Understanding Seeds for Survival

Will you know how to regrow and restock your food supply to survive? The secret is seeds.

Terms to Know

It’s important to buy the right seeds for survival, so learn these terms to better understand the world of seeds:

Organic This term does not apply just to seeds, but rather to plants as a whole. It describes how a plant is grown and treated, however states have a wide variety of requirements for what it means to be labeled as organic. Basically, you should understand that organic seeds have limited amounts of chemicals used on them.

GMO These seeds contain genes from something outside of the original genetic line. With seeds, the genes typically come from fish, another plant or algae. Contrary to popular belief, GMO plants are capable of growing and breeding successfully. GMO variants don’t appear for most crops, however they are common among corn, squash, beets, wheat, soybeans and oil cotton, to name a few.

Heirloom This term, also called heritage crops, represent a very old crop, although the age differs greatly. Some could be only 50 years old, while others could go back centuries.

Hybrids Hybrid seeds are the result of deliberate or unintentional cross pollination between two plants. Typically, these seeds can be found already tailored to fit certain growing conditions. However, it is risky to invest in only hybrid seeds when it comes to growing food, since there’s no way to tell how the two plants will interact and what will be created.

Which type is best?

Every situation is different, so it’s impossible to determine which seed type is better than the rest. You have to understand your situation and what kind of plant you’re looking for before you can pick out the right kind of seed.