Variety Descriptions & Catalog Codes

by CR Lawn - As indicated, some selections are more suitable for home gardeners than commercial growers. Farming and gardening are more an art than science. Microclimate, soil type and cultural practices significantly affect performance. Success in our trials is not a guarantee of success in your plot. We advise market growers to trial unfamiliar varieties on a small scale before fully committing.

As a guide to growers we’ve included information about disease tolerance and resistance provided by our suppliers. We cannot guarantee that tolerant or resistant cultivars will never be harmed. Actual performance in the field depends on climate, weather and cultural practices which we cannot control. The absence of information on the older varieties does not mean they will keel over at the first sign of stress. While conscious breeding for disease tolerance/resistance began relatively recently, time-honored heirloom cultivars have proven adaptable to a variety of conditions. Following are abbreviations which appear after some variety descriptions. A number after the abbreviation indicates which race of pathogen.

OG after cultivar name = entire lot is certified-organic seed.
ECO after cultivar name = entire lot is sustainably grown seed.
BD after cultivar name = entire lot is biodynamically grown seed.
PVP = Plant Variety Protected. Unauthorized propagation of the seed is prohibited. The use of PVP in the catalog is for informational purposes only and in no way constitutes an endorsement by Fedco of plant patenting.
AAS = All-America Selection.
indicates cold-hardy through at least part of the Maine winter.
= a variety introduced by Fedco followed by the year first offered.

Basic Definitions
• Open-pollinated varieties will grow true to type when randomly mated within their own variety. Provided your plants have been properly isolated from different varieties of the same species, seed saved from these plants will breed true.
• Hybrid varieties are those produced from the crossing of two different inbred lines. Seed saved from hybrid varieties will not breed true in the next generation.
• Amongst open-pollinated plants, self-pollinated (selfers) usually reproduce by using their own pollen. Crossers usually reproduce through the transfer of pollen from one plant to a different plant of the same species.
• Botanical nomenclature goes from the general to the specific. Plants are classified into kinds by genus, species, and variety. In Cucurbita pepo Sweet Dumpling, Cucurbita is the genus, pepo is the species and Sweet Dumpling is the variety.

Small seed farmers including Fedco staff.
Family-owned companies or cooperatives, domestic and foreign.
Domestic and foreign corporations not part of a larger conglomerate.
Multinationals not to our knowledge engaged in genetic engineering.
Multinationals who are engaged in genetic engineering.

Fedco Seeds, PO Box 520, Waterville, ME 04903
(207) 426-9900
Catalog Requests (207) 426-0090

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