What Are Open-Pollinated Seeds?

What comes to mind when you envision the meaning of open-pollinated? A flower, bright and wide in the daylight as a friendly pollinator visits its attractive center? A series of buff, succulent squash in the garden among an array of wild herbs and flowers? Whatever is conjured when the phrase open-pollinated comes about in the gardening zeitgeist is sure to capture some idealistic environmental utopia. Open-pollinated seeds are a modern marvel and a historical resource. As technology advances every single day and more and more of our tasks become automated, the process of open-pollination represents a true return to nature. So, what are open-pollinated seeds? 

Open-pollinated seeds are stable, non-hybrid varieties of plants that result from pollination between the same or genetically similar parents. A common misconception is that the word heirloom is an appropriate stand-in for open-pollination. Heirloom is an adjective that mainly identifies the time frame of the development of the seeds. The widely accepted definition is that heirloom seeds were developed pre-World War II. While all heirloom seeds are open-pollinated, not all open-pollinated seeds are heirloom. Many beloved open-pollinated seed varieties were lovingly bred by dedicated, modern breeders, after World War II. 

Are All Heirloom Seeds Open-Pollinated?

The most popular benefit of growing open-pollinated seeds lies in the production of the seed itself. If the seeds of an open-pollinated variety are saved (with proper care and isolation distance) and replanted the next year, they will produce the same genetics as the previous year. Modern hybrid varieties, the alternative to open-pollinated varieties, will not reliably reproduce. This forces the grower to purchase the seeds year after year rather than creating a self-reliant ecosystem by saving their own. 

Open-pollination is nature’s solution to botanical reproduction. The flowers of these plants can be pollinated any which way, by insect, wind, hand, or self-pollination. By relying on nature, we end up with something beautiful, reliable, and 100% natural. By using open-pollinated seeds, growers can select for traits that are beneficial in their environment. For instance, growing here in Southern Appalachia, we get a lot of rain. This, as many growers will recognize, can create a difficult environment for growing tomatoes. There are several open-pollinated varieties that show good crack and disease resistance, our biggest battles to fight in this climate. Even more so, if one plant performs spectacularly well in your micro-climate, you can save the seeds from that plant specifically to preserve those genetics, getting you high quality tomatoes in an environment that is less than ideal for growing tomatoes. Some varieties that are great examples of this process are the Blue Ridge Mountain tomato, Mountain Princess, and Bear Creek. The ability to identify and preserve certain genetics make open-pollinated seeds an excellent choice for seed savers and breeders.

New gardeners can find open-pollinated seeds a little intimidating. And it makes sense why! Gardening is not for the faint of heart and open-pollinated varieties often do not tout the same uniformity, storage ability, disease resistance, or productivity as hybrid varieties. The traits selected into hybrid varieties can often make them easier to grow, and ultimately less intimidating. But, growing open pollinated seeds can make you a better grower. The ability to select for size, taste, color, as well as uniformity, disease resistance, and storage ability specifically for your climate or gardening style. Do you tend to let weeds run a little wild in your garden? No shame in that! Especially if one butternut plant performs especially well with a little neglect. Save those seeds. Noticing things about your garden, crops, and patterns makes you a better gardener. Working with open-pollinated seeds will help guide you there. 

Are Open-Pollinated Seeds Better?

When we ask this question we are almost always asking if open-pollinated seeds are better than their counterpart, hybrid seeds. There is great debate among growers, home gardeners, and seed producers over the various merits and drawbacks of both hybrid and open pollinated seeds. The truth is, this question can really only be answered by you, taking into consideration your specific needs, preferences, and growing style. 

When trying to determine if open-pollinated seeds are better for you, take into consideration what you value in your garden production. Is it yield and uniformity? Is it self-reliance? Is it the joy of the experiment? Or is it some combination of these that could inform a garden where many types of seeds are grown? 

Open-Pollinated Seeds vs Hybrid Seeds

Understanding the true differences and pros and cons of hybrid seeds vs. open- pollinated seeds are what’s really going to help you conceptualize the roles these two types of seeds hold in the garden.  

