Heirloom; Hybrid... Let's Call the Whole Thing Off...

Every May, I plant tomatoes. My goal is to one day have a huge garden like my Dad did, but for now, I stick with tomatoes in pots since they're easy to grow, maintain, and provide fabulous fruit.

This year, I chose three different varieties that I purchased from the local big box hardware store. In late July, I brought some of my fresh, home grown tomatoes to a family function. I brought a mixture of hybrid Big Boys and an heirloom German queen variety. I was very excited about both of them, regardless of their small stature because of this year's drought. Even with watering everyday, plus fertilizer, this has been my smallest tomato crop (by actual size) in five years of growing tomatoes in planter boxes.

Despite size, I was happy to bring my bounty... until the genetically-modified organism versus hybrid versus heirloom discussion came up... three times. Every time, I felt under fire. So here's what I brought to the table. 

BASIC DEFINITIONS
Heirloom - According to the Vegetable Garden Guru, heirlooms are "a variety that is at least 40 to 50 years old, that is no longer available in the commercial seed trade, and that has been preserved and kept true in a particular region.... The classic examples are heirloom tomatoes, which often have superior flavor, color, or texture, but lack the holding ability, disease resistance, early maturity, or other characteristics that would make them commercially viable."



F1 Hybrid - According to the Vegetable Garden Guru, it "means the first filial generation made by crossing two different parent varieties, the offspring of which produce a new, uniform seed variety with specific characteristics from both parents.... For example, breeders may choose to cross two tomato varieties to make an F1 hybrid that exhibits the early maturity of one parent and a specific disease resistance of the other. The unique characteristics of an F1 hybrid are very uniform only in the first generation of seed, so seed saved from F1 plants will not come true if replanted and may exhibit many distinct types in the second generation, often reverting to various ancestral forms."

I often hear people talking about the down-side of hybrids, almost even a fear of hybrids as if they don't reproduce or you can't save the seed. This isn't 100% true. There is a definite misunderstanding of the word "hybrid". What it comes down to is understanding the difference between selective cross-pollination, open-pollination, and genetic modification.

When you realize that cross-pollination is a natural process that takes place when one plant variety's pollen is introduced to another plant variety's pollen of the same species, you begin to realize, unless you're a plant purist, that it's okay to have a hybrid.  

Open-pollinated - According to he Vegetable Garden Guru, "open-pollinated seeds are a result of either natural or human selection for specific traits which are then re-selected in every crop. The seed is kept true to type through selection and isolation; the flowers of open-pollinated seed varieties are pollinated by bees or wind. Their traits are relatively fixed within a range of variability.... All heirloom varieties are open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated varieties can be considered heirlooms."

Hybrid - 

A hybrid seed, per Biology-online.com, is:

noun
Any of mixed origin or composition, or the combination of two or more different things.
(biology) An offspring resulting from the cross between parents of different species or sub-species.
(molecular biology) A complex formed by joining two complementary strands of nucleic acids.

adjective
Of or pertaining to the offspring produced from crossbreeding.

The University of Missouri Extension has a great site on "Growing Home Garden Tomatoes" with an article in their Garden Spade newsletter, entitled "Saving and Storing Vegetable Seeds" by Katie Kammler, that explains, "If you were to save the seed from any of these hybrid varieties, you would still get viable seed that would produce plants and tomatoes but they will not be like the parent plant. They will be a completely new combination of the good and bad traits that were initially crossed. There is no way to predict what the outcome of the seed will be that is saved from hybrid plant."

What does this mean? This means that in most cases, your hybrid tomato seed will reseed, but it won't be what you're expecting.

Genetically Modified Tomatoes - As of 2012, there are no genetically modified organism(GMO) tomatoes on the market. If a GMO tomato existed, it would be a tomato that may have genes introduced into it's DNA that come from a different species (meaning, not a tomato). 

There is LOTS of confusion out there between a hybrid seed versus a GMO seed. GMO seed, per About.com Gardening, "can be any plant, animal or microorganism which have been genetically altered using molecular genetics techniques such as gene cloning and protein engineering. Plants like corn that has the pesticide Bt engineered into its genetic makeup to make it resistant to certain pests are GMO crops. Bt is a natural pesticide, but it would never naturally find its way into corn seed."

