A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on GMOs. This week I’m going to talk about a few more groupings that we make. I want to talk about what these names really mean, or don’t mean, so that you can make educated decisions when shopping, or selecting what you’re going to grow in your garden. This week I want to talk about organic, hybrid, and heirloom.
In the US to advertise a product as organic or to put the USDA Organic label on a product, you must go through a lengthy certification process. You must be able to prove that your product was made without a long list of synthetic products. To call something 100% Organic that product must have 100% organic ingredients. To call it Organic, it must contain a minimum of 95% organic ingredients. To say that something is Made with Organic, it must have at least 70% of its ingredients organic. A product that says it contains Organic Ingredients does not require certification. The USDA has a lot of regulations about the word organic, and becoming certified organic is not an easy process. Even once you are certified, you must pass periodic inspections to remain certified. Because of this, many products will use the terminology naturally grown, sustainable, locally grown, or other phrases. Usually, these words have a lot less regulation and certification required to use them.
The term hybrid is used to describe seeds. Hybrid seeds are a cross between two parents with desirable traits to create an offspring that has the best of both sides. Those desirable traits could be flavor, disease or insect resistance, yield increase, color, or any number of other things. Hybrids have great uniformity, meaning that as they grow that hybrid looks the same, and will come ready to harvest at the same time. Hybrids can be organic. They can be GMO. Most hybrids are conventionally bred, meaning they are not genetically engineered. Hybrids are a great option for your garden, because they come with so many benefits. The drawback to hybrids is that if you save the seed from them, they won’t grow into plants that look like the previous generation. If you want to have the same hybrid year after year, you have to buy the seed. Hybrids started to become more popular in the 1950s. Before hybrids, everyone planted heirlooms.
Heirlooms don’t have a strict definition. Typically, people think heirlooms are plant varieties that have been around for a long time. However, this is not always the case. Heirlooms are open-pollinators. This means that you will have a lot more variability in what the plant looks like. They also will usually have less insect or disease resistance than hybrids do, making them more difficult to grow. Heirlooms help to preserve genetic diversity and connect us to the past, because the seeds carry the same genetics that generations before have planted.
If you have questions about seeds or gardening contact your County Extension Office or email me at Jacob.williams@uga.edu.