What Are Open Pollinated Seeds?

Open pollinated seeds are seeds that breed true from year to year.  In other words, you can save the seed,from this ears crop and plant it next year and it will give you the same plant, same fruit, year after year forever.  Hybrid seeds have been crossbred from at lest two parent strains.  The seeds from your hybrid plant may be one of the parent strains or any of the grandparent strains or a mixture of them.  You can't predict what you will get from seed from a hybrid, if it is viable at all. Open pollinated seeds tend to be varieties that had good qualities and so they have been saved over the years by people who valued them.  In fact, a large number of our seed varieties are heritage (old) varieties that have been preserved for their superior qualities.  I am proud to help preserve these important food strains.  I thank you for any assistance you lend us.

Organic seeds come from certified organic plants, meaning they were grown without use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  The plants used had to be non- GMO.

At Eat Healthy Foods we sell the finest selection of organically grown, open pollinated seeds that I have seen.  We have a wide selection of food plants, which have been chosen to grow in the Saskatchewan growing season, and for quality.  Our seeds have been tested over the last seven years to choose strains which perform well here and taste good. We can mail seed anywhere in North America, though restrictions apply to potatoes, garlic and onions. 

We also sell organic bedding plants from the greenhouse on the East side of the store.  We focus exclusively on food plants, with heavy emphasis on tomatoes.  In field trials over the last 5 years, i have tested over 100 varieties of tomatoes looking at yield, flavor and appearance.  Living in a short season ecosystem, speed is important, but not if it means sacrificing quality.  I have developed what i feel is a very exciting roster of cherry, roma and slicing tomatoes for your gardening enjoyment, as well as providing plants of other types for your culinary use. We have a nice selection of herbs, a great selection of tomatoes and peppers, eggplants and a variety of green things that you will enjoy immensely.

Out listing of organic bedding plants for the 2006 season will be published in January, 2006.

Organic bedding plants were started from organic seeds, raised in organic potting soil, received only organic fertilizers if any, and were not sprayed with any pesticides.  Greenhouses often have problems with bugs and resort to chemicals.  We do not resort to chemicals if such a situation arises, but control the problem using organic methods.

Some good links discussing open pollinated seeds include:

Seeds of Diversity;

Heritage Seed Program;

Seed Savers Exchange;

Heritage Wheat Project;

Heritage Seed Library.