So what is "Bt"? The University of California - San Diego explains that Bt is a "natural insecticide" that is "produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (called "Bt") that has been used for decades by organic farmers to control crop-eating insects and by the World Health Organization to kill mosquitoes without using dangerous chemical pesticides."

Companies that create GMO seed utilize Bt and introduce it's traits into the genes of other plants in order to make the plant withstand pressure from unwanted insects that can damage an entire field, or worse, an entire state's crop if not treated manually (sprayed). 

HOT-HOUSE VERSUS HOME GROWN

I love this debate. Does your tomato taste better if it was grown in a room full of tomatoes, babied from seedling stage to fruit producing stage? Or does your tomato taste better growing naturally in a field full of tomatoes with no special help, except whatever love the farmer provides (potentially fertilizer, water, etc.)?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Personal preference. That's what it comes down to. You can debate taste, cost, availability all you want. When it comes to picking tomatoes, purists will choose heirloom because of their perceived benefits. Everyone else will pick a variety of heirloom or hybrids. 

• PERCEIVED HEIRLOOM BENEFITS - taste, texture, juiciness, can save the seed to reproduce, more varieties available
• PERCEIVED HYBRID BENEFITS - better at withstanding diseases because of breeding techniques/introduction to new genetics, highly productive, consistent performance, dependable, early maturity, specific plant size, taste 

This brings to question reproduction and hybrids ability to produce offspring. Can it happen? The answer is yes. Yes, you can save certain hybrid seed and it can reproduce. Not all hybrid seed will reproduce.

IS ONE BETTER THAN THE OTHER?

It depends on your taste, opinion, pocket book, and land available to play with.... Not everyone grows tomatoes. Not everyone cares how juicy or tasty a tomato is.... Not everyone has the ability to pay for fruits and vegetables, which we could consider a "first-world problem".

I look at it this way. My dad planted both. I plant both. Dad didn't save seed. I don't save seed. Saving seed is for the expert gardeners who don't purchase at Big Box stores like me. I appreciate, admire, and commend farmers who produce and save heirloom seed to ensure genetic integrity and strong lines. However, I'll always think of heirlooms as the royal family of inbreeding when I consider them. Good or bad, take it or leave it, I'll buy my hybrids and heirlooms at the Big Box. 

Do you have a favorite? Can you tell the difference?

Pigskin: My Current Fantasy

Yesterday, I took a major step in my fun-time to mommy to work ratio. I am happy that I'm going BIG with it. I created a Fantasy Football League for the first time. Have I ever played Fantasy Football? No. Have I played Fantasy Pick'em? Yes. My goal is to learn the game and kick some arse.

BE A PART OF THE TRIBE
Two of the great things about joining a group is connecting with new people and having a fun time with a shared interest. Not only that, you earn recognition and have a great sense of belonging to others. I've always wanted to play Fantasy Football. As the non-athletic kid in the family, I wanted to play sports in general, but sucking got in the way. Yes - it's true. I sucked at sports. I'll give myself some credit. I tried volleyball (decent), soccer (decent fullback), softball (sucked), and basketball (what the hell was my mom thinking when she signed me up for that one?).

That doesn't mean, though, that I didn't like sports growing up. I loved football and soccer. I can be entertained by baseball - or at minimum the people watching. Basketball - ugh. No thanks.

What draws me to Fantasy Football is the creation process, the ownership of a team and making them successful, the decision making process and strategy behind putting the right player in at the right time, and the business/leadership aspect of building a team.  I also want to have fun during a dreary time of year, and I want to connect and interact with other people.

LEARN SOMETHING
Lately, I've been stuck in a personal rut. I'm still adjusting to motherhood which in turn makes me confused about what "fun" is supposed to be now. I am BORED and not challenged at home. I have a TON going on at work and at home. I learn at work. I don't learn at home. So when I get home, I go through motions. Feed the baby, feed yourself, change the baby, play with the baby, do laundry, vacuum, change baby, play with baby, wash kitchen floor, do the dishes, feed the baby.... Don't get me wrong - I love being a mom, which has it's own greatness and challenges. But at the same time, I want to learn something new.

