Unearthing Heirloom Tomatoes with The Gaia Foundation

What does heirloom really mean?

Heirloom - or heritage - tomatoes are varieties passed down through generations. Unlike modern supermarket hybrids, they’re open-pollinated: you can save their seed and grow them true to type.

Heirlooms haven’t been bred for hydroponic production like modern varieties have. They thrive in the soil. It’s why they’re still here all these years later. They’ve survived the test of time.

Why do they matter?

Heirlooms are living, breathing history. They connect us to growers before us, like music or art handed down through generations. They’re also a vital store of genetic diversity: essential for adapting crops to climate change and breeding the future of flavour.

Are heirlooms under threat?

Yes. Corporate consolidation and decades of hybrid breeding have pushed diversity aside. Historically, we've lost many amazing seed companies, along with the unique tomatoes they grow.

A handful of petrochemical companies now own close to half the world’s seeds, and they’ve stripped catalogues of heritage varieties.

How can we keep them alive for future generations?

Support agroecological and organic growers. The more we eat, grow, and share these varieties, the more we can preserve them for the future.

Grow them. Eat them. Love them. Tell your friends about them. Save seeds from the tomatoes you grow and share them with everyone. The best way to keep a variety alive is to give it away.

Find out more about The Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty Programme via their website seedsovereignty.info and Instagram @irelandseedsov @thegaiafoundation.