Benefits of Open-Pollinated Seeds

Open pollinated seeds are a great option for many growers. As we identify what our values and priorities are as growers, it can help us choose what to grow, what to spend our time on, and how to make choices in the garden. These are some benefits of open-pollinated seeds to take into consideration. 

Saving Seeds

Saving seeds is a major benefit of open-pollinated varieties. Because the genetics are stable, these varieties can be saved year after year, with proper isolation where necessary. Beyond seed saving, plants that show particularly amenable traits in your specific microclimate can also be selected for, resulting in a special genetic mix that works especially well for you.

Self-Sufficiency

Because of the benefits of seed saving, open-pollinated seeds also offer the benefits of self-sufficiency. Being able to save and select for your own seed, rather than being forced into a holding pattern of purchasing the same unsavable seeds year after year, creates a food system that is in your hands every step of the way. Saving seeds is labor intensive, no doubt about it, but imagine if an entire community was growing open-pollinated seeds? And each grower was tasked with saving one variety? The community would never have to buy seeds again - putting every step of the food system in the hands of the people benefiting from it. One small step to stewarding open-pollinated seeds is one step closer to this envisioned utopia. 

Cost-Saving

Saving your own seeds ultimately saves you money. You don’t have to buy seeds every year if you’re able to replant your own! However - open-pollinated seeds also cost less than hybrid seeds. The labor required to produce hybrid seeds, as well as the exclusivity and benefits of uniformity or disease resistance, ultimately jack up the price. 

Flavor

We’ve lost a lot of genetic diversity throughout the last 100 years due to open-pollinated seeds going extinct. The only way to keep open-pollinated varieties alive is to grow them! That’s why you can trust that the flavor of open-pollinated varieties is unmatched. They have survived this long because they are beloved, delicious, and worth growing. 

Historical Significance

When you grow an open-pollinated seed, you keep a story and a history alive. This may be a subtle benefit of growing this type of seed, but it’s essential. As we learn about people that came before us, people that lived in other places, people that had different experiences, and we connect with varieties they loved, they ate, they fed their families with? It brings us all a little closer together. 

Understanding Hybrid Seeds

Hybrid seeds (today these varieties are delineated by “F1” in the name) came about in the early 1900s out of a desire to combine certain traits. If one variety was an especially early producer, and another had good disease resistance. One variety could be selected that contained both of these traits. By the 1930s, this process was especially applicable to growing corn. All of a sudden, varieties of corn hit the market that were high-yielding, pest resistant, and delicious. It became a crop that was feasible to grow on a regular basis, when it hadn’t been before. 

One of the traits that hybrid corn, and that all hybrids contain, is referred to as hybrid vigor. This phrase, introduced by Charles Darwin in the 1800s, describes the increased vitality that is exhibited in the offspring of two different plant varieties. In corn, this meant many ears to be harvested and greater success because plants were able to withstand common stressors. Hybrid vigor is touted as the main benefit of many hybrid varieties. This kind of trait is greatly beneficial in extreme climates, making it plausible to grow certain crops that typically don’t tolerate extreme drought, heat, or cold in regions where these environmental conditions can be common. That being said, let us refer back to the Southern Appalachian tomatoes that  withstand our climate’s challenges pretty well and are stable, open-pollinated varieties. These things can be selected for and may offer more long-term security than varieties that need to be re-bred each year. This is quite labor intensive, so for the average grower it means re-purchasing these seeds each year rather than saving your own climate-resilient crops. 

A major drawback of hybrid seeds is the aforementioned reliance on the seed producers. When seeds of hybrid varieties are saved, they produce a widely variable combination of genetics from the grandparent plants. While they may be interesting, they are not in any way reliable. Because of this reliance and the labor intensive process of producing hybrid seeds, hybrid varieties tend to be significantly more expensive than open-pollinated varieties. So now, not only are you purchasing seeds year after year, the seeds are also more expensive. 

Can Hybrids Be Open-Pollinated?

The answer to this common question is - kind of! Corn, as mentioned above, is easily replicated as a hybrid variety. Certain hybrid types, particularly those that are self-pollinating like beans and tomatoes, are significantly more labor intensive to produce. Some breeders would take hybrid varieties and attempt to “stabilize” them over many years. This would result in turning an unstable, hybrid variety into an open-pollinated, stable variety that could reproduce itself year after year. In fact, this is how we ended up with the Rutgers tomato, which was produced in conjunction with Campbell’s Soup for their tomato soup recipe. This previously hybrid tomato has now been stabilized and is considered and treated as an open-pollinated variety. It is still a genetic hybrid, the combination of two lines of genetics, however the genetics are stabilized, which makes it an open-pollinated variety. 

