, if there's no water, the horse can't drink. These tomatoes were not only spongy (which I'd expect from shipped tomatoes), they just had no taste. http://njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/documents/tomatosalt2009.pdf http://njfarmfresh.rutgers.edu/documents/tomatosalt2009.pdf I did a little research and found that there are a few more possibilities. Maybe the tomatoes were grown hydroponically. Maybe it was very rainy or they over-watered before harvesting. (https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/01/154072388/how-to-grow-the-tastiest-tomato-the-secret-s-in-the-soil https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/01/154072388/ho...) I assumed "depleted soil" because that's a rampant problem, but it could be other stuff too.