[LotuSeed]

There's a guy on youtube "gardening in norway" that has done some crossing of different veg like tomatoes. It's interesting to watch as things develop from one generation of plants to the next.

NiKMdumW4ik

[Headgardener22]

The discussion (as I understood it) was about whether anybody had had success growing plants from seeds saved from F1 varieties. (Nothing to do with allotments per se).

You mentioned that you were going to save some seed from Sungold and try it.

Carolyn had found some people who had tried to create Open Pollinated varieties from Sungold going down many generations (F1 being the first hybrid, F2 the next cross, etc..) without much success but she had had some success in generating a stable Open Pollinated variety from a different F1 hybrid and the explanation as to why some F1 hybrids were consistent is the last bit.

OK?

[LotuSeed]

My apologies for the "aside" it wasn't meant as a criticism.
I felt the video I mentioned and linked to was of merit in that the presenter is pottering about with experimenting with crossing different varieties of tomatoes and trying to create "stable" offspring. The initial question was whether F1 varieties are "stable" enough to save and replant and successfully grow true. While he may not be using a hybrid, the aim of the experiment nonetheless deals with the issue of creating a strain from which characteristics of both parents are present and consistent replication from one generation to the next is or isn't reliable.

[Kristen]

My apologies for the "aside" it wasn't meant as a criticism.

I think Headgardener22 was replying to Growster, rather that your good self

[Growster...]

That's fine Headgardener, thank you!

Sometimes I get told much more than I really need to know, and perhaps I should have read to the bottom of the post to understand what an 'OP' really was!

[Headgardener22]

My apologies for the "aside" it wasn't meant as a criticism.

I think Headgardener22 was replying to Growster, rather that your good self

True, I was responding to Growster (and looking at it now, it does appear a little curt, it wasn't meant to be). There is always a difficulty of knowing how much to respond.

[Markw]

I just can't see how I missed this thread. My friend took seeds from an F1 cherry tomato about six years ago and he still grows lots of them every year and said it has got better and tastes even sweeter now. He grows lots of organic veg, mind you he does own a pub.
Anything from the Solanaceae family(nightshade) should self pollinate but will cross very easily. He used the bag method for the first few years.
I use the same method on  squashes and melons  but they are not F1's but the seed will be true. It sounds like an interesting challenge but as others have said you just don't what you will get at the end of the day.

[Ema]

I didn't realise f1s were so complex!

[sunshineband]

I didn't realise f1s were so complex!

Awwww Yussss!