This is the time of year when we’re looking for seeds for our gardens. There’s a lot of pretty pictures, names, and labels when you look through the catalogues. There's more to choosing seed than a pretty picture though. Personally I'm partial to heritage plants but often people don't fully understand what that is or why they should choose heritage.
There are two types of seed available to gardeners:
Open Pollinated
This refers to plant varieties where the seed can be harvested from the plant, saved, replanted, and the same variety will re grow year after year. This is the original plant-seed relationship.
Open pollinated plants are beneficial as you can keep your own seed from year to year. They are cheaper to purchase and will acclimate to your garden conditions when saved. They can be less vigorous, producing less fruit or flowers than hybrids and lack uniformity.
Hybrid
This refers to plant varieties that are produced by deliberately cross pollinating two genetically different plants of the same species. These are marked as F-1 (first generation hybrid).
Hybrids are created for specific traits that are superior, such as disease resistance or increase yield. You cannot keep seed from these plants and have to purchase seed regularly. The cost is also higher.
Organic seed refers to the growing conditions the seed was produced in. Both hybrids and open pollinated seed can be organic.
GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. It is important to note a hybrid is not a GMO. GMOs have had their DNA artificially changed, typically with genes from unrelated species. GMOs are not available to home gardeners.
Heirloom seeds, also referred to as heritage seed, are a type of open pollinated seed. We often see the term heirloom referring to furniture or other material items that have been passed down through the generations. We refer to seed as heirloom for the same reason. This seed has been saved and passed down for more than 50 years. Some varieties can be traced back as much as 300 years.
Why is heirloom seed worth purchasing? These seeds have been kept and preserved because they have unique character traits that are highly desirable. Taste, health and endurance are all key factors in why these seeds have survived. It also makes them a great buy and a workhouse plant in your garden. If a plant has been kept for 300 years it's because it was worth keeping. We are also learning that some of the traits that heirlooms retain make them valuable for other reasons. Did you know that the flavour of a vegetable actually indicates it's vitamin and mineral content? Heirlooms are known for having great flavour. This is also an indicator of high nutritional value.
Heirlooms often come with a great story as well. One well known story is the Mortgage Lifter tomato. This tomato was developed by M.C. Byles in Logan, West Virginia. He spent 6 years crossing tomato plants and finally created his ideal tomato. He introduced this tomato in the 1940s, where he sold plants for $1 each. Through this venture he was able to pay off the $6000 mortgage on his house.
I hope this information helps you in your seed selection. Enjoy perusing your catalogues!
Comments