Here are my lonely hobbies. I read. I take photography classes and take lots of photos. I watch movies and documentaries. I garden. I listen to music. I walk and workout.

Here are my people-interactive hobbies... golf, corn hole, swing dancing, blogging.

Here are my aspiration hobbies... crochet/knitting, guitar, piano, FANTASY FOOTBALL.

The point is: I need to learn, absorb, grow as a person, and the best way that I do that is by interacting with people.

FEED MY COMPETITIVE NATURE
I've taken lots of personality tests - no, not just the ones on Facebook.Clifton's StrengthFinders and Myers-Briggs both say I'm a driven analytic, with a futuristic, over-achiever mind set mixed with a responsible nature that has lots of WOO, extraversion, and judging. Yes - I judge. Not gonna lie.

That cocktail leads to competition. GAME ON! Bring it. Let's go head to head.   

CONCERNS
I'm now commissioner of a league. Even before I started a Fantasy Football league, I was concerned about the time commitment involved, which is why I only did Pick'em last year - which was the first time. I'm also concerned about ignoring family, not being a great mom and wife, and potentially not keeping up with my home responsibilities. But then the other part of me says that I need an outlet to grow, learn, and have fun. that must be the devil

What are your current hobbies that take a lot of time commitment? Do you feel guilty? I know I have an issue with that. 

However, Fantasy Football wins this year. We'll reevaluate this project in February 2013. Must be the devil. Stay tuned. 

Learning for Life Balance

My day job is to work with sales professionals and their distribution network in order to grow and strengthen their skill set and knowledge base with the long-term goal to change and better behaviors. Each time I meet with customers, I'm amazed at how small to mid-sized business owners get it all done. I know I struggle with work life balance. When you add personal development, hobbies, and down time to my equation, it's a surprise that I sleep.

Besides having standardized go-to topics on sales, business acumen, technical information, etc., I do occasionally have one off requests for specialized topics such as SMART goal planning, creating customer touch points, and social media in agriculture. The interest in the last one is amazing to me.

Social media, as a connection to family and friends, is incredibly easy. However, many small to mid-sized companies haven't tapped into this touch point as a tool to connect with customers. I can understand as a business owner with several horses in the race, it's difficult to effectively designate your time on topics you're interested in but may not have enough time to "master" the skill needed to make the experience effective. But then what? Do you not connect at all? That would be a big fat FAIL.

One of my favorite experts on the topic of "agvocating" for agriculture through social media is Michele Payn-Knoper. I have never met Michele or attended any of her sessions, however her web site and blog, Cause Matters, are incredibly thorough on the topics on creating customer touch points through social media. I refer to them quite often.

In one of Michele's more recent articles, "Is social media dead in the food & farming discussion," she talks about a headline she came across, "Why Social Media is Dead." No one wants to use old technology or mediums - well, unless you'll always love a printing press and an actual book in your hand like me... (ah, Anchorman... "I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.) I digress.

Michele links to Logic+Emotion: Social Business: Where It's Been & Where It's Going, and an article written by David Armano, EVP of Edelman Digital. Armano provides an excellent essay and image (Edelman is known for their amazing visual thinking graphs/charts/imagery) of how social media started as a digital/interactive realm and is evolving into a social business: connected, adaptive, intelligent. 

Image Credit - Edelman Digital

This is absolutely the way we're headed, so there is no question as to "why" you shouldn't be connected with social media as a business owner. Yet, in an era of super connectivity, this is where it gets tricky. Many areas still struggle with any connectivity. Not all of rural America has a great connection (unless you're South Dakota - you over-achiever, you! That place is wired.)

So how does a small business owner manage? How do you stay engaged and connected with customers who can instantly "Like" or "Dislike" you and share their opinion of your products and services to masses in seconds? My customers ask this question daily as they only have so much time dedicated to training and growing their existing knowledge and skill set.

This can only mean that - at least for now - I have job security. I will keep training individuals in agriculture how to advocate on behalf of our industry.

What are your thoughts on how to manage professional and personal time, training, development, and life in general? How are you learning about new ideas and topics? What are some tips and tricks I can share with my customers that you recommend?