Q: I've been hearing a lot in the news lately about hybrid and GMO seeds. Are these all bad things I should be worrying about?
A: There is a huge difference between hybrid and GMO seeds. One is a potentially bad thing, and the other isn't.

Q: What is the difference between hybrid and GMO?
A: Hybrid just means diversity of parentage in seeds (or animals) and can be the natural way that plants are pollinated. Often a hybrid is created to take advantage of the best of two varieties or to create a plant that grows well in a certain climate. Do you remember Natural Selection from high school biology? The strong survive and the weak perish. It happens naturally over time. GMO, or genetically modified organisms, are just that: plants whose genetics are modified by scientists to include or reduce certain factors, like size, protein content, or ability to withstand certain diseases. Here's a good example: mules - hybrid, Dolly the creepy clone sheep - GMO.

Q: What does open pollinated mean?
A: Open pollinated means that the seeds are not hybrids; they have specific controlled parentage so that you know the end result before you plant the seeds. Open pollinated seeds produce plants that are always the same, so they are good for saving seeds..

Q: Why wouldn't I want to save seeds from hybrid plants?
A: Because hybrid plants have a varied parentage the outcome is unpredictable in the next generation. If you saved the seed from a hybrid plant you might see recessive genes from several generations back. For instance a hybrid tomato plant's seeds might produce tomatoes of various sizes, colors, maturity dates, and taste.

Q: What is an heirloom seed?
A: Heirloom seeds are those that have been around for a long time, plain and simple. Yes, there are hybrid heirloom seeds, nature has been at it a long time.