Hybrid or Non-Hybrid, GMO or Heirloom?

We started our vegetable gardening last season with seed supplies purchased at Lowes and Home Depot without regard to whether they were genetically modified, treated with chemicals, or a hybrid variety.  This year we did purchase a few transplants from Lowes to use in my deep water culture hydroponic experiment, but most of the actual seeds we planted were certified organic varieties.  Next year I plan to focus on heirloom seeds and organic heirlooms if I can find them.

If you're like me, some of these terms might be new to you.  I'm not an expert, but I can use the Google search engine tools quite well.  Here are a few items I found that you might find interesting:


Hybrid:  Most seeds available for sale today are hybrid varieties that are resistant to disease and drought tolerant.

According to GardeningKnowHow.com, "Hybrid seeds are produced by companies through careful pollination of two specific varieties. Normally, this highly selective plant breeding is done to bring together two traits in each of the chosen varieties so that the resulting seed has both of the traits."

If you live in an area prone to drought, heat, pests, etc. hybrid seeds might offer an advantage over non-hybrid varieties.  Typically, hybrid seed varieties do not lend themselves to seed saving programs. 

Non-Hybrid:  There are definitely advantages and dis-advantages to non-hybrid seeds.

According to Non-Hybrid-Seeds.com, "Seed varieties are being bred for many, many reasons. Typically for disease and pest resistance, look, transportability and other commercial criteria. Nutritional content is simply not one of the primary or typical criteria of the 'hybridization' movement."

Many people feel that non-hybrid seeds provide more nutrition and are lower cost.  With non-hybrid seeds, saving seeds from season to season is possible. 

GMO:  GMO is an acronym which stands for Genetically Modified Organisms.  

According to a GMO discovery guide published via CSA.com, "GMO's [are] most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content."

I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you like or dislike the idea of your vegetables being resistant to herbicides.  While it may unavoidable for most corporate growers, backyard vegetable gardens can and do flourish without the use of herbicides and insecticides.

Heirloom:  Many people feel that heirloom vegetables are unbeatable for taste and freshness. 

According to HeirloomSeeds.com, "Heirlooms are always open-pollinated varieties.  This means that if the seeds produced from the plant are properly saved, they will produce the same variety year after year.   This cannot be done with hybrids, which are a cross between two separate varieties, as the seed produced from those plants will either be sterile, or start to revert back to the parent plants." 

Heirloom seeds might be a little more difficult to grow for inexperienced gardeners, but with some research, understanding, and minimal gardening experience those challenges can be overcome.