Heritage seeds or not?

[astrid]

A number of paw stories advocate the use of heritage seeds over popular hybrid seeds. There is some merit in that, but it can go too far. Some writers seem to think that hybrid plants don't give seeds, or that the seeds would be useless. That is not the case, so to fail to collect whatever seeds were available would be a waste. If heritage seeds from high production plants were available, that would be great, but if they are not, then hybrids are okay. They do produce seeds, and the plants that come from them will often be very good. Some will be not so good, so sowing more is advisable.  In general, hybrid plants are easier to grow, more disease resistant, more productive, and mature more quickly. Non hybrid seeds that have these characteristics remain popular, so many of the common seeds in the garden centres are actually non hybrid, and their seeds will come up true.  In other words, hybrids and popular seeds are a better choice for the first couple of years. That's why they are popular.

After that, start the more sustainable non hybrid stuff. Also worth remembering in the story that it takes bloody months for things to go to seed and for the seeds to mature, the mature plants take up way more room in the garden than the ready to eat version, and you can't do succession planting in a garden that you are letting go to seed. So better make your garden a whole lot bigger. And you can't let chickens into your garden until you are 100% done with it. They will eat everything.

[eyeseetwo]

We have had no issues with letting mature plants going to seed with succession planting. We prefer heritage or heirloom seeds. We do live in an isolated area, not near mega corporate farming operations.

[Ozarks Tom]

Heirloom seeds for us always. With hybrids you have no idea what the "trowback" plant will be like, it's viability for your area, or it's abundance in yield. And after you've had to save the seeds from that throwback, you don't know what those seeds will produce, are they hybrids too?

A good example would be Amish Paste tomatoes, and heirloom variety that reproduces from seed very consistently. It's an indeterminate, meaning it produces until the first frost, as opposed to many of the hybrids which are determinate, putting on so long, then quitting (we call them union tomatoes).

Baker Seed sells nearly all heirloom in just about every specie you'd like, and in greater quantity per package than any store we've bought from.