What are Heirloom Plants?

Before the industrialization of agriculture the mom-and-pop farms grew a seemingly endless variety of veggies, flowers, and trees.  Everyone had their favorite plants - many of which had been handed down from one generation to the next.  Neighbors talked over the back fence and shared cuttings, seeds and even whole plants with one another.  These PassAlong Plants were very successful because they already grew in that particular locale.  They were the persistent little plants that always came through - no namby pamby weenies that had to be coddled - there was no time for that.  Remember, these were generally farming families - they were busy trying to survive.  So, in their time there was no such thing as Heirloom Varieties.

Then came BIG BUSINESS.  We have to fix the plants, they are not good enough.  We need tomatoes that can be shoved in boxes and trucked half way round the world and still be red and firm; We need corn that has insecticide in it so we don't have to spray the crop - the bugs will die just from eating it.  We need rice with more vitamin A.  These Genetically Modified crops are patented by the creators, and generally will not grow true from saved seed.  In fact, many of them are also Engineered to commit suicide if you do try to save and use the seed. The odds are that you have already eaten genetically engineered food - it was introduced in the U.S. in the 1990's.

So, that takes us back to the original question:  What are Heirloom Plants?  There are several different definitions, and there are still debates about it.

1. Any cultivar over 100 years old.
2. Any cultivar over 50 years old.
3. Anything grown before 1945 (the end of WWII)
4. A cultivar that has been handed down from one family member to another over many generations.

Most authorities do agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open pollinated.  Basically, if you can save the seed and it will grow true to the mother plant it is an heirloom variety.

As to the Good vs Evil; Light Side vs. Dark Side; I will let you decide.  Do a little research - look up monoculture, go to a few websites that have information regarding monoculture vs. polyculture.  Just make sure you know who owns the site - not that anyone would want to mislead you or anything.

Now, Go get your hands dirty!  (What are doing inside on such a beautiful day anyway!)

Egyptian Onions

This plant would be very comfortable in Dr. Seuss’ garden, it is quite a conversation piece.  It goes by many names: Egyptian Onions, Tree Onions, Walking Onions, Egyptian Tree Onions, Multiplying Onions, Top-Set Onions… I’ve even heard it called a Medusa Onion.  It’s botanical name is Allium x Proliferum. It has come by it’s various names from it's growth habits.  Where you would find the flowers on a traditional onion you find a group of small top-set onions or bulblets. Many times one of these little bulblets will send up it’s own stalk with more, even smaller, bulblets of it’s own – each of which will produce a new plant next year. This branching habit is what earned it the name Tree Onion. As these bulblets grow larger and heavier they eventually become too heavy for the plant to bear and it falls over – sometimes as far as two feet away from the base of the parent plant. After it falls to the ground it quickly sends out roots.  If you don’t keep these harvested or move them where you want them to grow they will literally walk across your yard. (i.e. Walking Onions) The Medusa Onion is somewhat self-explanatory – they tend to look like Medusa’s head of snakes.

But, what do you do with them?

Well, let me tell you. This is such a versatile plant:

• The young shoots are used like green onions or chives – tender and delicious. They are growing long before you have even planted your green onions so you can eat them earlier in the spring.
• The top-set bulblets are great pickled. They are a little tedious to peel, so I will just smash them with the side of a knife like you would garlic, remove the skin and put them through a garlic press. Delicious on hamburgers, or really anywhere you would use onion powder or onions in general.
• They are a little more spicy than some of your normal onions – enjoy!
• The stalks will get quite large in length and circumference.  We’ve had some as big around as a golf ball. They are hollow inside - great for stuffing like you would stuff a pepper; and then grilled.
• The onion at the bottom (underground) does not get bulbous (round) like a traditional onion; But is still delicious used like any normal onion.

Wow! What a versatile plant is this! How many other plants have so many uses?


This onion has fallen to the ground and taken root.


It must be hard to grow?

NO – This is probably the easiest plant you will ever grow. I often give away top sets as PassAlong Plants to friends and neighbors. When they ask how to plant it I tell them to throw it on the ground where they want the plant to grow. They look at me like I’m crazy – which I may be, but that has nothing to do with onions – and I reassure them that is all it takes. If you really want a lot of them quickly separate the bulblets and plant them individually about 6” apart. Next year you’ll have a great start – the following year you’ll have so many you’ll have PassAlong Plants to share with your friends and neighbors! It survives extreme summers and winters, droughts and floods, green thumbs and brown thumbs alike. It is a very hardy perennial. Plant it once and you'll have free onions for years to come – what could be better than that!

Get your hands dirty!

PassAlong Plants

The superstitious say, "Never say 'Thank You' for a plant that someone gives you or it will die."  I don't know if that is true or not, but why take a chance.  I think that the best things in life are free. This statement is usually made by someone with little to no money (and I am proof).  However, in the garden it is a very true statement.

A PassAlong plant is a plant that someone shares with you.  It could be passed down from your grandfather, or your mother, or another family member who had received the plant from one of their ancestors who valued something about the plant. Or, it could be given to you over the back fence by a gardening friend. Either way it is a gift from one gardener to another.

One of the great benefits of PassAlong plants is that every time you work with, or around that particular plant it brings back the fond memories of the friend or family member who gave it to you. It’s like planting memories in your garden! Every plant has a story and a name attached – not just the name of the plant, but the name of the person who shared it with you.

PassAlong plants tend to be some of the best garden performers. The plant has to be easy to grow and easy to propagate or the gardener won’t have enough to share. They are generally given to you by someone who lives near your location which means that you know it grows well in your zone.

Many PassAlong plants are not available at the local garden centers and must be given and received by gardening friends. Many of these plants have survived for decades by being passed from one gardener to another.

Beware of PassAlong plants that are invasive. As I said earlier, PassAlong plants are easily grown and propagated. Invasive plants are also easy to grow and propagate – often too easy. They grow like wild, and self-seed all over the place becoming more of a weed than a desirable plant. My father gave me a baggie of seeds before he passed away and said, “Plant one of these and you’ll love the colorful flowers.” Well, I did love the colorful flowers the first year – I did not love the hundreds of little plants that were covering every square inch of ground in my garden the second year. Be cautious and ask your gardening friend lots of questions about the plants they are offering before planting them in your yard.

All in all, PassAlong plants are a blessing for the giver and the receiver and will be cherished plants for years to come. So get out there and make some gardening friends with a PassAlong plant. (Just don't thank them for the plant!) Together we can make the world a more beautiful place – one plant at a time.

Get your hands dirty!

A PassAlong Plant

I got a start of this plant from my father's yard before he passed away.  It is a very pretty flower, but holy smoke is it invasive - it drops seed everywhere and grows like a weed.  I don't know what it is.  If anyone out there knows the name I would be very interested to find out - please leave a comment below.

Beautiful.