All About Seed Types and How to Choose the Best Ones to Grow

Heirloom Seeds

Experts don't agree on how old a plant has to be to be considered an heirloom, but all agree that heirloom seeds have been passed down from generation to generation to produce an older cultivar. All heirloom plants are open-pollinated and produce seeds suited to saving. The seed will produce a plant similar to the parent.

Heirloom seeds are often associated with a specific geographic region where they perform especially well. The seeds are saved to produce plants with superior flavor, appearance, or overall performance.

A few heirloom seed varieties:

• Black Krim Tomato: Traditionally grown on the Isle of Krim in the Black Sea, this deep purple tomato with green shoulders boasts a rich and tangy flavor and is considered one of the most nutritious of all tomatoes.
• Kentucky Wonder Bush Green Beans: Also known as 'Commodore,' this plant was introduced as a bush bean during the late 1800s. The pods are up to 9 inches long, and are said to be among the tastiest of all green beans.
• Chinese Long Beans: One of the heirloom pole beans, Chinese long beans can reach 10 feet high with pairs of pods 14 to 30 inches long.
• Black Velvet Nasturtiums: Growing only 10 to 12 inches tall, the velvety-black blooms of this nasturtium make it a showpiece.
• Fizzy White Cosmos: The large pure-white blooms have tufted centers and overlapping petals with fine pleats and zigzag edges on this easy-to-grow cosmos.

Open-Pollinated Seeds

Open-pollinated seeds form when pollination occurs by insects, birds, wind, or humans. Open-pollinated seeds are the best choice for those interested in seed saving because the plants have stable traits that pass from one generation to the next.

Open-pollinated heirloom seeds produce plants that are similar to each other but not as uniform as hybrids. Open-pollination creates a more genetically diverse gene pool which allows plants to slowly adapt to local growing conditions.

While all heirloom seeds are open-pollinated seeds, not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms. See: hybrid seeds.

Hybrid Seeds

The majority of flower and vegetable seeds available to the home grower are hybrids. This is not the same as genetically modified seeds. Hybridization can occur naturally through random crosses. Commercially hybridized seed, often labeled as F1, is deliberately created to produce a desired trait like larger blooms or vigorous growth.

A hybrid forms when open pollination occurs between two varieties of plants. Such controlled cross-pollination produces hybrid seeds with desired traits, such as disease resistance, uniformity, and greater vigor.

Vegetable plants grown from hybrid seed are often high-yielders, but they are not reliable for seed saving. The seed will be genetically unstable and may not produce any fruit or flowers at all. Unlike heirlooms, the seeds saved from hybrids will not grow true to type in the next generation and will be less vigorous and more genetically variable.

A few hybrid seed varieties:

• Silver Queen Corn: The Silver Queen hybrid was developed for productivity, flavor, and wide climate adaptability.
• Riverside Spinach: This spinach hybrid resists heat-induced bolting, is mildew-resistant, and bears small dark green leaves.
• Prizm Kale: This hybrid seed produces densely packed plants with short, tightly ruffled, deep green leaves with nearly stemless stalks.
• Oktoberfest Calendula: The Oktoberfest calendula provides a steady stream of deep orange flowers throughout the summer and fall.
• Carmine Velour, Petunia Wave: Hybrid petunias like the Carmine Velour Wave produce seemingly endless blooms that never fade.
  

Organic Seeds

Organic seeds are those collected from plants grown without the use of non-organic pesticides. Certification comes through the National Organic Program (NOP) under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Organic growers that sell produce or flowers are required to source organically produced seed and are restricted from using GMO seed.

GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) Seeds

Genetically modified seeds (GMOs) are developed to change a trait in a plant to a more desirable trait like pest or herbicide resistance. Seeds packaged for home garden use are not and cannot be genetically modified. Seeds are only available for nine commercially-grown crops, corn (field and sweet corn), soybeans, canola, papaya, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets, squash, and rice.