Saving Seed From Open-Pollinated Varieties

We now understand that a major benefit of growing open-pollinated seed is the opportunity to practice seed saving. Gardening is already a lot of work - how practical is it really to add a whole other step to the growing season routine? The answer is - probably a lot more practical than you think. Especially if you’re willing to take it slow and learn as you go! 

Open-pollinated seeds have stable genetics which make them a great option for seed saving when compared to hybrid seeds. A major caveat to this is if your open-pollinated seeds become cross pollinated with another variety. Have you ever grown sweet corn when your neighbor grew popcorn? You may have found that your sweet corn lacked a good flavor. Your neighbor probably experienced a popcorn that didn’t dry as effectively as they would have expected it to. These issues are a result of cross pollination. Now, corn is very easily cross pollinated due to being wind pollinated. If there is any other variety or type of corn within a few miles of your plot, they can cross. Not only that, but unlike most other vegetables, corn will cross in the first year, resulting in the wrong crop and the wrong seed. 

Now, this is a highly unique issue to come across. Lots of seeds can cross, very few others will cross in the first generation. That being said, cross pollination is a real issue when saving seeds! For instance, watermelons, which are insect pollinated, can easily cross with other watermelons. Their isolation distance is a hefty 800 feet to a half mile. However, this is often a feasible distance for gardeners who are okay with only growing one variety - especially if you know your neighbors' gardens are a little bit farther away. But even if they’re a stone’s throw away, watermelon flowers can be isolated using isolation bags and hand pollinated to ensure there’s no cross pollination. 

We recommend beginning your seed starting journey with an annual, self-pollinating crop. Beans are a great answer to this question. Beans are a dry-process seed crop and are self pollinated. This means that the seeds fully mature on the plant and the flowers are self-pollinating which means there’s very little risk of cross-pollination. To be extra careful, grow only one variety of beans in your garden while you experiment with seed saving. 

When growing beans, simply allow some pods to fully mature on the plant and turn brown, dried, and brittle. If there’s a lot of heavy rain in the forecast and your pods aren’t yet fully dried, they can be harvested and brought inside to finish drying. Protecting your beans from heavy rain will help prevent mold from spreading and ultimately threatening long-term viability. Once dried, these beans can be shelled and stored in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. 

Once you’re comfortable seed saving easy crops like beans, your seed saving can grow year after year to save squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eventually even corn! 

The History of Open-Pollinated Seeds and Today’s Relevance

Growing open-pollinated seeds is an act of care for your garden and our agrarian history. Saving just a little bit of seed at a time shows us how our agricultural story has developed over thousands of years. 

Some of the first signs of seed saving are present in China where growers appeared to have been preserving non-shattering rice. Saving seed with the non-shattering gene makes it easier to harvest and prevents excessive waste. It’s also a sign of the gene pool moving away from self reliance for the spreading of seed and moving toward relying on human stewardship. The non-shattering gene ensures the grain stays on the plant, rather than absconding naturally, thus being replanted in the ground before it can be used as a food source. The first signs of humans saving seeds is the first chapter in a story of partnership between people and their plants. 

Heirloom Preservation Movements

With the rise of industrial agriculture throughout the 20th century, fewer people needed to be growing their own food which meant fewer farmers were growing fewer varieties. There was a focus on performance rather than flavor or cultural roots of seeds. Between 1903 and 1983, the US lost 93% of its seed diversity. Globally in the same period we saw a 75% decline in seed diversity. All of this alongside the gradual extinction or endangerment of plants and animals due to climate change. 

Modern seed saving is considered a niche hobby mainly practiced by smaller farms and indigenous communities, when it used to be something everyone just did. If we have fewer seeds in our current agricultural chapter, these limited genetics are easily threatened by a changing climate. Hybrid seeds are limited in adaptability since the genetics aren’t stable and extreme weather and wildfire threatens the regions and conditions they are accustomed to growing in. In order to address food security in a changing climate, seed saving needed to re-enter the mainstream.

