Recently I received quite a few question about seeds so I am sharing what I know in the hopes that it will be useful to people interested in it. The selection of seeds for planting is very important. Selecting the wrong seeds can lead you to disappointment, especially after you put in so much effort. So let's start with the kinds of seeds. There are basically 3 types of seeds.
F1 Hybrid Seeds
These are the most often type of seeds you find in the market. It is essentially produced by selective cross pollinating 2 parent plants to produce the "first children" so to speak. Quality F1 seeds can produce quality plants as the dominant qualities from each parent is present in the F1 seeds. Through this selective cross-pollination or hybridisation, the resulting seeds can be engineered to have specific qualities such as in the taste and size. However, if you obtain seeds from F1 plants, you may find that when you sow the seeds. they do not germinate. You may have followed advise from your friends to germinate them and still find that it didn't germinate. You did nothing wrong as most seeds that result from F1 plants through genetic engineering are sterile or do not produce plants true to their parents. So, even if you manage to germinate some, you will find the results may not be satisfying. This is how the seed companies stay in business.
Heirloom seeds
Unlike F1 seeds that are produces through selective cross-pollination, heirloom seeds are generated from plants from open pollination and possess most of the characteristics of their parent plant. Subsequent plants from these heirloom seeds will continue to have most of the characteristics of their parent plant. If you planted using heirloom seeds, then you can select the best seeds to future planting. Obtaining heirloom seeds is getting to be more difficult and harder to come by. Why? The seed companies can lose business hence why nowadays you find F1 seeds but rarely heirloom seeds. For seed banks, it is best to use heirloom seeds. At the farm, when I have heirloom plants, these are the seeds that I will retain.
GMO Seeds
These seeds are different from the above two types of seeds and are done in laboratories using gene splicing technology. At this stage certain elements can be added into the genes, modifying it genetically from its original stage. Certain chemicals to make the seeds resistant to pests and other types of chemicals used in herbicides and pesticides can also be added. Inherently GMO seeds contains pesticides that does not wash away or disappear magically so eating produce from GMO seed plants means you are consuming pesticides intentionally. So, even if you use GMO seeds and follow organic planting practices, your produce cannot be considered organic.
My Conclusion
Where possible, go for heirloom seeds. When not possible, you will just have to continue purchasing F1 seeds and keep the seed companies like Cargill and the like in business. At all cost, if you are for your health, say no to GMO and keep pesticide out of your daily food intake.
