By Andy Tomolonis
Funky Heirlooms
If you ’re interested in moving beyond common vegetables ( tomatoes , peppers and lettuce ) , try heirloom varieties of these more strange choices :
Heirloom vegetable are catch an increasing share of the space at farmers ’ markets due to higher-ranking flavor and the novelty of their often colorful hues .
A customer favorite is theBrandywine love apple . Its pinkish - red cutis does n’t hold up well to being prod and embrace by human hand , but buyers everywhere are aware of Brandywine ’s repute as perchance the world ’s best - smack tomato plant .
Growers are just as knowledgeable about Brandywine ’s deficiency of productivity and that the yield sometimes split or seem misshapen . But the heavy , vigorous , potato - leaf vines are more disease resistant than other many heirloom .
A more eye - catch tomato with a gustation that rivals Brandywine , isCherokee Purple , a plump and meaty , purplish - brown tomato with shoulder that stay green even when fruit is advanced .
“ They ’re good looking and the savor is outstanding , ” says Ryan Voiland , owner of Red Fire Organic Farm in Granby , Mass.
Voiland grows more than 300 smorgasbord of vegetables , with at least 75 different tomatoes .
A few of his favorites :
Some works call heirloom today have been selectively pollinated and then stabilized , which means that source from the young are collected and planted , for several generation until the new plants hold the full characteristic of their parents .
These interbreeding eventually become open - pollinated varieties and can be call heirlooms if they ’ve been successfully grown for more than 50 years .
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Voiland also likes heirloomAntohi Roumanian pepper , a sweet , elongated frying pepper , and red- or unripe - leafDeer ’s Tongue lettuce , which look like a butterhead lettuce at its base , but the top of the inning form a rose window of leaves regulate like deer ’s tongues .
“ The flavor is excellent and the costa have a tender crunch . ”
Another New England constituent James Leonard Farmer , Bryan Connolly of Mansfield , Conn. , takes pridefulness in bringing heirlooms to market place .
“ They provide lots of color and eye - confect that you do n’t get in other variety , ” he says .
One colorful combination he sells is a rainbow radish classification .
He integrate red - and - roundChampion radisheswith violet - magentaPurple Plum radishesand torpedo - shaped red - and - whiteFrench Breakfast radishesin a individual bunch .
It ’s a winning combination at the University of Connecticut Farmer ’ marketplace , he allege .
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This article check excerption from “ A Taste of Yesterday ” by Andy Tomolonis . It first appeared inHeirloom Farm , a late issue of the Popular Farming Series . For an indepth , elaborate and full - color exploration of heirloom , get a copy ofHeirloom Farmonline or in a farm supply store near you .
