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F1 or open-pollinated vegetable seeds

Updated: 16 October 2026

You want either a uniform row or seed you can keep. F1 or open-pollinated vegetable seeds is that choice: the sleeve either prints F1 or it does not, and saved hybrid seed does not repeat the plant. How to read a sleeve is on the [vegetable seed buying guide](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-buying-guide). Depth and frost are on [how to sow vegetable seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-how-to-sow). Who each listing suits is on [best vegetable seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-best). Prices are on the [vegetable seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds). We updated this page on 16 October 2026 from the RHS, Garden Organic and the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011. We did not grow a second generation. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want either a uniform row or seed you can keep. F1 or open-pollinated vegetable seeds is that choice: the sleeve either prints F1 or it does not, and saved hybrid seed does not repeat the plant.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round
9.2/10about £2.09
View offer
Just Seed Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density

Best value

Just Seed Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density
7.6/10about £3.10
View offer
Generic Black Cherry Tomato Seeds

Alternative

Generic Black Cherry Tomato Seeds
5.3/10about £2.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What F1 means on a packet
  2. 2.What open-pollinated means, and where it crosses
  3. 3.The packets in this comparison
  4. 4.Amateur variety is a third label
  5. 5.Which to buy

What F1 means on a packet

An F1 variety is the first cross of two inbred lines, which is the RHS definition, and the packet says F1 when that is what you are buying. Catalogues use the letters on tomatoes, courgettes, brassicas and sometimes broad beans. Next year the breeder remakes the seed, and you buy the cross again. Some UK shops sell F1 tomato seed at about £3 to £5 for 8 to 10 seeds. That figure is not an amazon.co.uk price from this set. The Generic Black Cherry listing states 40 seeds at £2.99 and does not say F1, so the count does not reveal the breeding.

What open-pollinated means, and where it crosses

Open-pollinated seed can breed true if the flowers are not crossed by another variety of the same crop. The RHS names lettuce, peas and runner beans as the crops that have stayed open-pollinated. Peas and French beans generally do not cross in a garden, so they are the practical place to start if you want to save seed. Brassicas and squashes cross readily. Lettuce is not a classic F1 crop, and insects can still cross it. Garden Organic's note says about 8 metres of separation, or a fleece cage, and not to save seed from the first plants to bolt. Open-pollinated says nothing about organic status.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round
9.2/10about £2.09
View offer

The packets in this comparison

None of the five titles here prints F1. All The Year Round, Winter Density, Aguadulce, the Generic Black Cherry and the mixed potato listing are all silent. You must not invent a hybrid status for a title that never uses the letters. Silence is not proof that saved seed will come true. Kings Seeds, which is not a listing in this set, labels cauliflower Candid Charm F1. This All The Year Round listing simply does not say F1. Aguadulce is a named broad bean without F1 on the title. The Generic tomato's missing letters do not make it a seed-saving variety. In one review the bag did not even show that the contents were tomato seed.

Amateur variety is a third label

"Amateur variety" is a listing route in Schedule 4 of the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, for small packets of varieties on the National List. It is not a synonym for F1, and it is not a synonym for heritage or for open-pollinated. None of these five listings shows those words. The Defra registration number on the Just Seed listing is a company number. It does not place Winter Density in the amateur-variety category, and it does not decide the breeding.

Which to buy

Buy the packet that says F1 when you want a uniform crop and you will buy fresh seed next year. For seed you want to keep, start with peas and French beans, then lettuce if you can separate it. If the packet does not say F1, do not treat it as a hybrid, and do not treat silence as a guarantee it will come true. In this set, Winter Density is the only packet you might save seed from, and only with that isolation and a look at the sleeve. You do not save the Generic tomato on a missing label. You do not save cauliflower seed from a mixed brassica plot and expect All The Year Round again.

Common questions

How do I know if a packet is F1?
Read the variety name. The RHS says an F1 is labelled as such, because it is the first cross of two inbred lines. If the letters are absent, do not treat the packet as a hybrid. None of the five titles in this comparison prints F1.
Can I save seed from an F1 tomato?
Saved seed from an F1 tomato does not come true. The next generation splits back towards the parent lines, so you lose the uniform fruit the cross was bred for. Breeders remake F1 seed every year. If the packet says F1, plan to buy it again.
Are lettuce seeds hybrids?
Lettuce is one of the crops the RHS says have stayed open-pollinated. Insects can still cross it. Garden Organic suggests about 8 metres, or a fleece cage, and says not to save seed from the first plants to bolt. The Winter Density listing does not say F1.
Will saved cauliflower seed grow the same curd?
Brassicas cross readily, so seed from one curd on a mixed plot is unlikely to repeat that curd. This All The Year Round listing does not say F1, and that silence is not a statement that the variety is open-pollinated. Catalogues do sell F1 cauliflowers, such as Candid Charm F1. Expect a gamble if other brassicas flower nearby.
Is amateur variety the same as heritage or F1?
It is a third label. Schedule 4 uses "amateur variety" for a small-packet listing on the National List. It does not mean F1, and it does not mean heritage. None of these five listings shows those words. Check the sleeve if you need them.
Does open-pollinated mean the seed is organic?
Open-pollinated describes the breeding, and whether saved seed can come true if it does not cross. Organic describes how the seed crop was grown, and it needs a certification mark on the packet. A lettuce can be open-pollinated and conventional. An F1 packet can be sold as organic.

Related pages

Tomato seeds

Vegetable seeds

Vegetables to sow in autumn UK: hardy October sowing

Best vegetable seeds UK for the crop you are sowing

What to look for on a vegetable seed packet in the UK

How to sow vegetable seeds UK: trays, depth and frost

Sources

Public UK sources named for this comparison. Updated October 2026.

  1. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Explanatory memorandum to the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK, apply to have seeds certified for marketing in England and Wales (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Defra plant health portal, plant varieties and seeds FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  5. RHS, F1 hybrids (retrieved October 2026)
  6. RHS, lettuce (retrieved October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, Seed Potato Classification Scheme (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved October 2026)