Greenhouse cultivation: self-sustaining bio-seedling cultivation in a foil tent heated by a solar panel

We are encouraging circular, sustainable and self-sustaining plant cultivation with collecting of seed. In the Biofarm model garden, mainly heirloom and open pollinated are cultivated. 

The collected seeds from the open pollinated vegetables will be used for production of seedlings in the next year. Therefore we can implement the a self-sustaining plant cultivation method on the BioFarm model garden. Collecting and saving own seeds allows that the plant could adapt to the local conditions, germinate faster and have greater viability. Most of the heritage varieties have never been used in large-scale cultivation, or they have already gone out of fashion and are not grown in large-scale farms. Children and adults could learn the process of collecting of seeds and growing seedlings in practice. In this way, we can encourage the self-sustainable cultivation of seedlings for the families.

For encouraging the self-sufficient farming practices we plan to organise seed and seedling exchange events, where the collected seeds and seedlings will be exchanged within the community with the complete exclusion of cash flow and income generation.

F1 Hybrids vs Open Pollinated Varieties: 

  • F1 Hybrids: Many modern vegetable varieties are specially bred as F1 hybrids. These seeds promise better uniformity and other desirable traits such as disease resistance. The new seeds of F1 hybrids can only be produced within a highly controlled environment, from two separate parent varieties that are kept isolated and then crossed – usually by hand. This makes them expensive and unsustainable. Hybrid plants increase farmers’ reliance on seed companies and therefore are subject to changes in prices and discontinuations. These varieties can also lead to a loss of diversity if open-pollinated varieties are not maintained. Additionally, hybrid seeds tend to be more expensive in comparison to open-pollinated varieties due to the maintenance of the two distinct inbred parent lines.

 

  • Open-pollinated vegetables: Heirloom vegetables are open-pollinated, non-hybrid cultivar. By contrast heritage varieties are all open pollinated using parents of the same variety, so there is no need to isolate the parent plants from each other. This makes open-pollinated seeds a lot cheaper, and while the plants they produce may be less uniform. Open-pollinated seeds are more diverse than hybrid varieties because the pollination process is left to nature. This may lead to an increase in survival rate and can be advantageous in the event of a newly emerged plant epidemic or other extreme stressors that hybrids are not bred to withstand. Open-pollinated seeds allow growers to save their own seeds. Their lack of uniformity can be disadvantageous for marketing purposes and growers using large machinery. Continuously selecting the best plants from an open-pollinated variety may promote a population adapted to local conditions.