In another thread, we're discussing recommended packet sizes when we offer seeds for postage. Probably when we list them as offers, we should say "around 30 seeds" or "1/16th tsp" or "1/4 gram".
Similarly, it would be nice to list "collected from my garden in 2011" or "packed for 2013 by Hazzards".
But what should we say about cross-pollination, when we collect our own seeds? I think that a lot of ATP members sometimes care about the exact ancestry of some particular cultivar.
I think we should have some standard ways to say a variety of things.
Or maybe this is MUCH too nerdy, and it's enough to say "random pollination" or "I think it is fairly pure", or, for example in Jonna's case: "I know exactly what this is and where its pollen came from."
0. This is commercial seed straight from the packet.
1. I grow many varieties of this species close together, so it's a mix
1.3 I grow the following cultivars, and collected this seed from cultivar #1, but it may be very cross-pollinated.
1.5 I grow the following cultivars, and collected this seed from cultivar #1, but it may be a little cross-pollinated.
1.7 I grow species that cross, but they are pretty far away.
2. I don't think I'm growing anything that cross-pollinates with this, but you take your chances.
3. Anything in my yard that cross-pollinates with this bloomed at a different time
4. This is not wind-pollinated, and I use bags or row-covers and have some scheme that allows self-pollinating but not cross-pollinating.
5. I forget the exact name of this plant that's been re-seeding in my yard for years.
6. This came from a seed packet with a botanical name and cultivar name, but the colors were a "mix".
6.5 This came from a seed packet with a botanical name and cultivar name, but the colors were a "mix", but I collected this seed from only the darker RED blooms. (I have some Dianthus barbatus I saved this way: the mother was dark red, or white, or bi-color patterns, or "mixed".)
7. This F2 hybrid seed came from a seed packet with a botanical name and cultivar name, but it was an F1 hybrid when I planted it, so you will probably get much more variety, fewer "special" features, and your plants will not be very "true" to catalog descriptions. (Some people hate this and some like it.)
8.This came from a seed packet with a botanical name and cultivar name, but I only have ONE plant, so I'm not maintaining genetic diversity. One the other hand, the seed I'm offering is only one generation from the commercial seed packet.
