▷ Organic seeds: are they worth paying more for?

Spring is approaching, hands are already reaching for seed packs in the store. However, you want to grow healthy food organic seeds more expensive than others. Let’s examine why they differ in price and whether it is worth buying organic seeds for your garden.

There is a short video about it with the main topics and below is a more detailed article with further important details.

HOW ORGANIC SEEDS ARE GROWN

Let’s start with the conditions in which organic seeds are grown. They differ from the usual ones because they do not use synthetic fertilizers and chemical-based pesticides. Instead, plant-based preparations, mineral and organic fertilizers are used.

But organic farms face the same problems: weeds grow, pests attack, diseases spread. Do not think that plants grow as if in the wild: in general, all methods of traditional agriculture can be used in organic farming, only those permitted for organic farming are used instead of chemical means. Natural remedies are often less effective than chemical ones, so more are used: skeptics say this is not always a good thing, while chemical remedies are more effective and require less. And sometimes an organic farm simply has to look for other ways to get away with organic produce.

It is important that organic farms that supply organic seeds operate in a way that preserves nature and biodiversity. In most cases they are located further away from cities, roads and other polluting objects.

WHAT ARE ORGANIC SEEDS?

Organic seeds can only be grown on certified farms – look for a special marking on the seed packaging:

Organic seeds are marked with special signs.

Foreign parcels may have a different mark than Lithuanian ones, but you will still find a special agricultural test certificate mark.

Organic seeds are available natural colors – this means they will not be stained or otherwise chemically treated for better germination or better protection.

Organic seeds they are not genetically modified.

Organic seeds germination it is usually the same as regular seeds. The germination percentage is often written on the package. Therefore, if you buy organic seeds, it does not mean that they will germinate better or worse than conventional seeds.

Please note that we cannot call seeds grown by grandmother or seeds collected in clean fields near forests organic. No certificate, no proof of organic farming, you can’t buy it as organic seed.

Organic seeds are available more expensive for others. This is also typical, you won’t be able to do anything. Therefore you need to critically evaluate whether it is worth paying more for organic seeds. Read the topics and decide which one to follow.

WHY IT IS NOT BETTER TO BUY ORGANIC SEEDS

1. The seed receives the main information from the mother plant, which is why it is very important that it was healthy, lush, fertile. In traditional fields, biodiversity is less respected, but all the needs of a given plant are met. Therefore, conventional non-organic seeds can be expected to produce a bountiful harvest.

2. Scientists say that pesticides and other chemicals are used in land preparation and cultivation, and after use, they decompose and disappear. Only a very small fraction may remain on the plant and an even smaller trace may pass into the seed. When a plant grows from seed, those residual traces disappear completely, and even if they were transferred to new fruits, they would be so small that it is difficult to even measure them. Therefore, there is no need to fear conventionally grown non-organic seeds.

BECAUSE IT DOESN’T MATTER WHETHER THE SEEDS ARE ORGANIC OR NON-ORGANIC

1. If you want a healthy natural garden, grow it organically or following natural farming principles. If you choose organic seeds, but will use synthetic fertilizers during cultivation and spray chemicals against pests, what is the point of buying organic seeds? If you choose ordinary seeds, but grow them in a healthy natural environment, you will grow good, quality, non-polluted and fragrant vegetables.

2. Lepias varieties are difficult to grow without the use of chemicals, so you simply won’t find organic seeds of many varieties. Therefore, it is more important to pay attention not only to the brand of organic seed, but to the variety. The more resistant the plant, the easier it will be to grow healthy vegetables yourself without the use of chemicals.

3. An organic garden won’t be purely organic if you fertilize the adjacent flower garden with synthetic fertilizers, and the neighbors won’t avoid pesticides either. Although plants do not communicate directly, the plant ecosystem is a complete chain connected not only by soil, water, plants, but also by insects, worms, birds and other representatives of fauna.

4. Both conventional and organic seeds are not genetically modified (i.e. GMO-free). It is not possible to buy genetically modified seeds so easily that you can sow them in your own private garden. Therefore, there is no reason to fear that common seeds can be genetically modified.

WHY IT IS BETTER TO BUY ORGANIC SEEDS

1. Because this is how organic farms are supported. This is a very important topic, because most synthetic pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers are used by large farms, not hobbyists. Of course, they use them wisely (unlike hobbyists who often use them as they see fit), but there is still a strong draining effect on large fields. The more popular organic products are, the more we encourage large farms to farm not in a traditional way, focusing only on abundant harvests, but in an organic way, preserving biodiversity.

2. Organic seeds are definitely worth buying if you will be growing them to eat. These are the first vegetables you can grow on your windowsill. Their energy resides in the seed and often the entire shoot with root is eaten. Therefore, it is very important to choose high-quality organic seeds.

SO WHAT TO DO???

The healthiest and most natural seeds are the ones you collect yourself. You know how it grew, you see what the plant looked like, you predict what will grow from the seed you collected. Understandably you will risk how much it will germinate, how much it will maintain maternal qualities. However, if you want to get more serious about growing, don’t rule out these options.

If you want to make the world cleaner and keep nature’s cycles intact, buy organic seeds. Look at the seeds sold by grandmothers in the same philosophical way. If you want grandmas to earn an extra euro, buy seeds from them. And don’t expect them to have been grown without fertilizers to make the seeds what you expect them to be.

If you are interested in Lithuanian heritage, look for Lithuanian seeds: traditional or new varieties created by Lithuanian breeders. These seeds will not necessarily be organic, but in this way you will be able to contribute to the conservation and expansion of the Lithuanian variety fund.

As they say Ingė Auželieneteacher of the “Modern Garden and Vegetable Garden” gardening courses, in order for a plant to grow healthily it is necessary to satisfy its needs. There are different ways and different remedies, from synthetic to herbal ones. If you have already purchased organic seeds, try growing using only natural methods.