Heirloom tomatoes, or Heritage tomatoes as they are sometimes known, have become the firm favorite for the home grower. The Heirlooms are some of the oldest varieties of tomatoes available, and by keeping seeds from the tomatoes, the plants have survived through the years.

It is unlikely that you will find heirloom tomatoes in your local grocery store. Commercial growing of tomatoes is almost universally of hybrid tomatoes. Hybrids are specially grown and developed to ensure that there are plenty of spherical red tomatoes available on the shelves. The hybrids are grown not for flavor, but to get non-bruised, red looking tomatoes on the shelves, that will last for longer whilst in the store.

From the Heirlooms you will get a much more pleasurable taste. Also Heirlooms come in all sorts of shapes and colors. Colors can range from purple to green, with reds, yellows and oranges in between. Some varieties of Heirlooms are as hardy as the commercial hybrid varieties but are still largely ignored.

In the past few years more and more Heirloom tomatoes have become available for those wishing to grow them in their garden. In addition to flavor from the tomatoes, the plants can also bring color and beauty to the garden. Many gardeners are particularly pleased with the difference in shapes and sizes that can be produced.

Heirlooms are also highly sought after by cooks. Heirloom tomatoes can produce unique shapes ideal for making a dish look good, as well as providing a rainbow of color and strong taste.

Modern Heirlooms have long since overcome the downside of many of their predecessors. Today as well as being tasty, some varieties of Heirlooms are also more resistant to pests and disease, as well as rapidly changing temperatures.

In infancy all tomato plants can be vulnerable to pests and diseases, despite some resistance. One of the worst pests is the cutworm, which will effectively decapitate the tomato plant at soil level. The easiest way of avoiding this issue, is to place an aluminum foil collar around the stem at its base.

Most Heirlooms are late season producers, although it is possible by carefully choosing your varieties, you can produce tomatoes throughout the growing season. Heirlooms can be acclimatized to their growing environment, and given a few years the Heirloom can thrive in its new growing location just from replanting produced seeds.

Taking seeds from the heirloom tomato will also ensure that in the following season, the tomato plant can be reproduced. This is in contrast to the hybrid plants which will not reproduce itself, causing reliance on seed providers for next years plants.

Saving seeds is important for producing next year's tomato plants. Whilst it is possible to replant right back into the same place as your tomatoes have already grown, yield may be limited. The best results for continual production, is by growing your plants from seed indoors. Using a 'grow light' six inches from your seeds, will give the seedlings a boost.

Once there is second growth of leaves on the seedling, then they are ripe for transplanting into individual pots, before eventually they go outside.