WOW! I got a whole new meaning from Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. NIV
I've been cruising along in life buying a few packets of seeds here and a few packets of seeds there for the last couple of years. The last two packs I got from Winn - Dixie. I paid $1.88 each for a pack of organic cucumber seeds and a pack of squash seeds.
I felt it my duty to do a little research before I posted anything about seeds. Low and behold, I feel like I have been living under a rock! I remember catching part of a program on TV or maybe it was a DVD that was talking about how farmers aren't allowed to save seeds but they have to by law purchase new hybrid seeds every year. I was thinking about that and looked up information about hybrid seeds. To my astonishment I discovered that we can grow a crop of food from hybrid seeds but if you save the seeds from the crop grown with hybrid seeds the results will be that the seeds are not reliable to produce more food. New hybrid seeds must be purchased for each new crop. Ah ha! the light bulb went off. I was buying seeds thinking of the long term...crop after crop but the seeds I already have are good for one crop only. The good news is that the internet is full of seeds on sale that are not hybrid. My non hybrid seeds are in the hands of the US Postal service as I write this. Soon they will be in my refrigerator for a 10 year nap, unless they are needed.
1 comment:
Hi! This is a very good point, as many are not aware of the difference and problems with hybrid seeds! Yes, the seeds from hybrid plants may grow the following season, but may not necessarily produce the same type or quality fruit (vegetable). When selecting plants or seed packets for long term seed-saving, look for those marked "old fashioned", "heirloom", or "OP" (open pollinated). These will continue to produce true to the original, year after year.
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