The time has come to start ordering and sowing the seeds of 2026. For many readers planting their farms or gardens the choices come down to organic or conventional, open pollinated or hybrid, and finally local or international.
Seeds are the most important investment a grower makes annually. Cheap seed with low vigor or germination will ruin a crop plan. Purchasing the best seed is the first step in guaranteeing a bountiful harvest. These annual investments reflect our values as growers. Each person has their own set of growing conditions, strategies, and metrics of success as diverse as the seed offerings available.
As I choose my crops for the season I find myself conflicted, caught between an inherited moral dilemma and the lived experience of a latter half “young farmer”.
Since I am not certified organic I am not solely focused on the growing conditions of the seeds I grow. Generally, I purchase organic simply because this means more acres kept away from an increasing onslaught of pesticides. There is a palpable trickledown effect from using organic seeds and for a small upcharge I can feel better about the farms supporting my production.
The open pollinated and hybrid discussion is where things get more nuanced. The main difference between the two is open pollinated crops come from consistent selection in mass populations over time. The seeds saved from an open pollinated crop will produce “true to type” offspring allowing the grower to reproduce their own seed stock. These seeds are generally cheaper to produce because they require no manual labor to cross pollinate.
Hybrids take a different approach by crossing specific lines of plants for specific offspring outcomes. Trials and time have allowed growers to develop proprietary lines of parent crops that yield vigorous and consistent offspring. Seeds saved from hybrids will reflect these parent lines and produce a wide variety of offspring.
For years I have been a vociferous advocate of open pollinated lines, especially those grown locally. This past season I grew a large round of heirloom, regionally adapted, tomatoes in one of our high tunnels. While I had some disease pressure in 2024, I figured that was likely a soil borne issue and switching to new ground would positively impact the outcome.
The same disease pressure returned, this time on a larger scale, decimating our main season tomato crop. When we should have been harvesting hundreds of pounds per week, we barely harvested one hundred pounds all season. Complete bonk.
Now back to the original tunnel. This time it was planted with hybrid seeds after doing light soil remediation. We consistently harvested ample amounts of tomatoes, seeing little disease pressure. Besides a few hornworms, this crop was an absolute knock out.
These hybrid tomatoes are bred for disease resistance and greenhouse performance. The production of last year clearly demonstrated the efforts of breeders paying off in terms of production and paying our bills.
As a commercial grower, I value supporting other local businesses and farms. I also require yields that allow us to make payroll and put food in the fridge.
For a gardener this is less of a concern. No matter what tomato you plant, at some point you will be overwhelmed with more abundance than you can comfortably handle. This lends a strong case towards an open pollinated crop full of heirloom flavor and unique appeal only found outside grocery stores.
As it pains me to realize, say, and act on, our farm will be trying more hybrid varieties this season. Not only for the yields, but more consistent products that will allow our staff clear parameters to harvest within. Our open pollinated butternut squash yielded fruits ranging from 1-8 pounds making the harvest and sorting a mental game.
This decision will inevitably push us outside of our region and into international waters in sourcing our seeds. While I still will evangelize the role of regionally adapted crops in agriculture, I am consciously putting more money into seeds produced outside the traditional routes.
Speaking of money as well, just a quick comparison. To plant my entire greenhouse complex with heirloom seeds would cost around $60. This year I plan to spend over $1,000 on hybrid greenhouse bred tomato seed. Given the projected yields, that initial cost will be covered in the first week of the main crop’s harvest and continue to yield for several months.
For the gardener who is growing outside, regional adaptation makes sense. You want a crop that will produce in your area and varieties with a proven track record. As a gardener you can choose varieties that might yield less but produce a more delicious and sensual fruit.
As someone growing controlled environments, my need for regional specificity is waning. Instead, I am more interested in if the crop is bred for greenhouse growing because a greenhouse in Colorado will be similar to a greenhouse anywhere in the world. Some sacrifice in flavor is inevitable, but we will still knock the socks off any product found on a grocery store shelf.
Do our values shape the way we interact with the world or does the world shape our values? As I write this, I feel more shaped, responding to the necessity to produce a profitable crop at a price I can market. The growing practices remain of high quality, but the seeds we are sowing are changing.
