Skip to content Skip to navigation
UMass Collegiate M The University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Search UMass.edu
Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

Integrating research and outreach education from UMass Amherst

  • About
    • Overview of CAFE
    • Be Ambitious!
    • History
    • Strategic Directions
    • Research & Outreach Interest Areas
    • UMass Extension Board of Public Overseers (BoPO)
    • Partners
    • Locations
    • Faculty & Staff Directory
    • Contact Information
    • Civil Rights Information
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Extension
    • Extension Outreach Overview
    • UMass Extension In Your Community
    • CAFE Extension Faculty
    • Extension Outreach Projects
    • Extension Initiative Reports
  • Programs
    • Extension Programs Overview
    • 4-H Youth Development
    • Clean Energy Extension
    • Climate Change
    • Cranberry Station
    • Crops, Dairy, Livestock and Equine
    • Food Science Extension
    • Fruit
    • Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture
    • Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry
    • Nutrition Education
    • Turf
    • Value-Added Food
    • Vegetable
  • Research
    • Mass Agricultural Experiment Station
    • Information About Accessing Research Funds
    • Research Projects
    • NIFA Integrated Research and Outreach Initiatives
    • Civil Rights Information & Resources
    • Summer Scholars Program
    • REEU Internship Program
  • Resources
    • Resources Overview
    • Interest Areas
    • Extension Sales Portal
    • Agriculture & Commercial Horticulture
    • Community & Economic Vitality
    • Disaster Preparedness
    • Food Safety
    • Home Lawn & Garden
    • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    • Land Conservation Tools
    • Pollinators
    • Tick Testing Resources
    • Urban Agriculture
  • Services
    • Services Overview
    • Pesticide Education
    • Plant Diagnostics Laboratory
    • Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory
    • Hot Water Seed Treatment
    • Environmental Analysis Laboratory
  • Farms
    • Farms and Facilities Overview
    • Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center
    • Cranberry Station
    • Crop and Animal Research and Education Farm
    • Equine and Livestock Research and Education Farm in Hadley
    • Joseph Troll Turf Research Center
  • News & Events
    • Center News
    • Upcoming Events
    • News from the Media
    • Faculty/Staff Brief Bios
    • Spotlight Stories
    • Video Gallery

Heirloom Vegetable Varieties

One of the hottest trends in vegetable gardening today is the growing of heirloom varieties. There are many reasons why gardeners are turning to heirloom vegetables. For some, it is a way of connecting with their past. Especially for those of us who have been around a while, there is the familiarity of varieties that our parents grew and that we enjoyed at the dinner table. For others, it is simply a matter of taste. Arguably, heirloom varieties of vegetables have more flavor than their modern counterparts.

From a biological and ecological perspective, perpetuation of heirloom vegetables is critical to the preservation of genetic diversity. In that sense, even the backyard gardener who grows “hand me down” varieties is doing a great service in preserving this invaluable gene pool.

What is an heirloom variety?

The definition of an heirloom vegetable is a matter of debate among amateur gardeners, vegetable farmers, and cultural historians. Most agree that an heirloom variety must predate the era when the first hybrid vegetables developed from inbred lines were introduced. That was in 1951. Some think that heirlooms should include only those varieties that were not developed for the commercial trade. The one thing that all agree on is that an heirloom must be “old”.

Heirloom varieties are also described as being open-pollinated; in other words, the plants come true to form generation after generation. This is in contrast to hybrid varieties in which the offspring typically resemble one of the parent varieties involved in the hybridization process. What it all means for the home gardener is that you can collect and save seed from heirloom varieties, sow them in subsequent seasons, and get plants identical to the parent plant.

There are some exceptions to the open-pollination feature of heirlooms. Members of the squash family, including pumpkins, will readily cross-pollinate, with the result that the offspring in subsequent plantings will be nothing like the parent. So, it is not advisable to save seed from squash and pumpkins that have been grown in the vicinity of one another. The same is true of members of the brassica family, e.g.. broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

Also, some heirloom vegetables such as potatoes and garlic are propagated vegetatively and not from seed, so the term open-pollinated is irrelevant.

What are some heirloom vegetable varieties suitable for Massachusetts gardeners?

