Hybrid seeds are seeds that result from the cross breeding of two different species of plant, usually of the same species but with different qualities. The offer by hybrid seed companies of such seeds is usually attractive and tempting. The challenge is that these companies are not the seed companies but merely middle men who purchase or rent the rights to use the hybrid seeds. While the offer of free seeds might be good enough for the propagating scheme a nurseryman who knows the value of hybrids and understands their farmers needs can might be interested in hybrids, too. Once a knowledge of the farmers need is obtained, maybe there is then a possibility of finding some temporary help.
Hybrid seeds are of great commercial value. Large companies who can afford fancy hybrid seed propagation systems can afford to buy cheap seeds. The farmers and gardeners, in the local nursery or garden center, also find these cheap seeds very tempting. Quite obviously, the Oriental hybrid seed companies are in a good position to offer the world economy a good supply of cheap seeds. These Oriental companies have found different ways to propagate the plants. Some have chosen to offer fertilizers for the farmers and gardeners to use while others have actually patented the fertilizers and thus made them readily available to the farmers and gardeners.
When a farmer or gardener plants a seed he feels he isCreating a new type of plant naturally, and usually by changing the genes of the seed. These new types of plants and trees are called hybrids and are plants that are like the parent plants but come from another mother stock than the original. Hybrids are a cross between two different parent trees. In farmer’s minds these hybrids have many more potential See Carrots grow into different shapes and Carrots are different sizes.
It is not easy for a farmer or gardener to distinguish a true hybrid from a hybrid. There are many so called hybrid groups and these are maintained by professional growers of round pea and carrots. There are also many thousands of man made cultivars that are bred for various qualities that will better resist disease and pests. These man made cultivars are known as heirlooms. Many of the heirloom varieties are very valuable in the garden and its longevity. Heirlooms can offer a harvest once in a while since the vines of heirloom varieties will live over longer.
As gardeners we must remember that just because a vegetable is called hybrid does not mean that it is unattractive. There are many beautiful heirlooms and we mustasing these vegetables for heirloom varieties. There are even heirloom flowers! We must also remember that these vegetables were sexual choices of male plants to pollinate female plants. Bilete flowers are a result of the male plant becoming female by physical means. The process of heirloom gardening is that the farmers or gardeners compete to add heirloom varieties to their crops. Each season the farmers add a few more heirlooms to their gardens so in a sense it is a rotate.
Why hybrid tomatoes? Because each farmer is trying to breed a specific type of grape or tomato. These are the hybrid tomatoes because they were bred to withstand the conditions of each individual farmer. Tomatoes are a male plant and must be pollinated by a female plant. So now the farmers must then plant the heirloom seeds to the female plants. The female plants must be planted in different areas and at different times during the season. Over time the female plants will learn which specific tomatoes are best for their particular growing environment. This way the farmer can have a wider variety of tomatoes all season long. So this is the essence of hybrid growing.
I am sure that there will be many hybrids in the future and reality will eventually forcing farmers to hybridise their crops. So this is the nature of heirloom gardening, growing and trading your own variety of tomatoes. The farmers will keep using the seeds from the female plants and eventually will create more heirlooms themselves. The more heirlooms there are, the more they are forced to hybridise.
