Our forefathers didn’t have to decide between pesticides-free, typical food, and seeds.

This was simply because they never faced risks of genetically modified crops.

Nowadays, we are faced with several choices that we need to pick. Basically, the seed forms part of our cultural heritage and their physical, genetic effects to broader extent sustainability of food and our upcoming generation.

Scarlet Nantes

Ideally is it all about seeds, how they are grown or both? For example, when you purchase conventional seeds and organically grow them, will this mean that your harvest is still organic? As if this is not enough, what is the difference between organic, heirloom and conventional seed? Or can seeds be both organic and heirloom at the same time?

Organic Seeds

Organic seeds are seeds that have gone through a natural certification process. Ideally, this means seeds coming from a parent plant already grown in an organic farm. People give other differing definitions over the same, and it all lies as per their perception.

Note, planting organic seeds in organically certified soil and then spraying your garden with Roundup does not make your plant organic and natural.

So how do we achieve organic harvest? Well, it’s simple:

Organic Seed + Organic Soil + No Spraying of any kind = Organic Harvest

Heirloom Seeds

Heirloom seeds are seeds originating from a plant that has gone through several generations and saved with care for their benefits. Some of the reasons can be a good flavor, diseases resistance, or exceptionally impressive.

Heirloom seeds are mostly used on tomatoes. Such tomatoes are juicy, looking vibrant. This means they are perfectly round and gorgeous in looking. People have a tendency of associating nice looking tomatoes with either hybridization or genetic modification, but with Heirloom tomatoes seeds, the case is different.

When you purchase heirloom seeds, they are no harm in saving seeds you harvest from your garden and planting them in the following years.

Conventional Seeds

Conventional seeds are a type of seeds you can buy anywhere. They are known to be quite cheap and are genetically modified or hybridized.

Not all genetically modified or hybridization seeds are rarely wrong. Corn comes about after hybridization and is widely used over the world. So, what is hybridization? In supermarkets, you find tomatoes, apples, carrots and other fruit all in almost the same size and color. Ever asked yourself how such happens? It is all about hybridization. Fruits and vegetables are hybridized to produce a uniform product than can sell in the market and has a longer shelf life.

Have you ever heard of Red Delicious apples? If not organic these apples are large, watery but not as delicious. Surprisingly, most American go for them since the apples have large solid shape and bright red color. So red apple is explicitly hybridized for such purpose and not a delicacy.

In conclusion, to keep quality nutrition, maintain flavor and as well create seed bank, go for heirloom or organic seeds.