by Margie Siegal
So there you are, poking through the seed racks at Ploughshares Nursery or Encinal Nursery, and trying to figure out what variety to buy, or scrolling around all the different seed companies on-line, reading through the descriptions and trying to figure out what variety to buy.
Once upon a time, vegetable seeds were just seeds, but now, there is all this confusing labeling. What does it mean, Vern? In the interest of cutting through the confusion, here is a primer on the different kinds of seed out there.
Non-GMO
“GMO” is shorthand for “genetically modified organism”. Non-GMO is defined in the “Safe Seed Pledge” signed by many seed companies as, “Seeds that have not undergone the mechanical transfer of genetic material outside of natural reproductive methods and between genera, families or kingdoms.” Genetic modification in the wild may occur naturally, due to infection with a virus (the famous Dutch bicolored tulips were produced this way). However, in this context, “GMO” means seed produced in a laboratory, where genes from an unrelated species are added to introduce a supposedly desirable trait. In many instances, the “desirable” trait is resistance to pesticides, allowing the farmer to spray increased amounts of herbicides and insecticides. It has been claimed that the decline in bird numbers is due to fewer bugs available for them to eat, and that herbicides wipe out the milkweed Monarch butterflies depend on. There are also unresolved questions about the long term safety of GMO crops. “Non-GMO” means not genetically modified in a laboratory. Non-GMO seed is not necessarily organic, that is, grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
Note that a Non-GMO seed may be hybridized. Hybridization, the process of pollinating one plant with pollen from another in the same species, has been practiced by people all over the world for thousands of years. The purpose is to encourage development of desirable traits, such as disease resistance, larger fruit, sweeter roots, different colors or earlier ripening. If you save the seed from hybrid varieties, the second generation plants may look nothing like the parents. I have been planting seeds from the hybrid squash I grow. Interestingly, I have gotten more vigorous plants than the parents, and have harvested big tasty squashes. I put this down to dumb luck.
Open-Pollinated Seed
Open-Pollinated seed is seed from plants that are fertilized by wind or insects. Plants from open-pollinated seed will look like the parent plants. People who want to save their own seed to plant the next year must start with open-pollinated (aka OP) seed and make sure that the plants they desire to save seed from do not become fertilized with pollen from a different variety of that plant, which can easily happen if the different variety grows nearby. If one plant is exposed to pollen from a different variety, the gardener will end up with hybrid seed- which may or may not be more desirable to that gardener. Note that open-pollinated seed may or may not be organic. If a seed saver uses synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, the seed is still open-pollinated.
Heirloom Seed
Heirloom seed is seed from a variety of plant that has been grown for many years. One common definition is a variety that has been grown for more than fifty years. For example, Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org) sells Cherokee Trail of Tears beans, documented from 1838, and Stowell’s Evergreen Corn, known to have existed prior to 1853. Again, heirloom seed may or may not be organic. Heirloom seed may have been saved in a particular locality because it has features that make it grow well in that micro-climate. Beans that produce well in the high desert may not do well in a maritime climate at sea level, for example.
Organic Seed
Organic seed, in the United States, is seed that meets USDA standards for organic certification, often shortened to “OMRI certification.” Certified organic seed cannot be genetically engineered, (GMO), must be grown in certified organic soil using only fertilizer and pest controls allowed in organic agriculture, and packaged in a certified facility. Organic seed may be hybrid or open-pollinated.
Biodynamic Seed
Biodynamic seed is certified by the Demeter Association (www.demeter-usa.org) as having been grown in a farm that adheres to biodynamic principles, including recycling as much as possible within the farm, setting aside 10% of the acreage to go wild, and using specific herbal teas and sprays. The biodynamic movement started in Europe in the 1920’s, and has been proven over the last hundred years to consistently produce healthy, productive crops.
Now that you know what you are buying, you can decide what to buy. If cost is a major consideration, non-GMO seed is probably what you want to look for. If you are leery of pesticides, you want to look for organic or biodynamic seed, both of whom are produced under organic conditions. If you want to promote biodiversity, look for open-pollinated seed. Whatever you buy, the important thing is that you are gardening! Plant on!