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Re: Heirloom and Open Pollination, etc.

In article <199701112027.MAA27336@dfw-ix3.ix.netcom.com>, JFR
<jrembet@ix.netcom.com> writes
> Can someone explain "heirloom seeds" to me and what exactly open
>pollination means?  Hopefully this is not too basic of a question for this list.

Heirloom, (or Heritage), Seeds are usually old varieties no longer in 
large scale commercial production but sometimes still available from 
specialists or enthusiasts. They still have value for the non-commercial 
grower, be it taste, colour scent, etc. For instance, the Henry 
Doubleday Research Association in the UK make many old vegetable 
varieties available although they have long been superseded in the 
commercial growing world.

Open pollination means that the plants have been allowed to pollinate
and set seed as nature intended, with no attempt being made to control
colours, size, etc, by selective breeding or specific hybridisation. It
basically means that you cannot guarantee exactly what you will get. You
will get natural hybrids, both good and bad, and there is no way you
will know what you get until you grow them. I like this because I think
it adds to the pleasure of propagating your own plants :). Not so good
if you want to make formal or specific colour displays 

>A question that may be related:
> I collect the dead flower heads from zinnias and marigolds and other
>annuals from my garden.  If I sow these next year, will these result in an
>inferior plant, or is it not possible to say?
>
See above. Some may be better some worse. If the originals were F1 or F2
Hybrids then they will certainly not be the same. It doesn't cost
anything, so try it.

>Thanks.
>
This is also by way of a short de-lurk and introduction.

My name is Hugh Simmons and I live in a Innerleithen in Scotland, a
small village to the south of Edinburgh. My garden is at about 500ft
above sea-level, but in a frost pocket at the bottom of a valley. The
area is roughly equivalent to Zone 7-8 in US terms, with a high rainfall
and very wet winters, so a lot of things don't survive.

I have been gardening for about 20 years and am self-taught, no formal 
qualifications. I grow mainly perennials and shrubs, most of which I 
propagate myself, with varying degrees of success. I grow Geraniums, 
mainly species, Dianthus and various types of Primula, but am always 
keen to try something new, even if it doesn't work.

I'm looking forward to learning a lot from the rest of you on the list, 
and, I hope, being able to give something in return. 


-- 
Hugh Simmons
hugh@st-ronan.demon.co.uk
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