There are hundreds of heirloom varieties now available. The list below is not at all inclusive and probably does not list many of your favorites, but it is a starting point for anyone wanting to grow some heirloom vegetables. The most popular heirloom vegetable seems to be the tomato. As such, there are many varieties available to home gardeners. Among these are:

  • Mortgage Lifter - pink/red beefsteak type
  • Red Brandywine - maybe the best tasting of the Brandywine strains
  • Brandywine - classic heirloom that some gourmets feel is the best tasting tomato
  • German Johnson - deep pink with large yields for an heirloom variety
  • Earl of Edgecombe - golden yellow and uniformly shaped (round)
  • Black Brandywine - dark purple version of Brandywine
  • Black Krim - dark maroon color, very tasty but may give poor yields
  • Matt’s Wild Cherry - very sweet cherry type tomato
  • Amish Paste - red/orange, sausage shaped tomato
  • San Marzano - one of the best plum tomatoes, great for drying, roasting, and sauces
  • Striped Roman - plum type, red with yellow stripes

Next to tomatoes, beans of various types may be the most popular heirloom. Some choice varieties are:

  • Kentucky Wonder - introduced in 1864 and still one of the most popular pole beans
  • Scarlet Runner - used by Native Americans, attractive scarlet flowers
  • Tendergreen Improved - bush type bean with round, 6-inch long pods
  • Duane Baptiste Potato Bean - white bean native to the region grown for drying
  • Vermont Cranberry - attractive dry bean great for baking
  • Jacob’s Cattle - dry bean traditionally used in bean soup

Other heirloom vegetables:

  • Beets - Detroit
  • Cabbage - Early Jersey Wakefield
  • Carrot - Danvers Half Long, Nantes
  • Corn - Golden Bantam
  • Cucumber - Boston Pickling, Improved Long Green
  • Leek - Giant Musselburgh
  • Lettuce - Black-Seeded Simpson
  • Melons - Hale’s Best, Jenny Lind
  • Potato - Green Mountain, Irish Cobbler, Cowhorn, Kerr’s Pink, Binje
  • Pumpkin - Howden
  • Radish - French Breakfast
  • Winter Squash - Hubbard

Where can one obtain heirloom vegetables?

Heirloom vegetables have become so popular that many seed companies now list varieties in their catalogs. There are also some specialty catalogs for heirlooms. Local garden centers sell both seeds and plants of heirlooms.

Some non-profit sources in Massachusetts specializing in heirlooms are:

  • Old Sturbridge Village Store, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd., Sturbridge, MA 01566, 508-347-0270
  • Plimoth Plantation, Plimoth Plantation Museum Shops, P.O. Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02360, 800-262-9356 x 8332
  • Seed Savers Exchange has been promoting the preservation and utilization of heirloom varieties for 36 years. 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah, IA 52101, 563 382-5990 
Last Updated: April 4, 2012

Home Lawn & Garden Resources

  • Overview
  • Fact Sheets
    • Flower Fact Sheets
    • Fruit Fact Sheets
    • Lawn Fact Sheets
    • Trees & Shrub Fact Sheets
    • Vegetable Fact Sheets
    • Wildlife Management
  • Garden Clippings Newsletters
  • Food Gardening in Massachusetts 2020

Home Lawn & Garden Resources for fact sheets, newsletters, and photos

  • Overview
  • Fact Sheets
    • Flower Fact Sheets
    • Fruit Fact Sheets
    • Lawn Fact Sheets
    • Trees & Shrub Fact Sheets
    • Vegetable Fact Sheets
    • Wildlife Management
  • Garden Clippings Newsletters
  • Food Gardening in Massachusetts 2020

Subscribe to
Home Gardener Email List

Home Lawn & Garden Information »

Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

 

Stockbridge Hall,
80 Campus Center Way
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9246
Phone: (413) 545-4800
Fax: (413) 545-6555
ag [at] cns [dot] umass [dot] edu (ag[at]cns[dot]umass[dot]edu)

 

Civil Rights and Non-Discrimination Information

College of Natural Sciences

Login for faculty and staff

CAFE Units

Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station

UMass Extension

UMass Research and Education Center Farms

UMass Cranberry Station

Water Resources Research Center

Interest Areas

Agriculture

Commercial Horticulture

Energy

Environmental Conservation

Food Science

Nutrition

Water

Youth Development & 4-H

Services

Pesticide Education

Plant Diagnostics Laboratory

Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory

Hot Water Seed Treatment

Water Testing / Environmental Analysis Laboratory

Projects

Conservation Assessment Prioritization System (CAPS)

Extension Risk Management/Crop Insurance Education

Mass. Envirothon

Mass. Herp Atlas

Mass. Keystone

MassWoods

North American Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

RiverSmart

UMass Design Center in Springfield

Resources

Extension Sales Portal

Agriculture & Commercial Horticulture Resources

Community & Economic Vitality

Disaster Preparedness

Food Safety

Home Lawn & Garden

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Land Conservation Tools

Pollinators

Tick testing

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Extension Programs

4-H Youth Development

Agriculture

Crops, Dairy, Livestock and Equine

Fruit

Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture

Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry

Pesticide Education

Turf

Vegetable

Clean Energy

Climate Change

Food Science

Nutrition Education

Value-Added Food

Seal of The University of Massachusetts Amherst - 1863
©2025 University of Massachusetts Amherst · Site Policies · Accessibility