Organic Seeds - Our Seed

Information

Our Seed

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Where does our seed come from?

We work closely with an ever expanding network of private seed producers and gardeners throughout South Africa to produce our 'locally grown' seed.

In addition to contracting with independent local growers to produce seed for us, we also purchase seed from a handful of overseas private heirloom seed breeders and family owned heirloom seed producing companies. Our overseas sources allow us to bring you one of the largest selections of high performing heirloom seed to be found in South Africa today, with unique seeds from over 70 different countries.

The varieties made available by these private individuals and companies represent an important addition to our heirloom seed collection and we will continue to source and trial more new varieties and make available to our customers those that prove themselves under local conditions.

Seed Symbols Explained

The symbols that we use on the seed product pages are designed to be fairly self-explanatory. We have tried to create a quick and easy reference for the seed properties by using the same symbols both on our website and in our printed catalog. Here's what all those symbols mean:

Bio-Org Organic Certification. One of our main local seed suppliers is Mahlathini Organics, a small, certified organic seed producer based in Kwazulu-Natal. Mahlathini Organics obtains its Bio-Org certificate through the BDOCA (Biodynamic and Organic Certification Authority).

"The BDOCA operates under the Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990 and regulates and controls sales of organic products in SA. Inspections are carried out yearly and certificates carry one year expiry dates.
All products showing the BIO-ORG symbol have been thoroughly audited and checked from end product back through to the raw material, and which includes farming methods, input controls, transport, manufacture and pack house controls, sales and packaging."

Pure & Natural - Grown organically but not certified. Not all organic seed producers are willing, or can even afford, to tackle all the red tape involved in acquiring an organic certification. Some of our seed suppliers are so small in fact, that they only specialise in and grow out one or two varieties for us every year. They are part of our growing network of home gardeners who are passionate about helping to preserve our seed heritage and assisting us in expanding the range of available seed varieties back to the same levels it was 50 or 60 years ago.

Our Pure & Natural range also covers our seeds that are sourced from our overseas suppliers who, in turn, have their own vast networks of home gardeners, market growers and small organic farmers to supply them with the seed.

Although our Pure & Natural range of seeds are not certified organic, they can certainly be used in an organic garden and many are grown by organic farmers. You can be assured that all of the seeds that you buy from us are untreated and free of pesticides, herbicides or any other chemical concoction.

Open Pollinated Seed. All of the seed that we sell is open pollinated.

Open Pollinated (OP) means that the plants are left for the bees, wind, or other source to pollinate naturally. Note that all heirloom varieties are OP but not all OP varieties can be considered heirlooms. OP seed is generally kept true to type through selection and isolation and their traits are relatively fixed.

The seeds of OP plants that are kept in isolation and are either self pollinated or pollinated by plants of the same strain/variety, will produce new generations that are (almost) identical to the parent plants. This is generally referred to as "breeding true" or "true to type".

Also note however, that if an OP variety is not kept in isolation and it is cross pollinated by a different strain or variety then any seeds that are saved from that plant and then resown could result in a plant that has traits from both parent plants.

Open-pollinated varieties are important because they allow farmers and gardeners to produce their own seed supply, and to adapt specific variety strains to their region by selecting the best plants from which to save seed each year.

We do not knowingly, nor will we ever intentionally support or sell GMO's. A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) results from the practice of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another. For example, genes from an arctic flounder which has "antifreeze" properties may be spliced into a tomato to prevent frost damage. It is impossible to guide the insertion of these new genes and this can often lead to unpredictable effects. Also, genes do not work in isolation but in highly complex relationships which are still not fully understood. Any change to the DNA at any point will affect it throughout its length in ways that scientists cannot predict. The claim by some that they can is both arrogant and untrue.

We believe that all outdoor GMO plantings should be banned outright due to the ease of them cross-pollinating, causing a serious loss of genetic diversity as well as the invariable patent infringement issues which follow.

The neccesity of using increasing quantities of potent chemical herbicides on these GMO crops has also resulted in an explosion of previously unheard of 'Superweeds', threatening the livelihood of all farmers - GMO, conventional and organic.

Heirloom Seed Variety. Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties that either pre-date or are unaltered by modern breeding work. Because most heirloom varieties precede the commercialization of agriculture, the seeds for these varieties were not originally produced by seed companies and sold to the public, but rather grown on a localized and small scale and passed along from neighbor to neighbor and handed down within families for generations. Many heirloom varieties are currently enjoying revivals as the public gains appreciation for their importance in maintaining genetic diversity, their interest appeal and their superior flavor. All heirlooms are open-pollinated, which means that properly saved seed will produce consistent off-spring from year to year.

Growing Difficulty Rating Chart. There are a few vegetable varieties that can be a little tricky to grow if you are a beginner, so we thought that it might be useful to include a rating of how difficult it is to germinate and grow each seed variety. We don't want any beginner gardeners to try kicking off their gardening efforts with the most difficult plants to grow. The difficulty rating breakdown is as follows:

Very Easy: These plants virtually grow like weeds. They are extremely hardy and require very little attention. If they are fruiting plants, or you manage to forget about them and they go to seed, they will probably pop up again all by themselves, as 'volunteers' the next season. They would probably even grow in the cracks in your driveway or between your garden path paving stones.

Easy: These plants are also more than suitable for the beginner gardener. Nothing complicated here and, barring some catastrophic event like forgetting to water them for a week or three during the middle of a heatwave in midsummer, they should do quite nicely on their own thank you very much. Just sow, mulch, water and harvest.

Average: If you are absolutely clueless about growing anything, other than mould in your refrigerator, then these plants may be more of a 'hit or miss' affair for you. Follow the basic principals of growing though (a good soil, a good mulch and enough water and light) and you should be ok. The seeds may be very small and difficult to sow evenly or the plants may be a bit more susceptible to insects and diseases but the average gardener should do quite well with them.

Tricky: A more interesting challenge for the average gardener, these plants need a bit more time and attention paid to them. They may require a slightly lower/higher soil pH, a relatively narrow temperature range for good germination results or a more diligent watering routine. These plants may also be heavy feeders and require a regular application of fertiliser, they may need some protection from the elements or they may be more prone to insects and diseases. Good care and attention will be rewarded by good harvests but a lack of attention can result in a disappointing crop or even total crop failure.

Difficult: Unless you have a good few years of growing experience under your belt, you might find yourself a tad frustrated by these plants. Time, patience and attention to detail is required to succesfully grow these plants to harvest. The experienced grower is far more in tune with the natural patterns of life going on in their garden and s/he can recognise a plants needs almost before the plant itself does. They also know that sometimes, just sometimes, 'less is more' and they know exactly when to apply that philosophy. If you have understood any of what I have said above then you might want to have a go with these plants. Even a small harvest can be a huge reward.

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