About Our Fruit, Vegetable, Flower and Herb Seeds

We are dedicated to offering you the finest seeds for your gardening and farming needs. Our seeds are tested for good germination rates and are untreated unless otherwise specified.

There are many terms used to describe seeds and it can be misleading at times. The following is an explanation of the terms used within our catalog and website.

HEIRLOOMS – While definitions may vary, heirlooms are most often described as a variety that is at least 50 years old. Heirlooms have been passed down by generations and were hand-selected for certain traits. Burrell Seed Growers have developed several heirloom seeds throughout its history.

OPEN POLLINATED – “Open pollinated” refers to seeds that will “breed true,” producing the same result consistently. When open pollinated varieties are pollinated by another plant of the same variety, the results will be consistent with the parent variety. Cross pollination with neighboring crops may change these results.

HYBRID – Hybrid seeds are produced by crossing two different plants, of the same plant family, much like a hybrid animal. A Labradoodle dog is bred by breeding a Labrador and a Poodle to produce a non-shedding, loyal companion. In agriculture and gardening, hybrid seeds are produced to enhance certain traits such as disease resistance or increased production. All of the hybrid seeds planted will produce similar plants while the seeds of the next generation from those hybrids will not consistently have the desired characteristics. They are often preferred by farmers because of the enhanced results.

PVP – The Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 (PVPA) is an intellectual property statute in the United States. The PVPA gives breeders up to 25 years of exclusive control over new, distinct, uniform, and stable sexually reproduced or tuber propagated plant varieties. Most PVP seeds are open pollinated, but hybrid seeds may also be PVP protected. The Plant Variety Protection Act protects a plant breeder’s work much like a copyright protects an artist or photographer.

GMO – (Genetically Modified Organism) All of our seeds are NON-GMO.

Untreated Seed – Typically, our seed is offered untreated except for those varieties identified in the title as treated. Currently those varieties are Athena Cantaloupe, Super Sugar Snap Pea, Little October Pumpkin, and Taybelle Acorn Squash.