What’s the Difference Between Heirloom and Hybrid Seeds?

By Sherrie Ottinger (The Tennessee Dirtgirl)

What’s the differences in heirloom and hybrid seeds? A commonly accepted definition of an heirloom is any open-pollinated variety in cultivation before 1940. Heirlooms offer a greater variety of sizes, shapes, and flavors than most hybrids. They do tend to ripen more slowly, and do this all at once, they do have great flavor and keep well. Resistance to modern diseases and pests is not their strong suit, but the wonderful choices they offer outweighs this.

A hybrid seed is produced by cross-pollinated plants. Nature has some of her own hybrids but most hybrid seeds for sale, have been done by humans. Hybridization is most often done to improve, or reduce certain characteristics. Improved flavor, better yield and uniformity, improved color and shelf-life, are a few traits of improvement. The down-side to this process is, oftentimes good traits are unintentionally bred out as well. Also, seeds saved from a hybrid plant, won’t reproduce itself. Instead, it will be an inferior form of one of the parents. That doesn’t mean the fruit won’t be tasty; you just don’t know what you’ll end up with!

Preserving heirloom vegetables has become a mission for many groups, and you can find an endless supply of all kinds of vegetables, at seed banks, and maybe a local farmer close to you. There are seed-savers exchanges you can find online. Seed libraries have been created in some garden groups, where seeds are preserved, shared, and replenished by the users. Modern agriculture is pushing against these efforts, by taking heirloom seeds, hybridizing them, then trademarking them for their company. This makes it illegal to save and replant these seeds without that companies’ permission. What a shame! If you find open-pollinated veggies you really enjoy, you might want to consider becoming a seed-saver too!

The Tennessee Dirtgirl