What Is the Difference Between Open Pollinated & Heirloom Vegetable Seeds?
Heirloom Vegetables Heirloom vegetables are varieties that have been grown for several generations from seeds that have been saved from year to year. Open Pollinated Seeds Open pollinated seeds are those which have been pollinated by the same population of plants. This is usually accomplished by raising a specific patch of plants separate from other varieties of that plant. Heirloom Seeds Heirloom seeds are those that have been saved from the same open pollinated plant variety for several years. The plants grown in today’s generation will have similar characteristics to the original plants. Hybrid Seeds Hybrid seeds, created by cross breeding two different varieties of a plant, are not used for heirloom seed collections. This is because the seeds have traits from two different plant varieties. There is no way of knowing what will grow in the second and subsequent generations. Variety Loss While hybridization of crops has made our agricultural industry immensely successful, the cost has
