Good seed makes a good crop

Jim McColl

As we approach the season for selecting varieties of flowers and vegetables we wish to grow in the coming months, then going on to place orders or visit the local retail shop or garden centre, repeat my watchword – do your homework, these things are not cheap and mistakes can definitely be expensive.

Buying online is NOT a new phenomenon in the gardening world; there will be many of my colleagues who still have catalogues sent each year from their favourite seed merchants. You won’t be surprised to learn that I have a filing cabinet drawer full of them!

In more recent times we have been able to visit the garden centres to view their chosen seed suppliers’ wares and indeed in another month or so we can obtain the young plants themselves in plugs and small pots.

For the traditionalists, however, the seed catalogue will still be perused to select the varieties for the coming year. Whichever way you choose, be sure to do your homework.

When I say that mistakes can be expensive I don’t just mean the financial penalty if you get your order wrong. There is a time penalty if you have to reorder, meaning the seeds are not sown at the optimum time – you will be playing catch-up.

In my experience, because I have had a go, I have not been disappointed – indeed sometimes the online prices are extremely competitive for the same quality of result.

Well, that is not true.

A few years ago, I bought an apple tree collection from a reputable seed merchant and finished up telling them to stick to selling seeds.

One of the six trees died and had to be replaced, losing me a year’s growth (that’s what I mean by playing catch-up) and two of the others were wrongly named. That only became apparent a year later when the first fruits were produced.

I was not chuffed.

I’d suggest that if you are after a particular item, then go to a relevant supplier.

In other words, if you want fruit trees don’t go to a seed merchant.

Before leaving this topic, let me remind you that some of the bedding plants you are buying online may seem a bit pricey.

Check again, they could be perennial plants which, with a bit of care, will last for several years.

Begonias are example.

As you make up your list of potential seed purchases, I must draw your attention to a small detail which should not be overlooked – this applies to new gardeners in particular.

Beside some plant names will be the sign F1.

You are liable to notice straight away that seeds so strictly

agood marked are more expensive than those without the symbol.

Let me explain – I’m conscious that I have mentioned this subject on previous occasions so I should perhaps label the paragraph “for new gardeners only”, but people do forget.

You can collect seed from many of our annual plants (flowers and/or vegetables), sow them the following year and up will come exactly the same things.

That is because they are either a pure species or they are described as a true breeding line (TBL), having been selected by the seedsman after years of testing. They are the bread and butter, cheap and cheerful varieties that are truly reliable.

Then Mr Seedsman started to get clever, based on scientific studies.

Take the pollen from one TBL and fertilise the flowers on another TBL of choice.

Save the seed and grow it the following year. This is the first filial generation or F1, referred to as a hybrid.

The trouble is that the process has to be repeated from scratch in exactly the same way each year.

In other words, the original TBL parent plants have to continue to be grown and nurtured.

THAT is the main reason why F1 seed are more expensive.

Why bother?

The ordinary varieties, referred to as open pollinated, do a decent job.

Reasons for continuing with the process of creating that F1 hybrid generation comes with some significant benefits – more vigour, (you will often hear us use the phrase “hybrid vigour”) better flower colour and range, better disease resistance, heavier yields in vegetable crops and better uniformity.

But is it all worth it? That will be up to the individual.

Here’s an example taken at random from a current catalogue; 1,000 seeds of Nicotiana mixed will cost £2.99, whereas an F1 hybrid Nicotiana costs £2.99 for 150 seeds.

Aha, but once we have grown an F1 hybrid, we can save the seed from it for the following year.

Sorry that won’t work. Well it will, but you will not get the same result.

You are now growing the F2 generation when the characteristics of the originals will separate out creating the most incredible ragbag.

That said, some seed companies do sell F2 selections for that very reason – you don’t know what you are going to get and some people do like that element of surprise. Oh really?

In my cynical view, it is a bit like these packets of mixed flowers – I reckon they contain all the colours that people don’t select when packaged individually because they are not very attractive or appealing.

IN BLOOM: The Begonia Citrus Twist is an F1 seed variety, which are usually more costly than original varieties or ‘open pollinated’ plants