what in the world are "heirloom veggies"?

Today's commercial vegetables have been developed/hybredized
to allow machine picking/processing, i.e. all ripen at the
same time, have a long shelf life after picking, high
resistance to rusts/blight/wilts and other diseases and are
tough to allow machine processing. A few minor
characteristics such as taste and aroma were lost.

For the home gardener the commercial characteristics are not
very useful, and the disease resistance is of minor concern
as the home gardener does not engage in mono culture or
raising acres upon acres of the same vegetables year after
year in the same location.

A cottage industry has developed to preserve the old
vegetable verities (and then divisions of the major seed
companiesjumped on the bandwagon). It is highly unlikely
you will be able to buy these in a super market. If you are
interested, some web sites for [hot] peppers and tomatoes
a (note that some of these may not be in the US)
http://seedrack.com/tomato.html?gcli...FQk65QodFjMtCQ
http://www.pepperjoe.com/
http://www.pennystomatoes.com/
http://www.burpee.com/heirloom-seeds-and-plants/
http://www.reimerseeds.com/
http://www.chillifarm.com/shiping_guide.asp
http://store.tomatofest.com/Heirloom..._Seeds_s/1.htm


--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"