In short, if you want to save your seeds for the following year then you want to purchase heirloom seeds. If you are looking for a hardy/easy to grow plants and don't mind buying your seeds again next year, hybrid seeds are just fine. Neither heirlooms or hybrids are GMO plants.
Heirloom seeds are past down from generation to generation and come from plants that have been saved and grown for 50 years or more. These seeds come from open pollinated plants. This means that the seeds these plants produce will grow an identical plant to the one it came from.
With that being said heirlooms can change over time. When you select seeds to save you want to pick them from the plants with the best traits. For example, If you are looking for early bloomers, select the seeds from the plants that bloomed first. Over time your heirlooms will become early bloomers.
Hybrid seeds are created by selecting two similar plant varieties and crossbreeding them. This creates a new plant with the traits of the two parent plants. For example, If you select a frost resistant plant and a early blooming plant the offspring will be both an early bloomer and more frost resistant. This helps farmers produce higher yields and helps the average gardener be more successful. They tend to be easier to grow because hardiness is bred in.
Something to keep in mind though, hybrid seeds are not open pollinated which means they are generally sterile so you cannot save them to grow next year. You will have to purchase your seeds from your supplier every year.
Recommended Items:
- Survival Seed Vault - Heirloom Emergency Survival Seeds - Plant a Full Acre Crisis Victory Garden - 20 Easy-to-grow Varieties
- Medicinal Herb Garden Seeds (10 Easy-to-grow Medicinal Plants)
- Culinary Herb Garden Seeds (8 Easy-to-grow Kitchen Herbs)
- Herbal Tea Garden Seeds Kit (10 Easy-to-Grow Tea Herbs)
- The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds: 322 Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs
No comments:
Post a Comment