By Dulce Levitz

t ’ s that exciting time of

Heirloom The “ Heirloom ” variety is a plant variety that has a history of being passed down within a family or community .

A Heirloom variety must be openpollinated , but not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms . While some companies create heirloom labels based on dates ( such as a variety that is more than 50 years old ), Seed Savers Exchange identifies heirlooms by verifying and documenting the generational history of preserving and passing on the seed .

Heirloom seeds are wonderful ! “ Back in 1998 I received some Amish paste tomato seeds from Amish friend ; every year I save the new

generation of seeds and have a wonderful supply year after year ; these are still the best tomato plants and tomatoes I grow . These types of seeds are a great choice for seed saving .”

" Open pollinated " generally refers to seeds that will " breed true ." Openpollinated varieties are also often referred to as standard varieties or , when the seeds have been saved across generations or across several decades , heirloom varieties .

A second use of the term " open pollination " refers to pollination by insects , birds , wind , or other natural mechanisms . The seeds of open-pollinated plants will produce new generations of those plants ; however , because breeding is uncontrolled and the pollen ( male parent ) source is unknown , open pollination may result in plants that vary widely in genetic traits .

Because there are no restrictions on the flow of pollen between individuals , openpollinated plants are more genetically diverse . ... As long as pollen is

not shared between different varieties within the same species , then the seed produced will remain true-to-type year after year . Some plants ( such as many crops ) are primarily self pollenizing and also breed true , so that even under open pollination conditions the next generation will be ( almost ) the same . These types of seeds are a great choice for seed saving .

Hybrid In agriculture and gardening , hybrid seed is seed produced by crosspollinated plants .

Hybrid seed production is predominant in agriculture and home gardening . If you save and grow seeds from an F1 hybrid plant , don ’ t expect a similar plant in the next generation ; this is one disadvantage of hybrid seeds . The resulting plants in the second generation are

usually much lower yielding , have less vigor , and are quite variable in their physical characteristics . You don ’ t know what you are going to get , and usually you ’ ll lose all the advantages you had in growing the original hybrid . In other words , all of the hybrid seeds planted by the farmer will produce similar plants while the seeds of the next generation from those hybrids will not consistently have the desired characteristics . Controlled hybrids provide very uniform characteristics because they are produced by crossing two inbred strains . Elite inbred strains are used that express welldocumented and consistent phenotypes ( such as high crop yield ) that are relatively good for inbred plants . Hybrids are chosen to improve the characteristics of the

resulting plants , such as better yield , greater uniformity , improved color , disease resistance . Not the best choice for seed saving .

GMO Seeds If we think about it humans have been genetically modifying plants and animals for years ; seeds are no different . Many , as well as myself argue that the long term effects of these seeds and plants on our bodies , as well as , the the impact on our environment is unknown .

GMO Seeds : The Consequences … Biotech firms like Monsanto argue that the GMO seeds they create are so unique that they need to be patented ; something that has farreaching and devastating effects on the global economy .

Unlike the seeds

listed above , GMO seeds are not created using natural , lowtech methods . GMO seed varieties are created in a lab using high-tech and sophisticated techniques like gene-splicing .

Furthermore , GMO seeds seldom cross different , but related plants . Often the cross goes far beyond the bounds of nature so that instead of crossing two different , but related varieties of plant , they are crossing different biological kingdoms : like , say , a bacteria with a plant .

GMO seeds , in some cases are genetically modified with genes from fish , herbicide-resistant proteins and other chemicals , rather than DNA from

another plant . They are also designed to be resistant to pesticides such as ( Glyphosate ), ( N- ( phosphonomethyl glycine ) which is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant . It is an organophosphorus compound , specifically