May 02, 2012

What's the Difference? Open-Pollinated, Heirloom & Hybrid Seeds

May 02, 2012/ Guest User

Deciding which seed to plant can be a daunting task, and the decision is often more complicated than simply trying to pick which beautiful tomatoes to grow. Among the more important decisions every gardener makes is the choice between open-pollinated, hybrid, and heirloom seed varieties. Each of these seed types has something to offer, depending on the gardener's needs, interests, and values.

Seed Savers Exchange Blog

Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit, member supported organization that collects, preserves and shares heirloom seeds for our future. Since 1975, SSE and our supporters have collected the seeds and stories that would otherwise have been lost.

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Seed Savers Exchange's Heritage Farm proved an exquisite setting for a recent Decorah Area Chamber young professionals gathering. Highlights of the event included an opportunity to chat with Michael Washburn, SSE's new preservation director, and to tour the newly repaved Diane's Garden. #SeedSaversExchange#DecorahAreaChamber#BetterTogether

This position supports Seed Savers Exchange by assisting Heritage Farm visitors in Decorah, Iowa. Duties include helping customers purchase merchandise related to the SSE mission and answering questions about Seed Savers Exchange and Heritage Farm trails and gardens. When not working at the Visitors Center, this position supports Seed Savers Exchange with seed packing and order fulfillment. Please visit seedsavers.org for more details or to apply. #SeedSaversExchange #NowHiring #NEIowaJobs

Nothing escaped the eagle eyes of Michael Washburn, SSE preservation director, and Sara Straate, SSE seed historian, when they recently examined the tomatoes in the Evaluation Garden at Heritage Farm. SSE staff regularly check the tomatoes and other crops growing in the garden as part of the multi-year “Collection to Catalog” process whereby SSE introduces select seeds from its collection to its annual catalog. Notes from their observations–on height, yield, and other physical characteristics–at Heritage Farm will be combined with data from other ADAPT participants growing these varieties across the country. Curious about joining the ADAPT program in 2023? Learn more at https://www.seedsavers.org/community-science-adapt. #SeedSaversExchange #Evaluation #CollectionToCatalog #CommunityScience #Tomatoes #TomatoSeason #GardenTrials

Did you know that the number of cabbage varieties in the commercial seed trade has decreased by 52 percent in just three decades, from 199 in 1981 to 95 in 2020? You can help preserve the remaining varieties, and bolster biodiversity, by planting this biennial crop and saving its seed! To save cabbage seed, select at least three firm, ready-to-eat cabbage heads in the fall. Remove the plants, roots and all, and store them in a root cellar, refrigerator, or cold basement, being sure to keep the roots damp and cold during the winter. In the early spring, replant the plants, leaving two to three feet in between them. Each plant will produce a seed stalk directly from its center. Cabbage seeds ripen slowly and fall off immediately when they are ripe; either harvest the whole plant as the pods turn yellow or pick the dry pods when they turn brown. Join Jongga’s Generation Preservation with us, and bring plant diversity to the table! Grow cabbage in your own garden and follow @jongga_global and @jonggausa. #JonggaKimchi #JonggaGenP #Biodiversity #PlantPreservation #Cabbage #SeedSaving

It’s National Dog Day! Yes, we love our pups every day, but today is a special day to celebrate all our beloved canine companions–including pups like Martin and Charli (pictured here near Diane’s Garden at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm). We always welcome pups on leashes at Heritage Farm and hope you can visit with your four-legged friends someday soon! #SeedSaversExchange#HeritageFarm#NationalDogDay

Spotted recently at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm: the elusive white-tailed squirrel! During a 2012 interview with Iowa Public Radio, Vince Evelsizer, an Iowa DNR biologist, speculated that the white tail is a rare genetic trait that has surfaced naturally in squirrels: “I would guess it’s something that has just emerged in one or two squirrels and maybe those bred with some other squirrels and a few had it show up in them.” Thanks to Jamie Hanson, SSE assistant orchard manager, for capturing this photo of the rare rodent. #SeedSaversExchange #HeritageFarm #WhiteTailedSquirrel

Seed Savers Exchange staff and seed rematriation project partners recently gathered for a field day @Ukwakhwa to celebrate the past two years of #rematriation work, connect with each other, and learn from one another and from the seeds. Thanks to Becky and Steve Webster for hosting the event and to North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) for providing funds for the event! . The program included a tour of Ukwakhwa, a soil-health workshop by Jessika Greendeer @DreamofWildHealth, tips on growing and cooking with blue corn by Kellie Zahn and Warren M from #stockbridgemunsee, and a conversation about the healing power of seeds with Shelley Buffalo. . “There is always hope,” said one participant. “We are in a time of many things ending, but in that there are beginnings. We get to do the slow work of tending seeds.” #SeedSaversExchange #SeedRematriation #SARE

Our Lillian Goldman Visitors Center staff has been educating visitors to Heritage Farm about the beloved monarch butterfly and its life cycle (egg to caterpillar/larva to chrysalis/pupa to butterfly). We hope that these efforts and those of other concerned individuals around the world will help this beautiful butterfly recover from endangered status soon. #SeedSaversExchange#LillianGoldmanVisitorsCenter#SaveTheMonarchButterfly#EndangeredSpeciesEducation

Seed Savers Exchange is stopping in Milwaukee August 9-11 for the Garden Center Show, the world’s largest trade show and conference for independent garden center owners, managers, and buyers! Visit us in booth 2027 and check out our new seed varieties for 2023. We will also have some great show specials for our retail partners! #SeedSaversExchange #SeedRack #GardenCenterShow #IndependentGardenCenter #IGC #GCS2022

Seed Savers Exchange is excited to join @jongga_global, the No. 1 Kimchi brand in Korea, since 1987, on its Generation Preservation campaign to preserve plant-forward foods in danger of extinction. Did you know Kimchi–Korean traditional fermented vegetables–is made of more than eight vegetables? Jongga’s support bolsters SSE’s work to safeguard our collection of 20,000-plus unique and heirloom varieties of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds; 600 potato-tissue cultures; 290 garlic varieties; and 1,500 apple varieties. #JonggaKimchi #No1Kimchi #JonggaGenP

Teamwork was the name of the game at Heritage Farm as members of the SSE preservation, field ops, and marketing teams gathered to harvest garlic from our collection last week. Once harvested from the field, the garlic plants are placed in a cool, dry place for a few weeks to dry. Once dry, the bulbs are broken into cloves, the healthiest of which are planted again next year. SSE has some 290 garlic varieties in its collection. Interested in learning more about growing, harvesting, and saving garlic? Check out our Garlic Guide: https://www.seedsavers.org/grow-garlic #SeedSaversExchange #HeirloomGarlic #Teamwork

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