Heirloom? Open-polinated? Organic? What does it mean!?
When shopping for seeds it’s helpful to have a little base knowledge otherwise the language can seem a little overwhelming.
I’m here to demystify a few terms that you may encounter when shopping for seeds.
Heirloom Seeds
These guys have been passed down through the ages and replanted, tended and harvested year after year after year. A seed that has been grown and passed down for 50 years is technically an heirloom.
Heirloom seeds often come with a rich history. They follow people as they move around the globe. They hold stories of those who have perpetuated them for years. If you choose to grow heirloom, you are ensuring that this rich part of civilization (seed saving and passing down) continues.
Open Pollinated Seed
This is a term meaning that seed will produce seed naturally. Pollination will occur just as nature intends by bird, bee, wind or by hand. As long as there are no other plants of the same species nearby, each open pollinated plant will produce seed that will grow another plant identical to the parent.
All heirloom seeds are open pollinated. But not all open pollinated seeds are heirlooms.
My favorite part of growing heirloom and open pollinated varieties is that it’s the ultimate do-it-yourself way to garden. And it also feels like you’re sticking it to The Man! There’s no patent on your plants. It’s yours for as long as you can care for and save your seeds year after year after year.
Hybrid Seeds
If you’re growing a hybrid seed it will usually have a little F1 on the label. Hybrid plants will not produce seeds that are true to type and they will have significantly decreased vigor. Which means no saving hybrid seeds! You must buy them again each year.
Hybrids are created by crossing different plant varieties to form new varieties in order to produce some sort of desired trait (better disease resistance, better shelf life, better taste, etc). But don’t worry, they’re save and have nothing to do with GMOs.
Here’s a cool thing too: hybrids can be stabilized over the years by growing and selecting for traits and perpetuating that variety. But for most of us, this is a bit over the top.
Organic Seeds
Organic seeds are always non-GMO and produced by growing the parent crop in accordance with the organic standards for certification.
You can have organic or non-organic heirlooms, organic or non-organic open pollinated and organic or non-organic hybrids. Whew!
GMO
So I just went straight to the non-GMO project website for this one:
“A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology.
This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.”
Fortunately none of my favorite seed resources have anything to do with GMOs. Unfortunately, GMOs can be harder to tease out when we’re in the grocery store.
Just remember: organic is always non-GMO.
Seed Resources
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - sells exclusively heirloom seed.
Seed Savers Exchange - sells exclusively heirloom seed in both organic and non-organic varieties.
Johnny’s Seeds - has some of everything: heirloom, open pollinated, organic and hybrid.
Fruition Seeds - all organic-heirloom or organic-open pollinated seeds.
High Mowing - all organic seeds in either hybrid, open pollinated or heirloom varieties. They have a fun variety pack for sale that’s called “Heirloom Vegetable Lovers Organic Seed Collection” for $19.25.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave your favorite seed sources in the comment section below :)
My 5 Favorite Seed Companies
If you’re a gardener (seasoned or aspiring) I hope you will find my garden resources helpful! Every year I discover new ideas, techniques and sources. I hone and streamline my gardening processes and am here to share what I know.
What I love best of all though is that with gardening you never stop learning. There are endless varieties and variables that can lead to success or failure. And remember, failure is where you really learn! I’m failing all over the place :)
To start, here’s a breakdown of where I order my seeds.
I prefer to order all my seeds online. The variety is endless and it’s easy to source organic and heirloom or open pollinated varieties if that’s what you’re looking for.
1) Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Johnny’s is a comprehensive seed company out of Maine. They carry almost everything you would want to grow AND have tons of growing guides and resources. They carry organic, heirloom, open pollinated and conventional seeds.
I usually order the bulk of my seeds from Johnny’s as the quality and webpage functionality is outstanding.
They offer free shipping for orders over $200.00.
2) High Mowing. This is a company that sells exclusively organic seed out of Vermont. I love this company because I know everything is organic and extremely high quality. Most of my salad greens seeds come from High Mowing.
They offer free shipping on orders over $10.00! This is a screaming deal.
3) Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds. A company out of the Ozarks that sells heirloom and old fashioned varieties. Their prices are VERY reasonable. Their print catalog is also SUPER fun to look through.
I usually only order some rare and unusual veggies or flowers that I can’t find anywhere else. Even though I don’t order much from them each year, what I have ordered has had great germination and good quality. And their packets of seeds usually have way more seeds than other seed companies.
4) Foundroot. These guys are an Alaskan company out of Haines. They have hand picked varieties that do great in Alaska and cater to home gardeners - which means their packet quantities won’t overwhelm you.
5) Fruition Seeds. Another great seed company based in New York. These guys are a small company with lots of passion and great seed starting resources. All their seeds are organic and open-pollinated.
So there it is! Page through some of these online catalogs or request a print catalog. Curl up in your cozy chair and dream about your spring garden.