Saving heirloom seeds

[R.R.]

I've been thinking a lot about it, and I've come to the conclusion that it's probably very hard, if not impossible, to save pure seeds when you're growing more than one kind of plant of the same species at the same time. Even if I grouped each kind of tomato, eggplant, and pepper separately, pollinators would go from one to another and "contaminate" the flowers.

How do you do it?

 

[Chuck]

I don't really worry about it. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are self-pollinating although they can cross pollinate if the wind and maturity of the blooms are exactly right.. You will only want to save the seeds if that particular tomato or pepper or eggplant does really well anyway. Sometimes you can also put a small paper bag over the blooms and keep them separated from the rest until they pollinate.

 

[R.R.]

Good to know

 

[headfullofbees]

On a sidenote:
Being heirloom is by no means any guarantee that plants/seeds are organic, whereas F1 hybrids can be.

 

[R.R.]

I buy my seeds from sellers that don't sell GMO's, so I know mine aren't, but please, explain how heirloom seeds can be GMO, because that's something I need to be aware of when buying seeds. I don't want to buy any GMO's, not even by mistake.

 

[gata montes]

I don't want to buy any GMO's, not even by mistake.

No worries there - as it is highly unlikely that any of us would be able to buy GMO seeds by mistake - for the simple reason - that GMO seeds are NOT available or allowed to be sold to the home gardener / general public.

Which is due to the fact that GMO seeds are patented and therefore because they are protected by law - GMO seeds are only allowed to sold to commercial growers who have signed an agreement to abide by the laws protecting those seeds.

I would also add - in the hope that it will put your mind at rest further - that although there are a lot of seed companies that do state that they only supply NON-GMO seeds - there is absolutely no need for them to do that - as they are in fact only choosing to do so - purely as a means to ease any possible concerns home gardeners may have.

 

[Chuck]

No worries there - as it is highly unlikely that any of us would be able to buy GMO seeds by mistake - for the simple reason - that GMO seeds are NOT available or allowed to be sold to the home gardener / general public.

Which is due to the fact that GMO seeds are patented and therefore because they are protected by law - GMO seeds are only allowed to sold to commercial growers who have signed an agreement to abide by the laws protecting those seeds.

I would also add - in the hope that it will put your mind at rest further - that although there are a lot of seed companies that do state that they only supply NON-GMO seeds - there is absolutely no need for them to do that - as they are in fact only choosing to do so - purely as a means to ease any possible concerns home gardeners may have.

I wonder if it would be possible to obtain a ripe GMO fruit from a grocery store, reproduce that fruit and use its seed? If so wouldn't the genetic modification still apply? And if it did and someone planted that seed and it cross pollinated with an open pollinated plant wouldn't that be in fact a GMO heirloom? Or is this even possible?

 

[headfullofbees]

Organic is all about culture method and does not specifically rule out hybridisation.
Google Organic hybrid seed and see what you get.

 

[R.R.]

No worries there - as it is highly unlikely that any of us would be able to buy GMO seeds by mistake - for the simple reason - that GMO seeds are NOT available or allowed to be sold to the home gardener / general public.

Which is due to the fact that GMO seeds are patented and therefore because they are protected by law - GMO seeds are only allowed to sold to commercial growers who have signed an agreement to abide by the laws protecting those seeds.

I would also add - in the hope that it will put your mind at rest further - that although there are a lot of seed companies that do state that they only supply NON-GMO seeds - there is absolutely no need for them to do that - as they are in fact only choosing to do so - purely as a means to ease any possible concerns home gardeners may have.

That makes me feel better, Gata

 

[R.R.]

Organic is all about culture method and does not specifically rule out hybridisation.
Google Organic hybrid seed and see what you get.

@Bees, I get it now. If I grow heirloom seeds and don't do it organically, they're not gonna be organic. Same with hybrids. My only problem with hybrids is the fact that I can't save the seeds. if it wasn't for that. I'd grow some, too

 

[headfullofbees]

@Bees, I get it now. If I grow heirloom seeds and don't do it organically, they're not gonna be organic. Same with hybrids. My only problem with hybrids is the fact that I can't save the seeds. if it wasn't for that. I'd grow some, too

It's actually more than that:
http://www.soyouwanna.com/organic-seed-7511.html

Further; if you hybridise seeds where the mother plants have been grown organically, you have ORGANIC F1 SEEDS.