5 years ago

From Organic and Heirloom to Hybrid: Different Kinds of Seeds to Buy

Author Bio

Jonathon Engels, a long-time vegetarian turned vegan, is currently on a trip from Guatemala to... Read More

As spring nears, many of us will be busy putting together our seed orders for backyard and patio veggie gardens. For new and experienced gardeners alike, it’s a truly exciting time, a hopeful prologue to successful harvests to come. The world of vegetables opens beyond the produce aisle generics into a world of purple carrots, striped tomatoes, and pickling cucumbers.

All that said, it can also be a confusing time because years of science and agricultural experiments have filled the catalogs with strange jargon. What’s a hybrid seed? Why is something an heirloom? Why is something not an heirloom? Can hybrid and heirloom seeds be organic? How does one steer clear of GMO seeds? What are they? Knowing the answers to these questions, what it all means, might significantly alter someone’s seed order.

So, the task before us is simple: Let’s get to the bottom of what seeds are out there for us to buy and maybe decide which ones are right for us.

Heirloom Seeds

Source: Permaculture Solutions/YouTube

Often associated with tomatoes via advertising, “heirloom” seeds are not limited to tomatoes, nor are they magic. A seed is considered an heirloom variety when it hasn’t been exposed to hybrid breeding (we’ll get to this in a moment). Heirloom seeds are pollinated naturally (open-pollinated), be that via wind, bee, or self-pollination.

Here’s why people like heirloom varieties:

Plants from heirloom seeds provide the same crops year after year. Hybrids are a blending of traits that will not produce the same crop the next year, i.e. this year’s Big Boy tomato might become next year’s Roma.
This means heirloom seeds can ultimately be less expensive for those who are planning to save seeds at home. Hybrid seeds must be bought anew each year whereas heirloom seeds can be (and are) kept for literal generations.
Many claim that heirloom varieties taste better. They harken back to the good old days when vegetables were grown at home and seeds were saved by gardeners year after year.

Hybrid Seeds

It’s important to note that, while concocted in laboratories, hybrid seeds are quite different from GMO seeds. Hybrid seeds are produced by artificially cross-breeding different varieties of the same plant, seeking out certain desirable traits while avoiding the undesirable ones. This is the method that has brought us most of our supermarket veggies, which have been hybridized for traits like color and longevity as opposed to flavor and nutrition.

That said, many hybrid seeds provide delicious veggies, people like hybrids…

Because they have often been bred to be more pest- and disease-resistant.
Because they tend to provide a larger yield or larger vegetables than heirloom seeds.
Because they are designed to give uniform, attractive fruits and veggies.

Organic Seeds

Source: MIgardener/YouTube

Organic seeds are seeds that have been grown without the use of chemicals and biocides. They can’t be genetically modified (GMO); however, both hybrid and heirloom seeds have the potential to be organic. It is a matter of how the plants that provided the seeds were cultivated, much the same as when we buy organic food.

The benefits of organic seeds are:

They eliminate the potential use of and passing on of toxins.
They have strong genes because they’ve had to survive without chemical assistance.

GMO or GE Seeds

Genetically-modified or genetically-engineered seeds have been scientifically altered to have certain desirable traits to make them, say, more drought-resistant or infamously resistant to Roundup. This methodology, which might put fish traits in your corn seed, has been under a lot of scrutiny, with questions as to the long-term health effects of doing this.

Genetically altered seeds will be advertised as such. In truth, despite lots of promotional labeling, there aren’t all that many GMO seeds out there. Be aware when buying corn, soy, cotton, canola, summer squash, papaya, sugar beets, seed potatoes, and alfalfa. GMO tomatoes and rice have been created but are not available on the market.

Treated Seeds

Source: Our Changing Climate/YouTube

Though they do sometimes appear in home garden seed catalogs, treated seeds are more commonly used in mass agricultural environments. These are seeds that have been coated with chemical pesticides, herbicides, and/or fungicides to help ensure a larger yield. They are often recognizable because the coatings have wild colors. Both GMO and non-GMO seeds can be treated.

Most seeds we find in nurseries or garden centers—the little stands with seed packets—will be standard, untreated seeds.

Which Seeds to Buy?

The question of which seeds to buy depends somewhat on the grower. The choice is mainly between heirloom and hybrid. Heirloom seeds have many more choices but are a little more susceptible to failure. Hybrids might be more resistant to issues but can’t provide next year’s seeds. There is no reason not to use organic seeds, though they are a little more expensive and many small seed-producers grow organically but don’t foot the bill for USDA certification. In home gardens, there is no reason to use GMO seeds, and treated seeds are worth avoiding for those seeking homegrown, organic produce.