Buying seeds? We list our 5 favourite seed suppliers and discuss F1 vs open pollinated and genetic diversity
Our top organic seed suppliers, why you should avoid F1 hybrid seed and opt for open pollinated, and the important of genetic diversity in veg growing when considering climate change and resilience
Happy New Year
I admit I am a seed-a-holic, especially when it comes to brassicas and tomatoes. Despite saving lots of seed and have plenty of stocks, I still look to see what’s available and pop one seed packet in my basket, and then another and another, and before you know it there are 20 packs…… I sow too many seeds as well and end up with loads of plants …. But, at least, I can give those away.
This year I have seen a few Instagram posts about favourite seed varieties and suppliers, and can’t say that I am inspired or even impressed for a number of reasons. So read on to find out why.
F1 Hybrid seed
As somebody who likes to save seed and, swop it too, I rarely buy F1 seed – i.e. a hybrid seed that has been bred for a specific characteristics, which is usually yield / size. I have a problem with these F1 seeds – they are expensive (the pack may be the same price but inside there are far fewer seeds), and you can’t save seed as they do not breed true. And as you will read below, I don’t prioritise yield or size when choosing varieties for my organic garden.
I buy open pollinated seed – these are seeds that grow into plants from which you can save seed, as they breed true and they are not protected by plant breeders rights etc. But be aware that because they are open pollinated and, unless the breeder is very careful about the plants they use as parents, the same variety from one breeder may look and perform very differently from another breeder, even though they have the same name. This is particularly true of seed from gardeners and allotmenteers. You need to have a lot of parent plants to create a diverse gene pool, and the parent plants need to conform to the variety description – but an allotmenteer, for example, may not have space for 50-100 seed plants and saves seed from a smaller number of plants that may not all match the description of the variety and then you get genetic drift. Not always a bad thing, just something to be aware of.
Why buying organic seed is important
Organic seed is important if you grow following organic principles i.e. with no inorganic fertilizers, pesticides etc. As an organic gardener, I want seed that has come from parent plants that have also been grown under similar conditions and therefore are best suited to my growing regime. Sadly, a lot of modern vegetable varieties are what I call ‘greedy’, i.e. they are bred for yield and productivity, which is achieved through a regime of fertilisers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. In addition, the seed may be doused in a chemical treatment. In the commercial breeding programme, characteristics such as disease resistance, resilience, and taste especially, are lost, so I really don’t want seed from those type of parent plants.
My go-to seed suppliers
My first choice of seed is certified organic and then seed raised under organic conditions, but not certified. Here is my top 5 ……..
· The Organic Gardening Catalogue has the widest selection, with new and older vegetable varieties, herbs and flowers, but be aware not all seeds listed are organic. I am also pleased that they have embraced peatfree and virtually all of their plants for sale are grown in peatfree compost Members of Garden Organic get a 10% discount. Visit their website
· Tamar Organics – range not so wide, but price very reasonable considering they are certified organic, and sell in quantities from a gardener’s pack to kgs, which might suit an allotment group. I buy bulk amounts of phacelia, my favourite cover crop / green manure. I sow a lot, so buy 500g at £15. A 250g pack of broad beans is £5.75. I try to avoid onion sets as they can introduce disease, and prefer to use onion seed, which I find gives me more choice. I have used their onion plantlets in the past, which are excellent quality, at £9.95 for 100. Find out more here
· Vital Seeds is newer on the market and based in Devon, on same farm as Mandy Barber of Incredible Vegetables and they are members of the Open Source Seed Initiative. The range is increasing every year. There are some interesting seeds including one which caught my eye, Fiolaro de Creazzo, an Italian broccoli- like crop sown in summer for winter cropping. Check out their website
· One of my favourites has to be Real Seeds - and this is not a paid for ad – I love this ethical company and have watched it grow over the years (I can’t believe that they now supply 400,000 packs of seed a year) while keeping the same brilliant ethos at its core. Its called Real Seeds because the seeds are open pollinated, and they sell what they consider to be the best varieties for the small scale grower and gardeners and the quality of their seed is excellent. I’m even happier now that they are certified organic, so the allotmenteers here on the farm can use their seed without requesting a derogation. The highly informative seed descriptions give the origins, conditions required and performance. And what seed company sells you seed and then tells you to save seed, so you don’t have to buy more seed, plus they have loads of downloadable seed saving guides. This year I ended up buying far too many seeds (which I will share with others) including some interesting tomatoes and kales so watch up for updates as the season progresses. Visit their website
· Heritage Seed Library – not really a seed supplier but it maintains the national collection of heritage vegetables and aims to conserve vegetable varieties that are not widely available, and as a member you get a chance to request seed. The seed list varies each year, the 2024 list has 170 heritage varieties, including 14 new to the list and 71 that are organic. Members can choose up to 6 packs of seed from the list. Find out more here
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