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Gardening: When purchasing seeds look for growing information

Seed catalogues, print or online try to put as much information on the pages as possible in a very small space. Understanding some of the vocabulary and technical acronyms can be confusing especially with new gardeners.
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Seed catalogues, print or online try to put as much information on the pages as possible in a very small space. Understanding some of the vocabulary and technical acronyms can be confusing especially with new gardeners.

Open pollination refers to plants that have been pollinated by wind, rain or insects. Companies that sell seeds, plant large fields of the same plant increasing the chance that the seed will be similar to the parent plant.

Hybridized plants are ones that have been purposely crossed with other cultivars to produce a larger or healthier plant. Seed saved from a hybridized plant is unlikely to produce the same quality plant as the parent.

F1, first generation, is the first stage of hybridization where two distinct varieties were crossed to produce a new plant. Plants and produce from F1 seed are very uniform.

F2, second generation, is where plants grown from seeds of the F1 pollinate each other. F2 plants usually are stronger plants with better traits than F1 hybrids.

Corn has its own acronyms, (su) (se) and (sh2), to describe different varieties and levels of sweetness. (su) refers to the average sugar in sweet corn. Once ripe, the sugar in the kernels converts to starch within a few days. (se) and (se+) are sweeter corn varieties than (su) and are slower to become starchy. (sh2) contains the most sugar and takes much longer to taste starchy. The sweeter the corn, the later the seed is planted as it does not do well in cold soil.

(__ days) refers to how long an average plant, given average weather, will take to reach maturity from germination. Most seeds will not germinate if the soil is too cold or dry.

Catalogues either list the weight or amount of seed in each container. Not all in-store packages will carry this information. Often the less a package of seed costs the fewer seeds they contain.

How many seeds are needed is dependent on the area to be planted. With the exception of parsnips and onions, ordering extra is not a problem as seeds are viable for a number of years.

Organic seeds mean that the seeds were produced and packaged following the Canadian Food Inspection Rules and Regulations.

Heritage and or heirloom seeds have never been part of a commercial breeding program. Read the descriptions carefully to ensure they will thrive in the local climate.

The cost of shipping adds to the overall cost of the seeds. The cost will vary between companies and should be factored into the cost of the seed.

When purchasing seeds look for growing information. Germination requirements can differ between varieties. If germination and growing conditions cannot be met, there is little chance that the crop will be successful.

The length of the growing season is important in central Alberta. Days are long but the number of frost free days can be short. Know what plants need to be started indoors and will benefit from covers and tunnels.

Linda Tomlinson has gardened in Central Alberta for over 30 years. She can be reached at your_garden@hotmail.com.