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. 🌱
