Do Organic Seeds Regrow?

[dashboardc33]

This may seem like an amateur question, but I am curious; do organic seeds regrow in the garden? Is the reason why fruit and vegetable plants don't regrow each year because they are GMO? I was just thinking about this. It just makes sense that the seeds should bear more plants next year, but I know it isn't the case.

 

[w_r_ranch]

It needs to be stated that you cannot buy GMO seed, even if you wanted to... only very large producers that are under contract & tight control.

Basically, there are only 2 types of seeds available to consumers, heirlooms & hybrids:

• Heirloom plants or seeds refer to any type of seed that has been grown for a number of years (since 1940 or before seems to be the general rule) and passed down from gardener to gardener. Heirloom plants are 'open pollinated', which means the plants are pollinated without human intervention, so by wind or insect pollination. Plants grown from heirloom seeds may not be as predictable as hybrid plants, but many gardeners prefer them for their flavor, and many also appreciate the idea of preserving the vegetable’s heritage.

• Hybrid plants are created when breeders cross-pollinate different plants in order to maximize their best features, such as yield, size, resistance to disease & taste. Seed saved from hybrid plants aren't likely to produce a new generation with the same qualities. Instead, the second generation may look something more like one of the parent plants used to create the hybrid. Hybrids tend to be reliable & will produce uniform produce – and a lot of it, generally – but you may lose out on flavor. And you’ll have to shell out money next year to buy new seed.

As far as organic seed goes, it is just a marketing gimmick that allow producers to charge/get more from the gullible/knowledgeable public...

 

[Mr_Yan]

I'll disagree to a small extent WR. All food crops are genetically modified organisms. The seedmongers selling "non-hybrid, non-GMO" are using fear to sell seeds to the ignorant. But you are right organic is a gimmic. I love the fact that organic, according to chemists, are the hydro carbons and without organic chemistry the petroleum industry would not exist.

Anyway.

Standard commonly sold seeds, F1 hybrids, organic, heirloom and those seeds your weird neighbor gave you will grow into plants and make more seeds to grow. Gardeners get "volunteer" seedlings growing all over the place where tomatoes fall or a hidden cucumber rots and overwinters. My dad had a cherry tomato plant growing a few years ago that must have been seeded from someone throwing a salad over the fence from the VFW behind his house.

The main reason most of these don't grow is we yank them out as weeds the next year and or clean up the dead fruits in the fall.

I save seeds from several plants - basil, tomatoes, peppers, squash, peas, and am trying lettuce for the first time.

 

[LeahT]

I have been working hard to save seeds from good producing vegetables and flowers. I had some disappointing failures and some things that didn't grow like the original plant. A very nice neighbor told me that I needed to learn the basics about seeds and recommended the book Seed to Seed. I have learned so much from the book! I found out why the seeds didn't grow like the original plant, why some seeds didn't grow. I am still learning and probably always will be.