Yorkshire Kitchen Garden

My recent post about growing an indoor herb garden attracted a great comment about using organic seeds. I thought I would take this opportunity to explain why this is a good idea.

Before I begin, please let me make it clear, I am not against the use of non-organic seeds. If that is what you choose to use, then so be it. It's not up to me to tell you what you should put in your garden. We all have choices, and I believe it is important to respect the choices other people make. In addition, the following comments are only my personal opinions.

Why Use Organic Seeds?

There are a few reasons why I would choose to use organic seeds. The first is that I tend to grow species which are native to my area. This means organic seeds do indeed produce better plants because they are growing in their ideal condition.. Even, when I grow plants which come from other parts of the world, they are well established species, and the seeds have been developed over many decades which means they have evolved into plants which grow well in my climate. Therefore, they need little in the way of extra help. After all, if something grew perfectly well in a Victorian garden, it really doesn't need assistance to help it grow in a 21st century one.

The next reason is a little more controversial. The problem with non-organic seeds is that a growing number have been genetically modified, which has rendered them infertile. This means that you won't be able to save seed from them to use the following year because they won't produce any. This practice is good for seed producers because they can 'copyright' their product. In other words, you will have to buy new seed each time you wish to grow a particular plant. Now, I don't know about you but I find this a rather sad indication of the world we live in. For generations gardeners have traded seeds, cuttings and so on. And also used their existing plants to create new varieties. With increasing reliance on genetic modification this tradition will come to an end. I personally think this would be a tragedy.

It is true, that not all non-organic seed is infertile, but there does seem to be an ever increasing amount which is GM and which is unable to reproduce itself.. Furthermore, the necessity for these modifications are not always as black and white as they are claimed to be. Producers will say that making these alterations results in stronger, healthier seed. However, if gardeners used varieties which were native to their part of the world, or which were heirloom/heritage varieties, these modifications would not be necessary because they would have plants which were perfectly adapted to their environment.

There is a longer term danger. Just suppose that one day, all plants are grown from GM seed. Imagine the effect this could have on our environment. Species would be unable to cross pollinate, leading to a decline in plant life, and also insect and animal species which rely on those plants for food. Your garden may seem as though it just your personal bit of green space, but trust me it is more than that. To an endless number of creatures it is both home and a jolly good restaurant. Remove that food supply and you remove an important part of the food chain. The logical conclusion would be a very barren world indeed.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, these comments are only my personal opinions, but they are shared by a growing number of people. As a gardener you can do your bit to preserve our natural heritage, by choosing organic seed, and gardening organically. Try to grow local varieties, or if they are not available choose heirloom or heritage seeds and plants. These are traditional varieties which have proved themselves through decades of use in normal gardens. To paraphrase an Irish saying, we don’t own the earth, we are just keeping it safe for future generations. Organic seeds may be small, but they are a big part of this.

Further Reading:

Garden Organic
The Organic Gardening Catalogue