Is Buying Heritage & Organic Seeds Important?

[Phil Jones]

The title explains my question... is buying heritage and organic seeds important to you at all? I see most of the seeds for sale in my local garden center are not organic and many are hybrid varieties... so I wonder if others feel that buying older varieties and organic seed is important?

Kind Regards
Phil Jones

[Snadger]

Haven't voted cos there's a big difference between 'heritage' (which I sometimes buy) and organic varieties which I don't look for or buy!

[zazen999]

No - buying isn't important necessarily.

However, saving and sharing them around is.

Why do you ask?

[RedThorn]

Same as Snadger.... try to keep Heritage varieties but I ain't organic (use as little chemicals as possible though as we eat the veg) so don't bother with organic seeds.

EDIT: As such had to vote no.

[TonyF]

I look for and buy both heritage and organic seeds, I also run a seed and plant swap group in the area in which I live. I never ever buy F1 or F2 seeds.

[Phil Jones]

Haven't voted cos there's a big difference between 'heritage' (which I sometimes buy) and organic varieties which I don't look for or buy!

If you don't mind my asking... why do you avoid organic seeds?

No - buying isn't important necessarily.

However, saving and sharing them around is.

Why do you ask?

I'm just a guy who grows on a normal allotment... not on a big scale at all but I just can't figure why most of the companies are not selling these organic and heritage seeds... but I guess this is because there is little demand for them.

However I do totally agree with the fact that saving and sharing is important.

All your replies are great - thanks!

[Alison]

Try to avoid F1s etc were possible and get open pollinated ones so that I can save my own seed. Don't avoid buying organic seeds but don't hunt them out either, but old and unusual varieties are of great interest to me. There isn't necessarily a low demand, it's just that seed manufacturers like us to be dependant on them and buy more seeds. Over the years seeds have been bred for commercial use and we've been brainwashed to buy such varieties rather than growing some of the the wonderful selection which are available.

On a related note, many heritage seeds are not on the approved list so technically can't be sold anyway (although there are ways round this, eg the HSL)

[King Carrot]

I try to buy the best seeds for the job -for example, a lot of the heritage varieties will crop for longer, some F1's will crop earlier and without pollination - I usually save my own seed where practical, all I can really say is that's important that older varieties are kept going and I try to do my bit.

I don't go out of my way to get organic seeds - nicer if they are "untreated" though I suppose

[bluemoon]

If nothing else these seeds are keeping the gene pool as large as possible and we never know when in future we might need some attribute that they have.

[zazen999]

Hi again

My opinion as to why they don't sell the open pollenated seed is because then we would save the seed ourselves and not go back to them for more next year. ie £.

I am trying lots of summer and winter squashes this year of open pollination varieties; up until now the only thing I was definitely buying that was F1 was yellow courgettes, I now have [thanks to some sharing on here], one yellow courgette that a grape is trialling from their own second generation pairing and a few others that are nth generation open pollenated. If they work; then even those F1s will be binned.

[Snadger]

If you don't mind my asking... why do you avoid organic seeds?................................
!

I try to grow as organically as I can. (loads of organic material, no pesticides or 'artificial' fertiliser and definitely no weedkiller.) I don't avoid organic seeds, I just don't look for them, or find them, or buy them. I may have bought organic seed in the past, but if so I haven't noticed or cared that they were labellled as such. I have used F1 hybrids on occasion but usually because they have a specific role, i.e clubroot resistance, whiterot resistance, mildew resistance, cold weather tolerant etc
I try wherever possible to save my own seed.
I haven't got an organically certified allotment so don't have to be bound by DEFRA guidelines, but do enough to satisfy myself!

[louisesgarden]

I grow various heritage and rare tomatos, i like to grow tomatos that you cant buy or have the same as what everyone else grows,

[Rocketron]

Anyone else smell Fish ?

[zazen999]

Anyone else smell Fish ?

Yes, I checked out the email address before I posted - nothing linking to any sales sites which is usually the case.

[indigox]

Anyone else smell Fish ?

Not really, I was thinking of posting a similar poll today.

Just wondering what people's priorities are when it comes to buying seeds.

I guess I am drawn more to heritage varieties because I like something a little unusual.

I am also a seedaholic.