Hybrid variety fruits, grains and vegetables often have sterile seeds that do not reproduce themselves. They are like mules, which are a hybrid of a donkey and a horse. All male mules are sterile and most females are. It’s the same with the typical seeds you buy from the nursery or grocery store. They are hybrids. The seeds cannot be saved and provide no future sustainability in the event of a major food crisis. Remember the potato famine of the 1840’s?
The seeds most available to us are not heirloom and open-pollinated seeds and they don’t respond the same way in the soil. Hybrid seed is also known as "high response" seed. This is because these seeds require fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and lots of water to achieve their high yields. “The substitution of chemical fertilizers for organic methods of returning nutrients to the soil, such as composting, crop rotation and manure creates lifeless dusty soils prone to soil erosion. An estimated 24 billion tons of soil are eroded from the world's agricultural land each year. Dust levels in the lower atmosphere have tripled in the last 60 years.” http://www.primalseeds.org/hybrid.htm
As more and more seeds are being genetically modified these days, and hybrids are flooding the market, true-to-type home grown seeds are in danger of extinction. Some of the major seed companies reason that if people collect their own seeds, the seed companies would have less to sell. They would naturally like to control the seed market and force people to come to them for their garden seeds. This sort of dependence doesn’t appeal to the homesteader.
By saving the seeds of heirloom vegetables you can choose what works best in your garden. You can select seeds from the plants that perform best in your own homestead soil and climate. This will give you a seed strain that is more resistant to local pests and diseases. Plants are quite adaptable.
Hybrids and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are geared to modern agriculture's mass productions. They are engineered to produce higher yields, more uniformity and to mature at the same time. These features do not matter to the homestead gardener. It’s nice when the tomatoes are not all ripe at the same time.
The unaltered genetic material in heirloom seeds give life to our future. Right now it’s up to the 100 million backyard gardeners and organic farmers to keep these seeds alive. Otherwise, they will disappear altogether. Homestead homemakers can help save heirloom seeds by learning where to buy them and how to save their own precious seeds. Look with respect upon the homestead garden plot. Therein lies the potential to make a world of difference.
