Interpreting seed and plant descriptions
It’s January! You know what that means? Many gardeners are starting to pore through seed catalogues. Nurseries haven’t started to get much in stock but ‘tis the season for planning so for this month lets dive into some definitions that you may or may not be familiar with when looking at seeds and plants.
Seed packets and plant tags can hold a wealth of information that can guide a gardener to success. While many of these apply to food and ornamental types this article will focus in on food crops. A big point to know before starting down our definitions pathway is that companies are not going to tell you what a plant does not do well, you can read “between the lines” and if you see disease resistance promoted on a lot of varieties but not on another you could look out for disease on that crop.
Can't wait to get started? Also check out our companion blog post "All You Need to Start from Seed."
Guest Contributor: Cassey Anderson, Horticulture Agent, Colorado State University Extension
The basics
Plant Type/Variety
It’s important to know what you’re planting. So you may be looking at planting some winter squash for your garden, but did you know that there are some varieties that do better in different environments than others? When considering winter squash there are three main species: Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata. Typically, moschata type squash (butternut, pumpkins) are the easiest to grow and the most heat tolerant, pepo types (acorn, delicata, zucchini) are slightly more challenging and maxima (hubbard, kabocha, giant pumpkins) are prone to pests that can make them difficult to grow successfully. By knowing the plant type and the variety you’re working with you can read through the label to see if any particular care need happen for the best success.
Seed quantity (either in number or weight)
The home gardener may use fewer seeds than are often included in seed packets so it can be worth checking the package label to determine whether you have enough for your needs or if you should seek out a package with fewer seeds. Larger seeds may be counted by quantity whereas small seeds such as lettuce may be counted by weight. When ordering online through reputable seed sellers you may see several seed quantity options whereas in store you may only have one choice.
Mature Size
This is important when you have constraints on size in your garden space AND when planning your garden (See Planning your Garden). Plants that are grown with sufficient space will yield better and be less susceptible to disease than those that are squeezed together to “increase productivity”. In fact, when beans are planted too densely you may see a substantial reduction in yield. You may also see on this area of the description whether the plant needs support such as trellising, caging etc. for best success.
The squash above has a small mature size suitable for containers. The squash below has a sprawling habit that requires space.
Days to maturity
Days to maturity can have several different meanings. Typically the days to maturity are counted starting at germination, it does not include germination time. So when considering a seed such as a pepper you may have 2-3 weeks of lead time prior to germination which could make your garden calculations more challenging if you don’t add them into the days to maturity calculation.
High Yield
Many seeds or plants may promote themselves as high yield. What does this mean? It can either mean that that type of plant typically produces a large amount of product OR it can mean that this particular cultivar has been developed to produce more than typical for the type of plant. Experience and time will likely help you determine which is which. I’ll share an example of when I tried a new crop type, a mini hubbard squash, and I did not realize that even though the squash had been bred to produce smaller squash (more manageable for a small household), the plant still produced the same number of squash per plant, about 2-3 tiny squash over the whole vine. A comparable sized butternut or delicata vine would have yielded 8-12 fruits. Since hubbards typically produce just a few very large fruit per plant, the smaller cultivar produced the same. It can be good to read up on yield. If you want some heavy hitter plants for high yield you can seek out plants such as cherry tomato, zucchini, pole beans, cucumber, leafy greens etc.
Cherry tomato above is a high yield option, whereas you get larger but fewer fruit from the tomato below.
Early
Plants can be bred for time to harvest. One of the places we see this promoted a lot is with peppers and tomatoes, crops that gardeners are often impatient for. Early Girl tomato is a great example of a typical slicer tomato that grows a little more rapidly than comparable sized counterparts. Comparing days to maturity (above) is another way to determine.
Disease resistant
Seed breeders have spent countless hours and energy on developing plants that are more resistant to disease issues. There are far too many diseases to get into an in-depth assessment of what to look for – but be aware that most common vegetable varieties are prone to some type of disease and it is likely that there are naturally bred and hybridized varieties developed and on the market for most vegetable types including tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, cucumber, squash, carrots, onions, peas and many more. Your local Extension office can help if you have been battling specific disease pressures in your own garden.
Some cucurbits (pumpkin, melon, cucumber, squash) can have higher resistance to diseases such as powdery mildew.
Hybrid
You may see plants called hybrid, F1, F2. What does this actually mean? Essentially, breeders have taken two parent plants that have different characteristics, whether this be yield, disease resistance, earlier maturity etc. F1 hybrids are the first generation of hybridization, F2 are the second generation. Hybrid plants must be bred from the breeder, if you save seed they will not grow true to type. This lesson came home to me when I got a cherry brandywine tomato one year, I didn’t realize it was a hybrid and eagerly saved seed. Alas, it was a hybrid and so the seed I saved did not successfully grow out the same tasty fruit and were not all that good.
Open Pollinated
Open pollinated plants will breed true(ish) to type. If you save seed in your microclimate for decades you likely will develop a plant that resembles the original plant but may have some slight differences. Open pollinated plants can be pollinated by natural means to produce their fruit (wind, insects, birds etc.)
Heirloom
A step further along is the heirloom seed. Heirloom crops are always open-pollinated but also have the requirement of having been in production for a long time, some people say they must have been in cultivation for over 50 years. Do know that heirloom varieties likely will not have as much climate or disease resistance as their hybrid counterparts so if you have disease pressure in your garden you may need to select other options. Brandywine tomatoes, for example, are a fan favorite for heirloom flavor and size, but they are very susceptible to fusarium and verticillium wilt amongst other disease pressures.
Heirloom bean variety Dragon’s tongue
GMO free
This is one you may see a lot, but it is good to be aware that there are very, very few seeds available to the home gardener that are genetically modified (mostly a GMO tomato variety that has been bred to have increased nutrition and be truly purple). So, if a company is touting that they sell only GMO free seeds that’s great, but most of the seed companies that you can buy from sell GMO-free seeds.
Go ahead and see if you can identify some or all these elements on your own seed packets! If you have additional questions about what you see on a seed packet or a plant label you can be sure to reach out to your local Extension office. In the meantime, happy planning!
As always, reach out to your local Extension office for further information if you have any questions.
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