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[bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

Nicely written, Bev.  I need, occasionally, to be reminded of concepts to 
which I normally give little thought.........


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--- On Sun, 12/14/08, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:


> 
> Leslie, think about this:  Most people can think of some tomato variety
> when they think of hybrids...something developed for commercial
> purposes. Commercial hybrids(stuff you buy, either seeds or
plants)product 'fruit' that has met certain specific requirements.    .maybe 
it has a firmer texture and a more even skin or more appealing color...the 
characteristics were chosen to make the product more like with hold up to 
shipping and display in a grocery stand or simply to give that picture 
perfect look.  Even worse, some companies, like
Monsanto,genetically engineer plants to withstand herbicide spraying and
more(almost all soybeans are GE, and corn, too)  If youplant a hybrid
every year, you will have to buy that seed every year, and every year
you will get a crop that is as close as you can get to theprevious
year's crop-very dependable production.  You may find that there are a
few hybrids that you like and want to plant every year, butrealize that
you can only do this as long as they are selling hybrid
seed. So while all that sounds great, it isn't the whole picture. 
First, you don't have to buy seeds every year, especially seeds for an
> inferior product that can't be saved and won't ever adapt to your
> growing conditions. Saving seed will save you money.  If you buy 
> OP/heirloom seed, you can save the seeds, and each generation, every year, 
> the seeds carry with them new genetic information about your soils, 
> moisture,etc. that allow the next generation to adapt ever so slightly.  
> Your saved Bloody Butcher corn will be different than James' BB corn, but
> they will be similar. (you can also trade such and possibly improve the
> vigor of both strains) The big reason to buy and save OP seed is TASTE
> and some say,nutrition. Many times, heirloom veggies will simply taste
> better..maybe they are less bitter(like with eggplants) or more tender
> (greens) or juicier or hotter or whatever good quality a vegetable
> should have.Some people even claim that heirloom varieties contain more
> good thingslike anti-oxidants and vitamins, which is why we eat
> veggies to begin with.
> 
> B