Kil'ayim and the home gardener
Brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale can cross with eachother
I almost ripped out a row of cucmuber seedlings yesterday.
Intermitant waves of guilt lap at my ankles when I wade into my garden and look at the hybrid cucumber plants I sowed a month ago. Burpless, it said. Good for slicing. That was just what I wanted, though i never could understand the burpless part. The only things that make me burp are apples.
In another part of the garden I planted cucumbers that would be good for pickling. These were heirloom seeds and when harvested at the right time, would look just like the olde tyme dill pickles of yore. But I found it hard to find heirloom seeds that produce long, narrow, and firm cucumbers. So I bought other pack of salad cucumber seeds, which were hybrids.
Now guilt grips me three-fold. One, because I used hybrid seeds in my garden. Two because I'm worried the two cucumber cultivars will cross. Three, I wonder if I've violated the torah against kil'ayim.
In Judaisim kil'ayim is the multi-faceted prohibition of crossbreeding seeds, animals and mixing wool and linen. It is based on this scripture:
Lev. 19:19 You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed (kil'ayim) seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.
The Mishnah spends a great deal of time going into specfics about how to understand and apply this scripture. It ranges from helpful to ridiculous. I am not Jewish, however. My only standard is scripture, and it interprets itself if we let it.
KIL'AYIM MEANS MIXED KINDS
The Hebrew word for mixed or confused in this verse is kilayim... "You shall not sow your field with kil'ayim."
Strongs defines Kil'ayim as two kinds (Strong's Hebrew #3610). In some ways it seems to say the seed itself, not the garden, is kil'ayim. The seed is of mixed kinds, or confused. Sounds a lot like GMOs, doesn't it? Certainly, this must be one application of the instruction.
But it also may be argued hybrid seeds are mixed as well, and definitely using different varieties of certain plants in the same garden can cross pollinate, resulting in a fruit with mixed seeds within. The instructions in the rest of the verse may also lend insight into what this verse means. Here it uses breeding two different kinds of livestock together and mixing linen with wool in the same garment. These two examples show putting two things together to create an end product. It is clear that it is talking about seed that has been crossbred, or perhaps warning against planting the same crop but using different varieties (cultivars) in the same field together.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VINEYARD AND GARDEN? PROBABLY
Similar instructions are presented in Deuteronomy 22:9 when the Torah gives the commandments together again, but with a slight variation:
Deut 22:9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with kil'ayim, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. Deut 22:10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. Deut 22:11 “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen together. Here it is speaking of a vineyard, so presumably the only thing that should be planted there are grapes, and only of one cultivar. I don't think this is instruction about sowing different plants in close proximity in a garden, however. If the prohibition was about sowing seeds of different vegetables together, then it would be a sin to keep a garden. YHWH started creation with a garden - Eden. He has mixed types of plants together in nature and is the author of polyculture environments.
GUARD AGAINST CROSS POLLINATION
After reviewing these instruction in Torah, I have come to the conclusion I should not sow different cultivars of the same type of plants because they may cross. This applies especially to squash, corn, and brassicas (i.e.: cabbage, kale, broccoli and cauliflower).
A helpful guide on what is easily crossed is here. After reading this guide, I realized I have a problem with more than just my cucumbers. I planted a lot of cabbages, different kales, broccoli and cauliflower this year -- and almost all of them are planted in rows beside each other, and sometimes alternating in the same row! Oy!
This is not the first year I've planted brassicas in close proximity together, but I have yet to witness any crossing. All of my brassica vegetables have turned out as they should. I think this is partially because of the different bloom times, which I am seeing again. Next year, however, I will be certain to come up with a plan of separation for my brassicas. How far apart, I'm not sure (post a comment or send a message if you know, please!).
I have, however, had some funky looking squash a few years ago. I planted zucchini, but had numerous volunteers of other squash varieties that I just let go. When these volunteers first appeared, I was hesitant to pull them.
"They want to live!" I said. "Look how hopeful they are!"
Those squash invaded my garden and crowded everything out because of my let-it-be gardening approach. That year I ended up with orange zucchinis and gnarly-looking squash formations.
I understand summer squash will not cross with winter squash and so I must have had various summer squashes together that year.
I will not let that happen again.
ARE HYBRIDS KIL'AYIM SEED?
Whether it is a sin to sow hybrid seeds is still unclear to me.
The problem with hybrid seeds is you can't save the seeds and have predicable results in the next generation. In my mind, growing a garden isn't just about producing nutritious food and saving money, it's also about producing vital seeds in case you ever need them.
Sowing hybrid seeds is unwise if you plan to be a seed-saver.
CONCLUSION
I've decided am going to take my hybrid cuccumber plants out of the garden. They aren't blooming, and my other cucmber plants are already producing little cucumbers, so there hasn't been crossing yet.
I think I will find another location on the other end of my property to transplant them. They will be about 1.5 to two acres apart. It will be incovenient for watering, and they may die after transplantation, but that's OK.
It is my firm conviction GMO seeds are kil'ayim seed, and it is a sin to use and consume them. It's also my conviction it is unwise to use hybridized seeds. Perhaps not sinful, but not the wisest choice. Heirloom and organic varieties should be sought wherever possible.
Most of all, the torah pursant gardener must guard against cross-pollination.
