Tricia demystifies the terms found on seed packets
Demystifying Seed Terms for Successful Organic Gardening
Starting your garden with the right seeds is crucial for success. Understanding seed terms like organic, non-GMO, open-pollinated, and hybrid will help you make informed choices. Let’s explore the essential details to kickstart your gardening journey.
Organic and Non-GMO Seeds
Organic seeds are grown on certified organic farms without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. These seeds are better suited to organic gardening practices, ensuring healthier plants and a cleaner environment. Non-GMO seeds, on the other hand, are not genetically modified in a lab. At Peaceful Valley, all seeds are non-GMO, ensuring your produce is free from unwanted genetic splicing.
Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Seeds
Open-pollinated seeds rely on natural pollination by bees and other pollinators, and many heirloom varieties fall under this category. Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated varieties that have been cherished for over 50 years. Hybrid seeds are created through human-assisted pollination to combine desirable traits from two varieties. However, seeds saved from hybrids won’t necessarily grow true to their parent plants.
Important Seed Pack Information
Seed packs contain essential details like soil temperature requirements, days to maturity, and planting dates. Knowing your frost-free dates is critical to selecting varieties that match your growing season. For instance, tomatoes are categorized as determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes grow in compact bushes and produce all at once, making them ideal for canning. Indeterminate tomatoes are vining varieties that yield fruit continuously until frost.
Specialized Varieties
Onions are classified by day length: long-day, intermediate-day, and short-day varieties. Long-day onions thrive in northern regions, while short-day onions suit southern climates. Intermediate-day onions are versatile and grow well in most areas except extreme southern regions.
Choose organic seeds, understand these terms, and plan your garden wisely for a thriving, sustainable harvest. Grow organic for life!
