Many people still remember the taste of a particularly meaty tomato from their grandmother's garden or the pleasantly firm texture of a homegrown potato. Over time, however, many of these traditional vegetable varieties have fallen out of use. Preserving them is the task of the Rural Life Knowledge Center's gene bank, which collects and maintains the genetic diversity of field and garden crops, along with fascinating stories about Estonian families and places.

Varieties passed down from generation to generation are known as heritage varieties. According to Külli Annamaa, head of the gene bank, a variety qualifies as heritage if it has been in common use for at least 50 years. Annamaa herself prefers the parallel term "folk-selected variety," which already hints at its meaning: people themselves selected, over the years, the best plants to propagate, rather than buying ready-made varieties from a nursery.

The key difference between a heritage variety and a bred variety lies in how they are maintained. In plant breeding, a variety must always retain its original characteristics. A bred variety can, however, become a heritage variety if people begin shaping it according to their own preferences. "For example, if you save seeds from a tomato to plant again the following year, you'll naturally pick the biggest, healthiest or best-looking fruits," Annamaa said. Over time, heritage varieties have thus adapted to local conditions and to the taste preferences of individual families.

In Estonia, heritage varieties have typically been passed down within families from parents to children, but also shared among neighbors. Women in particular have played an important role, as they often brought seeds from their childhood homes when moving to a new place after marriage. Annamaa gave an example of a bean variety initially called the Porkuni garden bean. Later it turned out that the variety had been introduced by a housewife whose mother had grown it in Vändra. "In the end, it became known as the Vändra wax bean, just as the woman wanted — so that its original location would be reflected in the name," she explained.

Today, the survival of heritage varieties is under threat. As older generations pass away and younger people move to cities, gardening and seed-saving traditions are being neglected. Some old crops have already disappeared. For instance, the once-popular turnip used for food has largely been replaced by rutabaga. The gene bank does contain a variety called Eesti naeris, but it is a fodder turnip. "That old culinary turnip really does seem to be lost," Annamaa noted.

At the same time, awareness of the value of heritage varieties has been growing. Annamaa said interest in old varieties is strong — seed libraries operate in both Tallinn and Tartu, and alongside the national gene bank, grassroots collectors are also active, the best known being Vanaema aed ("Grandmother's Garden"), run by Tiia Morfin.

Why did grandma's tomato taste better?

It is often said that heritage varieties taste better than modern bred ones. Külli Annamaa offered several explanations for this. First, people are accustomed to their family's varieties and have shaped them according to their own tastes. Second, many store-bought varieties — especially tomatoes — have been bred primarily for durability in transport. "That's why they have a somewhat tougher skin than our local tomato varieties. Ours don't need to travel any farther than from the kitchen to the plate," she explained.

Taste preferences can also be influenced by a person's age. "Scientific studies have shown that our sense of taste changes as we get older. The very same variety may taste different when I'm 60 than when I'm 30," Annamaa added.

Cultural legacy

Annamaa stressed that heritage varieties are an inseparable part of Estonia's cultural heritage. Old varieties are often linked to fascinating stories passed down from generation to generation.

Estonia's most famous heritage variety is undoubtedly the Peipsi onion, brought here by Old Believers three centuries ago. But there are many other stories. For example, the Rural Life Knowledge Center's gene bank has received an onion variety about a hundred years old, originally brought into a family by a cook who had worked at Sangaste Manor. Along with the variety, the family also preserved the traditional growing instructions. "Before planting, the onion must be soaked, and then a third cut off from the top so that it develops many bulbs underneath," Annamaa explained.

Another story comes from Aili Linroos's old rutabaga variety, which had already been grown by her mother and grandmother. This variety has passed through several generations and survived even the hardest times. "When the family was deported to Siberia, they took rutabaga seeds with them, and when they returned, the seeds came back too," Annamaa said. Today, Aili continues to cultivate the variety and has shared it with the gene bank, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

Gene bank

In the gene bank, plants are preserved mainly as seeds stored in deep freeze. However, this is not possible for all crops. Potatoes, for example, produce berries with seeds after flowering, but these do not necessarily yield the same variety.

Instead, potatoes are preserved in test tubes as small plants grown on a special nutrient medium. "When potatoes are propagated vegetatively — that is, by planting tubers in the field — the crop must be harvested and replanted each year. This method makes varieties highly susceptible to environmental influences and potatoes easily develop diseases," Annamaa explained. From a potato tuber received at the gene bank, staff grow a plant, take a small piece from a leaf axil bud under sterile conditions and place it in a test tube to grow. From there, they continue propagating the plants in test tubes. Growing them this way is more resource-efficient and helps keep varieties free of disease.

This method can also be used to heal potatoes. "For example, our old variety Jõgeva kollane had become heavily infected with viruses, but we were able to restore it. If the tuber is diseased, we heat the plant before placing it in the test tube to eliminate pathogens," Annamaa said.

Recent DNA studies have shown that many Estonian heritage potato varieties are genetically related, likely descending from the same old bred varieties whose names have been forgotten or changed over time.

Over the years, the gene bank has also been able to give back to donors. "In one case, a rutabaga variety was grown in just a single family — the woman growing it didn't know of anyone else who had it. One year her harvest failed and she lost all her seed. Fortunately, she was able to get her own rutabaga back from us at the gene bank, because we had received it from her earlier and preserved it," Annamaa said.

Everyone's contribution counts

The work of the gene bank is important not only for preserving cultural heritage. Most countries have taken on an international obligation to safeguard their biological diversity. Külli Annamaa emphasized that the best way to preserve old varieties is by continuing to grow them. "The outdoor environment is changing. For example, the climate is warming, but our seeds are kept constantly in cold storage. When we take them out 40 years from now, they may no longer feel at home in the new conditions," she said. By contrast, plants grown in gardens continually adapt to changing circumstances.

For that reason, Annamaa urged everyone to value the old plants growing in their gardens and to save seeds from them themselves. "Don't be afraid to collect seeds from peas, beans or tomatoes and plant them again — this way you'll have your own supply in the cupboard, and that's also important for food security," she encouraged.

Green thumbs who have an old variety with an interesting backstory should definitely inform the Rural Life Knowledge Center's gene bank. Often, people don't realize the value of the treasures in their gardens because they've grown so accustomed to them. But every heritage variety and the story that comes with it is part of Estonia's shared legacy — something worth preserving.

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