The Four Steps Required to Keep Monsanto OUT of Your Garden

[NickB79]

10. You can create your own heirlooms from hybrid seeds

If you have the patience, you can breed your own personal heirlooms from hybrids by simply saving seeds and replanting for a few years, selecting the best of each generation every season.

I'm in the process of developing a watermelon heirloom of my own by crossing two heirlooms (Moon and Stars with Sugar Baby). Out of a few dozen melons from the F1 generation, I had a few that had the "stars" of the Moon and Stars on personal-size melons like Sugar Baby usually produces: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151200370266847&set=a.10151200370091847.428142.574696846&type=3&theater

The flavor wasn't the best, but that might be due to the drought we had last summer. I'm going to try growing a few dozen more plants this summer from seed I saved from last year's hybrids. After a few more years, I should have a stable germline to work with.