The Difference Between Organic Seeds and Heirloom Seeds

It’s that time of year again…yep, time to order seeds for your garden.  Wahoo!  If you are new to gardening, you have probably heard people toss around the words “organic” and “heirloom,” but have you ever wondered what each one meant?  Before you buy your seeds, I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of the difference between the two.  Even though they are occasionally used interchangeably, they really aren’t the same thing.

Organic seeds/plants must be certified “organic,” which here in the U.S. requires the Department of Agriculture {though, other certifications are more reliable}.   They must adhere to specific growing guidelines, i.e. natural fertlizer, pesticides, fungicides, only–no chemicals whatsoever.  They cannot have been genetically modified in any way.  Organic plants/seeds can potentially be “hybrids,” though, meaning that they have been artificially cross pollinated with other varieties to get the best possible characteristics out of each variety.

Heirloom plants/seeds are a little bit different.  They are seeds {or plants grown from heirloom seeds} that have been passed down from generation to generation.  They have only been open pollinated, which basically means that any changes in the characteristics of the plant {i.e. fruit production, hardiness} have happened completely naturally over time.  Because heirlooms are kind of the “old school” method–where nature did the work, there is no worry of GMO’s with heirloom seeds/plants {unless it unknowingly has cross-pollinated with a nearby GMO crop, I guess}.

Typically, to qualify as an heirloom, the variety must be at least 40 years old.  The advantage of heirlooms is that they have developed, over time, certain resistances to pests and diseases.  They have also learned to thrive in certain climates, despite conditions that might otherwise knock newer plants out.

While you can definitely buy heirloom seeds, they best way to get them is locally through seed exchanges.  That way, the variety has become well-suited to your area, over years and years of growing seasons.  Typically, heirlooms have superior taste, quality, hardiness, etc. when compared to all other seeds.  Most of the time, whether intentional or not, heirloom seeds will have been grown under organic conditions {though, that is not a requirement of the heirloom title, so you can’t count on it.}

Once you find heirloom varieties that you love, saving you own seeds is the best way to ensure that they quickly adapt to your soil and growing conditions over your lifetime.

At the very least, I hope that kind of cleared up any confusion over the two.  I swear, everytime you start a new hobby, the biggest hurdle is learning the vocabulary.

Now, go plant something!

~Mavis