Submitted By: Leah Fronk, Penn State Extension, Horticulture Educator
It won’t be long before the postal carrier will deliver seed catalogs to our mailboxes. If you are a new gardener, or haven’t ordered seeds in a while, you may need to request one or two from your favorite seed companies. Seed catalog styles differ; some are printed on newsprint and read like a friendly letter with personal anecdotes and humor, while others are printed on glossy, full-color pages with traditional growing information. Whatever style you prefer, seed catalogs are filled with crop guidance that will help plan your garden no matter if you grow a full season from March-November or enjoy gardening in the fair-weather months of June-September.
Hybrid vs. open-pollinated (OP) varieties. Hybrid seeds are usually denoted “F1” in the seed catalog. This code stands for first filial, or first generation. The important thing to remember about hybrids is that they are bred from two carefully selected parent plants for certain characteristics. In general, hybrids are more vigorous to germinate, produce more uniform fruit and higher yields when compared to open-pollinated (OP) varieties. Most hybrids have disease resistance characteristics and wider adaptability to environmental conditions. Since it takes many years to produce a hybrid suitable for market, hybrid seeds are usually more expensive than OP seed. Seeds produced from hybrid plants (the F2 generation) should not be saved since they will contain a random mixture of genes that may or may not be desirable. If you would like to save seed from year to year, plant OP varieties. To maintain pure seed, make sure to grow only one variety of a particular crop. For example, if you grow more than one OP tomato variety in close proximity and they bloom at the same time and cross-pollinate, the resulting seed may surprise you. Heirloom varieties are OP varieties that have been passed down for many years for unique taste, shape, or color. Not all OP varieties are heirlooms, but all heirlooms are OP. It is important to remember that hybrid varieties are not the same as genetically modified (GM) varieties. GM crops contain genes from an entirely different species of plant. For example, GM corn contains a gene from a naturally occurring microbe. GM seed is not freely available to home gardeners.
Days to maturity. In the seed catalog, this number refers to the number of days to harvest that is expected after planting transplants, or planting seeds.
Disease resistance: Many varieties, especially hybrids, exhibit disease resistance to certain pathogens. Resistance does not mean immunity. It refers to the ability of a plant to suppress disease development.
Cucumber types: Standard cucumber varieties produce male and female flowers on the same plant which is called monoecious. With standard varieties, proper pollination is required to have nicely shaped cucumbers. Plant breeders have developed gynonecious cucumber varieties which only produce female flowers and have a greater yield than standard varieties. They need male blossoms to fully reach their potential so seed companies will include a small number of monoecious seeds along with the gynoecious variety. Parthenocarpic cucumber varieties do not require pollination and are often used in greenhouses where pollination can be challenging. Parthenocarpic varieties are desirable because they are seedless unless they are pollinated by other varieties nearby or encounter stressful growing conditions.
Determinate vs Indeterminate. Tomatoes and certain cucurbit crops are often labelled as determinate or indeterminate. This can also be thought of as bush-type or vine-type, respectively. This refers to the growth habit of the plant. Most modern hybrids are determinate varieties, while heirlooms are usually indeterminate. Determinate varieties will grow to about 4’ tall and set fruit during a more concentrated time period. Indeterminate varieties grow to at least 6-8’ and have continuous fruit set. For those who like to preserve tomatoes, a determinate variety with a concentrated fruit set would be more desirable than an indeterminate variety. When choosing cucurbit crops such as squash, choose the growth habit, bush or vine-type, depending on the amount of garden space you have available.
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