This applies to any type of seed, be it floral, vegetable or herbal. This is a simplification of the process, but is valid.

The Biology Behind the Techniques

1. Seed is created when the male pollen (sperm), from the flower's stamen, connects with the female stigma (ovary) of a flower. Some flowers have both pollen and stigma, and can self pollinate. These self pollinators are called 'perfect' flowers. Most beans and peas have perfect flowers. When a plant has male and female flowers on it, and can transfer pollen to the stigma via wind, insects, etc., it is called a cross-pollinator. These types of plant flowers are much more common.

2. Cross pollinators can share pollen and stigma from plant to plant in the area. Some can cross themselves with only pollen coming from the exact same plant kind as the stigma, some can cross with any member of the same plant family. Seed resulting from a cross between two related plants will result in usually an un-usable new breed, like a mix of squash and gourds will not have either the edible qualities of the squash, or the usefullness of a gourd. Some crosses will not produce vaiable (living) seed at all. Still others have the potential to produce a new, delightful strain.

3. The cross-pollination between two open-pollinated plants (heirlooms are all o/p's), usually results in a hybrid variety. Hybrids will not make themselves anew in harvested seed. The hybrid will produce seed that will not look, act, or taste like itself, even if it cross pollinates with exactly the same kind of plant. Generally it will revert back to it's parent plants, or not set viable seed at all.

4. Seed marked F1, F2, Hybrid, are all results from a cross pollination. Seed Companies, to make more of these every year, must go back to the parents year after year, to create the hybrid. F2's are a four-parent cross. F1's involve just two o/p parents.

5. Seed creation that results in a fertile plant that can breed true the following season is called 'open-pollinated'. Open-pollinators with a history of breeding itself the exact same way for fifty years are given the title of 'heirloom'.

6. Nearly 95% of all supermarket produce, florist shop finds are hybrids. Therefore, to collect and sow seed from these will not give you the same at all. There are exceptions, of course, but without the 'name' of a particular eggplant at your local grocery store, it is impossible to know which are viable seed holders and which are not.

So. How does a gardener keep an open-pollinated variety the exact same from year to year, when the plant is quite capable with mating and producing offspring with any other pollen from it's class or type? It is the same way breeders continue a purebred animal. On purpose.

OG Seed Bank Home  Growing Basics by OG  Growing Seed Files  Crop Specific Files  Members' Garden Photos  Links to Members' Home Pages  General Gardening Links SUBSCRIBE TO