Do My Seeds Must Be Natural? No, and Right here’s Why – Tiny Backyard Behavior

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One of many issues that I sit up for essentially the most originally of the gardening season is buying seeds. There are at all times so many to select from and I at all times attempt to develop one thing that I’ve by no means grown earlier than as a enjoyable experiment. 

However, in case you’re something like me after I first began gardening, you’ve most likely questioned in case your seeds needs to be natural. Nicely right here’s the reply: 

Your seeds don’t have to be natural to develop wholesome, lovely, and scrumptious produce. Natural seeds don’t produce more healthy meals than non-organic seeds and lots of seed corporations nonetheless use natural practices regardless of not being licensed natural.

The phrase “natural” generally is a loaded time period however I’ll go over precisely what it means and what makes natural seeds completely different from non-organic seeds. I’ll additionally offer you some suggestions for good seed corporations to buy from in case you’re undecided the place to begin. 

What does natural imply?

There are lots of completely different definitions and understandings of the phrase “natural” floating round within the food-growing world. 

These days, many gardeners are utilizing natural practices of their gardens and try to buy seeds and plant begins which are licensed natural as a method to make sure that their produce is wholesome for individuals and the setting.

However what does it imply to be licensed natural? Right here is the outline of licensed natural meals as listed on the USDA web site,

“USDA licensed natural meals are grown and processed in line with federal pointers addressing, amongst many components, soil high quality, animal elevating practices, pest and weed management, and use of components. Natural producers depend on pure substances and bodily, mechanical, or biologically primarily based farming strategies to the fullest extent potential.”

This definition definitely leaves rather a lot open for interpretation. To place it merely, a producer should comply with a strict set of pointers put in place by the USDA and undergo routine inspections to acquire their natural certification. With out this certification, producers can’t label their merchandise as “natural”. This contains seed producers.

The right way to know in case your seeds are natural

For a seed firm to promote licensed natural seeds, the seed needed to have been saved from a plant that was grown utilizing the licensed natural pointers set in place by the USDA. 

Many individuals consider that if a product is natural, then no chemical pesticides and fertilizers have been utilized in its manufacturing. That is truly not true. Federal pointers don’t enable the usage of artificial pesticides or fertilizers however do enable the usage of natural pesticides or fertilizers. 

To know in case your seeds are licensed natural or not, check out the seed packet and search for the “USDA Natural” label. When you order your seeds on-line or from a catalog, natural seeds can have the letters “OG” listed subsequent to them. 

With out these labels, your seeds should not technically licensed natural. However that’s not essentially a foul factor.

Are you able to develop natural greens from non-organic seeds?

You’ll be able to nonetheless develop wholesome, scrumptious, and natural produce from non-organic seeds. As dwelling gardeners, we aren’t actually apprehensive about whether or not or not our greens meet federal pointers as a result of we’re solely rising for ourselves. 

You’ll be able to nonetheless use natural practices in your backyard like composting, crop rotation, no-tilling, and no-spraying as a strategy to create a thriving backyard ecosystem and develop wholesome produce. We even have an article about the perfect natural pest management strategies that it is best to try. 

Non-organic seeds should not dangerous to individuals and may positively be utilized in your natural backyard.

Are heirloom seeds natural?

Some heirloom seeds are natural and a few heirloom seeds should not natural. All of it goes again to checking your labels. Individuals usually assume that the time period heirloom robotically equals natural as a result of heirloom is considerably of a buzzword within the natural food-growing world. 

However, the time period natural has extra to do with the rising circumstances of a plant than the plant itself. Heirloom seeds could be grown with or with out utilizing natural practices. 

Are hybrid seeds natural?

Just like heirloom seeds, hybrid seeds could be natural and non-organic. Simply be certain to test your labels. Many individuals might imagine that every one hybrid seeds are non-organic because of the course of through which they have been produced. 

However, hybridization is one thing that may happen in nature. Seed corporations will usually create hybrid seed varieties inside a closed greenhouse to forestall cross-pollination from undesired crops and to assist pace up the hybridization course of. 

This doesn’t imply that hybrid seeds have had any form of artificial chemical inputs added to them. You’ll be able to try this text to study extra about hybrid seeds. 

Are natural seeds non-GMO?

Any seeds you purchase from backyard seed corporations are assured to be non-GMO as a result of GMO seeds are solely accessible to business producers. Within the U.S. solely a handful of crops are literally GMO. 

Some widespread GMO crops embrace corn, soybean, alfalfa, and potatoes simply to call just a few. No large-scale seed firm would promote GMO seeds to a house gardener as a result of it’s simply not worthwhile for the seed firm.

I simply wrote an article all about GMO seeds so in case you’re in search of extra info on that, you’ll be able to test it out right here. 

The place to get natural seeds

There are many nice seed corporations on the market that supply a number of natural seed choices. Listed here are a few of my private favorites:

• Excessive Mowing Natural Seeds– Primarily based out of Vermont, this seed firm supplies solely natural seeds and is one which I’ve at all times had nice success with when planted in my backyard.
• Johnny’s Chosen Seed– Johnny’s is a bigger firm that gives natural and non-organic seeds for just about any crop you would ever wish to develop. 
• Sow True Seeds– That is considered one of my favourite seed corporations as a result of a part of their work is to encourage individuals to save lots of their seeds. They’ve a number of nice natural choices.
• Fedco Seeds– Fedco provides each natural and non-organic seed choices and offers nice reductions for bulk seed orders. 
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds– Though Baker Creek doesn’t supply licensed natural seeds, their seeds have been grown utilizing natural practices and would match properly into any natural backyard.

Right here’s an article with much more seed corporations to purchase from, together with corporations outdoors of the U.S.

Take into account that natural seeds are usually costlier than their non-organic counterparts due to the labor concerned in producing them. 

Naturally grown as an alternative choice to natural

Right here within the U.S., a brand new producer certification program has come available on the market known as “Licensed Naturally Grown”. This program is completely different from the natural certification program in that it’s extra supportive of small native producers. 

The naturally grown certification charges are considerably lower than the natural certification charges making them extra reasonably priced for smaller-scale producers. There’s additionally much less paperwork and the farm inspections are carried about by different farmers. 

To me, it’s vital to say that whereas I’m an enormous fan of the mission behind the licensed naturally grown program and I feel it’s a terrific different to the natural certification, slapping any type of certification label on a product doesn’t robotically make it sustainable. 

It’s as much as us as customers to ask questions and ensure we’re wanting into the rising practices of the producers we buy merchandise from. Particularly relating to seed corporations. 

In Abstract

To sum all the pieces up, no, you don’t want to make use of natural seeds in your backyard until it’s one thing that’s vital to you. Non-organic seeds will produce greens which are simply as wholesome and scrumptious as natural seeds.

However on the finish of the day, there’s nothing flawed with desirous to develop organically and in reality, I encourage it! Simply do not forget that not each seed, plant begin, or additive you employ has to have the licensed natural label connected to it. 

There are many methods to develop a wholesome backyard with out falling into the entice of natural advertising. Your backyard needs to be tended to with practices that continually work to construct up the well being of your backyard. It needs to be a regenerative system. At all times keep in mind to work with the land and never towards it. 

Sources

“Natural 101: What the USDA Natural Label Means” U.S. Division of Agriculture https://www.usda.gov/media/weblog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means Accessed October 6, 2022.