Planting a Garden-What Kind of Seeds Should You Use

When I was a kid, I remember tagging along with my grandparents as they began preparations for planting a garden in the spring. As winter snows began to melt and late winter/early spring temperatures started a slow and steady climb above the freezing mark, my grandparents were taking stock of their supply of seeds for the upcoming spring planting season.

They had moved into town long before I was born. Grandpa had farmed a small acreage for years. Grandma didn't like living in the country and since no one was happy if Grandma wasn't, Grandpa found himself living in town and working in a foundry. Now don't get me wrong, Grandma was a loving, considerate, respectful wife and Grandpa agreed to move into town because he knew how much Grandma wanted to live in town. It was a mutual agreement.

This was during the latter years of the Great Depression and farming wasn't really bringing in big bucks anyway, so the move was also for their financial survival. They bought a house in town with enough land to support a hefty garden. Both loved being outside and planting a garden each spring allowed Grandpa the opportunity to get dirt under his fingernails, provided an activity both loved to do and produced enough homegrown vegetables to satisfy their needs as well as sharing with family and friends. My grandparents used seeds saved from the last year's harvest to use in the new year plantings. Heirloom seeds, as they are called today or organic seeds.

You can feel when the time for planting a garden is near.

As warm spring winds begin to find their way back to the northern part of the country, a smell of warming dirt thawing from the deep freeze of winter and life renewing itself mixes in the air. The barren garden spot looks forlorn and forgotten as you peel back last fall's protection of straw and begin to mulch it into nutrient rich, black soil. The spring sun sends warming rays that are absorbed into the ground, but the soil is still a little cool as the first seeds and bulbs are set into the earth. The backyard gardening season has begun. Planting a garden is in full swing as the dedicated gardener prepares the soil, plants the seeds and prays for rain. Knowing what kind of seed to use if the gardening bug bites is important come harvest time. You get what you plant.

What kind of seeds should you use when planting a garden?

Planting a garden depends on what you what to get out of it. My grandparents would never have considered using hybrid seeds. They always laid aside enough bulbs and seeds from the fall harvest to use for the next year's planting. Hybrid seeds were developed in the 1920's with maize. Today, hybrid seeds are prepackaged and sold in most stores that sell vegetable and flower seeds. In order to find organic (heirloom) seeds, you may have to search for stores or nurseries who sell them. They can also be found on the Internet.

What's the advantage to planting a garden using hybrid seeds?

Hybrid seeds produce a larger yield and uniform plants. Your tomatoes are thicker skinned and can endure transport to market better. However, I've been told by friends who only use heirloom seeds, you may be giving up a healthier and better tasting vegetable for 12 plants standing in a row all looking alike. Both hybrid and heirloom seeds can be susceptible to disease and insects. Hybrid seeds can not be reused season to season. You can try and replant them, but the likelihood they will grow is slim. Most avid gardeners know planting different varieties of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, green bean, etc., can eliminate the chance of losing an entire crop to disease regardless of which type of seed you plant.

What's the advantage to planting a garden using organic (heirloom) seeds?

Traditional, organic or heirloom seeds can be reused season to season. Nature pollinates the plants as they mature unlike hybrids that have been pollinated by seed companies in one of their research labs. My gardening friends are passionate about using organic seeds and swear they produce a better tasting, healthier and more robust vegetable and the plant can stand up to disease better. My own experience hasn't confirmed a substantial difference between hybrid seeds and organic seeds.

Heirloom seeds that are saved and replanted will produce vegetables that are as good tasting as last season's parent plants. Since you can reuse seeds year to year, planting a garden can become a springtime ritual that pays for itself over time. Saving money by growing your favorite vegetables and reusing your seeds.

Planting a garden and seed companies.

Seed companies are the only ones who can produce hybrid seeds. Farmers who once saved seeds year to year now have no choice but to buy hybrid, or genetically altered, seeds from seed companies. This has cause for concern in underdeveloped countries because poor farmers can no longer collect and trade seeds for their crops. Hybrids may produce higher yield and uniform plants, but if crops become diseased, there is no way to save the crop which can be devastating for farmers in any country. Some believe greed by large seed companies lead to decisions to market only hybrid seeds. This ensures yearly seed sales for the seed companies. For the person planting a garden, however, hybrid seeds are easy to come by and inexpensive.

Organic seeds can be readily found in seed catalogs, nurseries and organic stores. You will pay a bit more for organic seeds, but the price difference is minimal. Planting a garden and bringing in the crop requires dedication and work regardless which seed you chose to use. Both have their advantages. It all depends on what you want to get out of your garden.

Jackie Clay,Use non-hybrid seeds and save big bucks in this year's garden, Backwoods Home Magazine

Hybrid Seeds, Institute of Science in Society

Hybrid Varieties and Saving Seed, plantanswers.tamu.edu