An organization known as Seed Savers Exchange is often credited with leading the charge on the preservation of heirloom, open-pollinated seed varieties. Since 1975, they’ve orchestrated the preservation of varieties on their farm and the exchange of seeds among gardeners nationally. A longtime partnership among indigenous communities eventually led to the 2005 inception of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance which supports the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network. This grassroots network works to build adaptive and resilient seed systems within tribal communities in the face of climate change. 

There are many organizations doing this work to preserve seed diversity, especially when it comes to connecting interested parties to track down their beloved varieties.

Community Seed Banks

Community seed banks are a great way to get connected with other like-minded seed savers or the seed-curious. You may be able to connect with a local or regional seed company to get you connected with a seed bank. But also, seed libraries are becoming more and more common all over the country, often just a part of your regular, local library system. You may also consider starting a neighborhood seed library in your community. Simply get your garden buddies together and talk to them about seed saving and open pollinated seeds! You’re sure to inspire others. 

Farmer-Led Breeding Initiatives 

New breeding initiatives are happening all the time if you know the right people to talk to. The preservation of a beloved okra known as Whidby White is the result of one of these initiatives. This variety was given to the Seed Savers exchange in the 1980’s. It had been grown in Georgia since the mid 1800s. The Utopian Seed Project determined that the variety had suffered from crossing or genetic drift of some kind that resulted in a variation of pod colors and shapes. The Utopian Seed Project with the help of Sow True Seed sponsored a community seed selection process to select the palest pods. As a result of this project, this okra now reliably produces the short, pale, deeply ridged pods that it was originally known for. Growing this seed is growing a part of Southern history! 

Another example of farmer-led breeding initiatives is the Dwarf Tomato Project, a cooperative group that works to breed new, low-maintenance, open-pollinated dwarf tomato plants. Farmers have gotten together to cross beloved heirloom tomatoes with dwarf tomatoes to create plants that are easier to manage and are lower maintenance than traditional, indeterminate tomatoes! Folks can volunteer to grow plants to select for certain traits to assist in stabilizing the genetics so these heirloom, dwarf crosses can become open-pollinated seeds for folks to love for years to come! 

How to Choose Open-Pollinated Seeds for Your Garden

Selecting open-pollinated crops for your garden is just like selecting any other seed. One of the great benefits of using open-pollinated seeds is the benefits of growing seeds that are already adapted to your region. Consider growing seeds produced by small farmers in your area. These seeds are traceable and were successful in your climate! This is not strictly necessary but especially helpful when growing crops that may not thrive where you live. 

If you are interested in saving seeds, always take the time to consider the isolation distance (found on the seed packets), the production cycle (is it an annual or biennial?), and the distinction between market maturity or seed maturity. For instance, beets are a biennial crop. They do not produce seed until the second growing season, and by this point, the roots are inedible. So by producing seed, you trade out the harvest of those plants. Alternatively, with watermelons, the market maturity and seed maturity are the same. When eating the watermelon, simply save the seeds. 

Examples of Open-Pollinated Seeds

Sow True Seed offers a wide variety of beloved open-pollinated seed varieties that you are free to grow, save, and share as you see fit. These are some of the most popular varieties we offer.

Favorite Open-Pollinated Vegetable Seeds

Lacinato Kale

The Italian darling of gourmands the world over! It’s also extremely popular with kids for its nickname: Dinosaur Kale. Dark green, deeply savoyed leaves have a great, earthy green flavor with unparalleled texture.

Sugar Baby Watermelon

The benefits are in the name. Incredibly sweet and a great size, these watermelons are also known as “icebox” melons - since they’re sized perfectly to sit in the fridge without taking up too much room! 

Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper

A beloved Italian sweet pepper that can be traced back to the southern Italian village of Ruoti. It is extremely sweet and very productive. The Nardiello family emigrated to the US with their seeds in tow and found that it also performed beautifully in Connecticut where they eventually settled. 

Favorite Open-Pollinated Flower Seeds

California Giant Zinnias

Huge five-inch blooms shine in an array of colors from pink to red to orange. Plants grow a healthy three feet tall and bloom all summer long, especially when maintained. 

