Why choose open-pollinated seeds rather than hybrids?

If you have ever browsed a seed catalogue, you have surely seen two main categories: open-pollinated seeds and hybrid (F1) seeds .
And then comes the perfectly normal question: "What's the difference... and does it really change anything in my garden?"

Short answer: yes .
A slightly longer (and much more interesting) answer: we explain it to you simply, from our perspective as seed artisans.

Two seed families, two philosophies

Open-pollinated (PL) seeds

These are varieties reproduced naturally (by wind, insects, self-pollination, etc.) over generations .

• They are stable : if you harvest the seeds from your plants and sow them again, you get the same type of plant , with similar characteristics.

• They carry a living genetic diversity : they gradually adapt to your soil, your climate and your practices.

👉 In summary: these are varieties that can be kept alive and developed over time.

Hybrid seeds (F1)

F1 hybrids are the result of a controlled cross between two parental lines selected to produce a plant with very precise characteristics (uniformity, yield, size, etc.).

• First generation (F1) : often very vigorous and uniform.

• Second generation (F2) : if you harvest the seeds of a hybrid and sow them again, you get a lot of variability : different plants, sometimes less productive, sometimes disappointing.

👉 In short: hybrids are made to be bought back every year .

Why open-pollinated seeds are (often) a better choice

Hybrids can be useful in certain contexts, but for a living, self-sufficient and sustainable garden, PL seeds have major advantages.

1) You can harvest your own seeds

It's a simple gesture, but very powerful.

• You gain autonomy

• You save

• You are contributing to the continuity of life

And there's something genuinely satisfying about telling yourself:
"These tomatoes came from seeds I saved from last year."

2) They preserve diversity in our gardens

Biodiversity is not just a nice idea: it is a real guarantee for the future of our food.

PL varieties:

• offer a natural variability

• allow for gradual adaptation to stresses (drought, diseases, difficult soils…)

• avoid the standardization of crops

The more genetically diverse a variety is, the more resilient it is in a rapidly changing world.

3) They adapt to your local environment

A garden is not a factory.
Your soil, your weather, your way of watering or mulching… all of this makes your garden unique.

PL seeds can:

• adapt to your local conditions

• gradually become "your" varieties

• perform better at home after a few years of in-house selection

4) They protect collective know-how

Open-pollinated varieties are the result of generations of gardeners and seed producers who have observed, selected and adapted.

Choosing open pollination also means:

• supporting seed heritage

• keep varieties accessible to all

• encourage a human-scale selection process, rooted in the local area

Why, in this world, do we only produce (and sell) PL?

Our business is seeds.
And we made a clear choice: to work only with open-pollinated varieties.

Why? Because it corresponds to what we want to nurture:

• living gardens

• autonomy for all

• real biodiversity

• a fertile future

We select our varieties so that they are:

• adapted to our climates

• robust

• tasty

• and capable of transmitting

Every PL seed we produce is a small promise:
You can cultivate it, love it, harvest it, and sow it again next year.

In summary

If you would like a garden:

• more autonomous,

• more resilient,

• richer in biodiversity,

• and aligned with an ecological approach…

👉 Open-pollinated seeds are a natural choice.

And if you want carefully selected seeds, produced by local seed artisans, you know where to find us. 🌱