Re: Saving seeds from Hybrids
Re:
>Yes, but the point I was trying to make and that I found interesting
>is that all the plants from the seed-saving efforts were true --
>only my volunteers were unstable.
>
>As for the neighbor (not a next-door neighbor -- it's actually a
>good five-minute walk to her house), she has been getting the most
>delicious Sun Golds for at least five years that I know.
>
>From what you say, I suppose it is possible that the original plants
>had already been "dehybridized".
In _Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties_, Carol Deppe observed that a
lot of "hybrid" tomatoes seem to behave as if they're not really
hybrids, when the seeds are saved - that is, the plants from those
seeds seem to come true to type. And there's no particular benefit
from hybridizing tomatoes, as there is from, for example, hybridizing
corn. Tomatoes don't show "hybrid vigor".
So the cynical, like me, might assume that the seed companies are
slapping a hybrid label on non-hybrids, in order to keep people
buying the seeds every year rather than saving their own. The less
cynical might assume that the characteristic that comes from the
hybridization is something non-obvious, like disease resistance or a
subtle matter of flavor. I think that she discusses both
possibilities.
But anyway, I don't see any reason not to plant the seeds and see what you get.
I highly recommend _Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties_ if you have
any interest at all in plant breeding or seed saving. It's
fascinating. (It's been out of print for a while, but it just came
out in a new edition with lots of new material.)
Martha
Martha
mart@best.com
