Seed Catalogs Offer Range Of Possibilities

From The Fresno Bee, January 14, 2010, by Elinor Teague:

I spent several pleasant hours last week perusing this year's seed catalogs--getting ready to place my seed orders for summer vegetables and flowers.

It was gratifying to notice that many of the seed companies are now including information on the origins of their seeds in the vegetable descriptions.

Several companies use initials at the end of the descriptions to indicate that the seeds are either open-pollinated (OP) or F1 hybrids (F1). Some also indicate that the seeds are organic (OG).

One large seed company does not use the initial system; instead the company uses the words "hybrid" or "exclusive" in the plant name, or places a trademark sign next to the description. F1 hybrids are not specifically mentioned.

The company also identifies heirloom varieties.

F1 indicates that the seeds are first-generation hybrids. Hybridizers have taken the pollen from one pure-bred, inbred plant and transferred that pollen to another purebred, inbred plant with the aim of creating bigger, healthier, more productive, more disease-resistant varieties.

Like most hybrid plants, F1 varieties tend to be more vigorous. Plants grown from the seeds of F1 plants will not necessarily remain true to the parent plant however; the seeds may be sterile or their offspring may revert to a version of one of the two original parent plants.

If you plan to save seed from this year's crop to plant next year, you must use seed from plants that are open-pollinated. "Open-pollinated" is a bit of a misnomer; pollination is not necessarily performed in the field or garden by the wind or by insects pollinators.

Some open-pollinated plants may be hybrids (but not F1) or crosses of hybrid plants. Many open-pollinated plants have also been hybridized for disease resistance.

All heirloom plants are open-pollinated. The definition of heirloom is rather vague, but it usually is used to describe a plant that has been grown for at least 50 years. Heirloom plants are often valued for their fine taste as well as for their adaptions over the years to regional growing and climate conditions.

Disease resistance, health and vigor in open-pollinated heirloom varieties grown in soils, conditions and climates that differ greatly from their original regions will vary and success is not as predictable as with F1 hybrids that are developed to grow successfully in a wider range of conditions.

Certified organic seeds are harvested from plants grown in organic soils following strict guidelines regarding the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

[Note: I use open-pollinated and heirloom seeds exclusively and have never had any problems with them. Leave a few plants to flower and mature their seeds to have more seeds for the next year. I end up with lots of extra seeds and trade them for other open-pollinated seeds. This helps me to have more variety without extra cost. These seeds are also good to put towards "food storage" as you can expand your seeds supplies easily over one season--Gard'n Judy].