Growing heirlooms in your garden

May 15, 2026

Patricia Hanbidge, Lead Horticulturist, Orchid Horticulture

Key points from this story:

• Growing heirlooms preserves genetic diversity
• Heirloom plants show subtle variations
• Tomatoes thrive in both hot and cool weather
• Nella tomato stands out for fast growth
• Jimmy Nardello is great for frying
• Long Red Cayenne is very hot pepper

Growing heirlooms is something that should always be considered. We need to consciously make the effort to preserve our genetic diversity for future generations. It is also something that honours plants that we have grown over the centuries. One thing that I always notice as a very visible difference between hybrids and heirlooms is that when you plant a field of hybrid plants they will be almost completely identical like a brigade of soldiers. When you plant a field of heirlooms you will see subtle variations in colours and forms that somehow feels more freeing.

In my garden, I usually grow a combination of hybrid and heirloom plants. Often some of the heirloom plants will be better producers than the hybrid plants. I like to use the tomato as an example. Tomatoes are hot crops and like to see warm, sunny days for best production. However, some of the heirloom tomatoes that I always grow thrive when the weather is cooler. I figure that as I do not have the power to dictate the weather, if I grow tomatoes that thrive in hot weather and some that thrive in cooler weather - I am always guaranteed a tomato crop!

Growing heirlooms tells stories that we would otherwise never experience. Over the years, I have grown many heirlooms, and many have stood out as leaders in my garden. However, there is one ultimate tomato that wins for fast germination, amazing growth and a flavour that is seriously to die for. This unnamed variety of tomato we call "Nella". We received some tomatoes from a lovely woman by that name. Nella had traded and saved seeds even after her immigration to Canada with her brother who still lives in the old country. Their family and friends have traded and saved seeds for many generations on both sides of the border between Croatia and Italy. My experience with Nella (the tomato) is unparalleled as even after saving the seeds in a not ideal environment for more than a year or two, they all germinated and left all the other heirloom tomatoes we are growing behind. The fruit is a pinky red colour and these tomatoes should be picked when they are not fully ripe for the best flavour. In spite of having many favourite heirlooms, I really do think that Nella ranks at the top.

As far as peppers go - I have a few favourites. As we can use peppers in many ways, in my opinion we should grow many different peppers! I hope you enjoy a look into my favourites.

Jimmy Nardello is a Sweet Italian pepper that is without doubt the best banana type of pepper for frying or for pasta sauces. It has a slightly spicy flavour lending itself to a delectable feast whether eaten raw or cooked. Great for containers as at maturity it is about 24 inches high.

Purple Beauty is a mid-sized lobed sweet bell pepper which begins as a lovely purple colour and deepens to almost black when completely ripe. Lovely raw or cooked.

Long Red Cayenne is one of my favourite peppers as it is great used fresh but also holds its colour when strung and dried. Cayenne peppers are one of the most popular peppers used in the Western hemisphere with the name originating in the city of Cayenne in French Guiana which is the home where this pepper originates. It is a very productive plant with a height and spread of up to 18 inches. The fruit is thinly curved beginning as a bright emerald green and maturing into a wrinkled red fruit. Caution is advised with these peppers as they are very hot at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.