Avoiding GMO Seeds & Finding Organic Seeds

A few days ago, a local gardener came to me with questions: "How do I avoid GMO seeds? Are all seeds organic? Do I have to buy seed potatoes or can I just use grocery store potatoes? I'm so confused!" These are all great questions - so let's take them one by one.

How Do I Avoid GMO Seeds?

Currently, GMO (genetically modified) seeds are not sold directly to home gardeners.  So the packets of seeds you see everywhere at this time of year are all GMO-free. (Farmer's who wish to grow GMO crops must purchase them in bulk from special outlets.)

EDIT 2/14/24: I'm sorry to say that there is now one tomato being sold to home gardeners that is GMO. It is called The Purple Tomato and was developed by (and is currently only sold by) Norfolk Healthy Produce. Although this tomato might seem tame compared to some GMO crops, it still unnaturally combines Snapdragon flower DNA with tomato DNA. In nature, this could never happen. The big concern here is that if The Purple Tomato pollen mixes with a traditional tomato's pollen (which can happen via the wind, insects, or other pollinators), it could cross-pollinate and create a whole new plant that would no longer give "pure" seed.

However, if you are growing wheat or corn, you may wish to take some extra precautions; there's evidence that farmer-grown GMO wheat and corn have cross-pollinated (mated with) non-GMO varieties.

GMO wheat has mysteriously been found growing in Oregon. GMO wheat has not been approved by the government and should only be growing in labs - but if it's growing in Oregon, it's likely it's growing elsewhere, too.

As for corn, Jere Gettle, founder of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, claims that "over fifty percent of the heirloom corn varieties we have tested appear to be contaminated with GMO crops." I have not seen anyone else make a similar claim, but I'm also not aware of any other seed source that tests its seed for GMO contamination. Baker Creek makes it a point to only sell corn seed that has tested GMO-free.

So if avoiding GMOs is important to you, buy your corn and wheat seed from Baker Creek. Personally, I also wouldn't save my own corn seed, since it could easily cross-pollinate with a farmer's GMO seed, even if its growing miles away.

In addition, Monsanto, the giant corporation that's created most GMO seed, has bought up many seed sources and is patenting the names of many heirloom varieties. If you wish to avoid lining their pockets, you'll want to buy your seed elsewhere. Here's a list of a few companies not affiliated with Monsanto.







Are All Seeds Organic?

No. Most seed is grown on plants that are sprayed with chemicals. How much of that chemical enters the seed, we don't really know. How much the chemicals in the seed transfer to our soil, or to the vegetable or fruit the seed produces, we don't know - although the amounts must be very, very tiny.

That said, for those who are hard-core organic, organically grown seed is available. Bear in mind, they, too, have likely been sprayed with chemicals - it's just that those chemicals are made from natural ingredients (which is not the same as saying they aren't harmful to humans). One good source of organic seed is Territorial Seed Company. (Not all of their seed is organic, so be sure to pay attention to whether or not Territorial gives it that label.)


Do I Have to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Use Grocery Store Potatoes? 

You can grow potatoes from grocery store potatoes - but it's not a good idea. Grocery store potatoes are one of the foods most laden with pesticides. And both conventionally grown and organic grocery store potatoes are sprayed with chemical inhibitors that delay or prevent stems from popping up and creating a healthy new plant. Conventionally grown grocery store potatoes are sprayed with synthetic or natural inhibitors, and organic potatoes are sprayed with natural (but again, not necessarily unharmful) inhibitors.

So if you plant grocery store potatoes, they are going to grow more slowly and not be as prolific as if you'd planted seed potatoes, meant for growing in the garden.

Seed potatoes, by the way, aren't seeds. They are small potatoes with lots of eyes on them. (Potato eyes are the bumps or divits where stems eventually sprout.) Unless the seed potatoes you buy are marked "organic," they are grown conventionally, with synthetic chemicals.


Do you have more questions about seeds? Email me! Or, read "How to Buy Vegetable Seeds" and my free ebook Starting Seeds.


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