Dwarf Jewel Nasturtium

Some of our favorite edible flowers are these nasturtiums which bloom in colors from yellow to orange to red. The peppery flavor of the leaves and flowers are delicious in salads or as a stunning garnish to any savory dish. 

Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflowers

MAMMOTH is the word for these truly towering sunflowers. Six to 12 foot stalks have big yellow-petaled flowers and are often grown for their abundance of meaty, edible seeds that are beloved by both people and birds. 

Favorite Open-Pollinated Herb Seeds

Greek Oregano

No kitchen garden is complete without oregano! Aromatic, delicious leaves are known for their culinary applications as well as a wide range of medicinal uses. 

Italian Giant Parsley

How is it that a garden needs both flat leaf and curly parsley? Well, it does. And this is the perfect variety for all your flat-leaf Italian parsley needs. This cool season herb is moderately frost tolerant and is a great addition to poultry dishes or as a garnish. 

Genovese Basil

The most aromatic variety of basil we carry, this crop has gorgeous, large green leaves on two foot tall plants. Very easy to grow and delightful to cook with! 

Open-Pollinated Seeds FAQ 

What does “open-pollinated” mean?

Open-pollinated seeds are stable, non-hybrid varieties of plants that result from pollination between the same or genetically similar parents. The stability of the genetics of open-pollinated seeds means that seeds can be saved year after year resulting in the same crop, barring any cross pollination or genetic drift.

Are open-pollinated seeds better for beginners?

It depends on your priorities! Some hybrid seeds may offer better disease resistance or yield but plenty of open-pollinated seeds are easy to grow and can make you a better gardener! 

Can you save seeds from all open-pollinated plants?

In theory, yes! Some open-pollinated seed varieties are patented, which means folks can get into legal trouble if the seeds are saved or distributed without approval. When shopping or looking for open-pollinated seeds, look to purchase from Open Sourced Seed Initiative (OSSI) pledged seed companies. Sow True Seed is an OSSI pledged company. This means we only sell seeds that are in the public domain and are legal to save and share freely. 

Do open-pollinated seeds produce the same plant every year?

If plants are not crossed with other varieties of the same species, and you save the seed, the plants the following year will exhibit the same genetics as the parents! 

How are open-pollinated seeds different from hybrid seeds?

Open-pollinated seeds have stable genetics that will reproduce year after year with proper care. Hybrid seeds will only produce the expected traits in the first year, latter generations becoming unpredictable. 

Are heirloom seeds always open-pollinated?

Heirloom seeds are always open-pollinated but open-pollinated seeds are not always heirloom. This is because hybrid seeds were not established until the mid 20th century. All heirloom seeds predate World War II. There are, however, varieties of open-pollinated seeds that have been stabilized post World War II, rendering them open-pollinated, but not heirloom. 

Do open-pollinated seeds work well for organic gardening?

Both open-pollinated seeds and hybrid seeds can be used for organic gardening. 

Are open-pollinated seeds less productive than hybrids?

Open-pollinated seeds can be less productive than hybrid seeds due to the lack of “hybrid vigor.” But this trait is only significant in certain species. So, depending on what you’re growing, you may see a difference or you may not! 

How do you prevent cross-pollination when saving seeds?

Cross-pollination can be avoided by paying attention to isolation distances and/or using isolation bags. 

Why do gardeners prefer open-pollinated seeds for biodiversity?

Open-pollinated seeds have stable genetics that can be preserved, contributing to long-term biodiversity, through seed saving. The traits of hybrid seeds become lost and randomized after the first generation.  

And there you have it! Understanding open-pollinated seeds and the role they play in the garden can help you address what you and your garden need and how to utilize these special seeds the best way you can! Browse over 500 varieties of open-pollinated seeds at Sow True Seed. We are 100% employee-owned and committed to your success in the garden. We can’t wait to see what you grow!

	Article Written by: Hannah Gibbons
	About the Author: Hannah Gibbons, an employee and owner at Sow True Seed since 2020, has a decade of experience in the agricultural industry. Their passion for environmental education and regenerative agriculture has been the cornerstone of their work, aimed at making gardening accessible to all.