To the plant, pollination is pollination. To the gardener who wants particular results (such as wanting to keep an heirloom variety pure), cross-pollination (cross-breeding) is something to avoid. To a grower or scientist who is trying to create a new variety, cross-pollination is desirable. It's all on your point of view. Like Dave said, some varieties are very genetically stable, like his Nantes carrots. Others, like curcubits, are notorious for cross-pollinating. If you're growing certain kinds of decorative gourds, and zucchini or other squashes, insects will cross-pollinate them very easily, and if you saved the seeds from your wonderful zucchini and planted them, they could end up being something almost unrecognizable and tasteless. "Does cross pollination always create a hybrid?" Yes and no. Technically, every pollinated plant is producing a hybrid, because every plant from every seed has a tiny, microscopic difference from the plant next to it, although it is, for most purposes, the same. Only cuttings, cloned or tissue-cultured plants are exactly the same as the parent stock. Plants labeled 'hybrids' have been crossed from plants with noticeably different qualities. If you crossed two of these 'hybrids', they would most likely revert back to the qualities of one or the other of the 'parents'. Granny Smith apples came from crabapples. If you planted a Granny Smith seed and nutured it for several years, you would probably end up with some sort of crabapple or similar variation. Two additional bits of info (just to confuse you a little more ;-) ): 1) You can be growing two similar plants near each other, but if they flower at different times, they won't (can't) cross-pollinate. Corn is a good example: there are early, mid-season and late varieties of corn. Corn cross-pollinates easily because it's wind-borne, but if they tassle (the 'flower') at different times and there is no other corn around (esp upwind), they won't cross. If Alfie's apples (above) needed a pollinator variety, and he accidentally planted a variety that bloomed a month after his Macintosh, he wouldn't get any apples. 2) OP varieties can be 'manipulated' even within the variety. You can have a packet of seed of a single variety of an OP plant, and each seed inside will have a tiny difference about it. Many people will grow a particular variety that they like, and they will watch for 'special' ones among that variety: a tiny bit earlier, a slightly larger fruit, a sweeter flavor, a slightly higher yield, etc, and they will mark it and let a few fruits of that plant mature and collect the seed. The next year, they plant that seed, and again look for 'special' plants. Every year, they keep doing this, and end up (hopefully) with localized variety within a named variety that is especially suited to their local conditions. It's still the same variety, it's still OP, it's just an improved variation within that variety. If you bought seeds from a grower in BC, and you bought the same variety from a grower in ON, the local seeds might produce plants that had a slight edge on local conditions, concerning earliness, adaptibility to hot summers, or ability to grow with a bit less water. The seeds from BC might adapt better to cooler summers, more humidity, and a longer season.

If you are going to get the Shinko, a good pollinator is Shinseiki. They bloom at the same time in my yard and my son-in-law's yard (both Houston). The shinko is good as long as you don't get too much rain near ripening. They will be bland with the rain.....dry periods good. Shinseiki is better in my opinion, but it needs a pollinator. Shinko fruits without a pollinator, but much more fruit with a pollinator. Shinko does get blight....I lost mine after about 8 years due to blight....it was bad that year. I replaced my shinko with Tennosui. First time fruiting last year. Was not impressed with fruit. Mine were not crisp and low flavor. Tree may still be too young. I prefer crisp pears and my favorite is Southern Queen, sweet, flavorful and crisp. I may replace my Tennosui with it's sister, Southern King if the fruit don't improve. The Akers (acres) Home pear is very good. It is excellent flavor and sweetness after a week or two off the tree. No problems with blight, but it does have rot problems. You may have to spray.....don't know about San Antone. I think the rot problem may be why it is not pushed much anymore here, but it is excellent. I pulled mine due to rot and it is a melting pear and I like crisp.

Some insect pests may be deterred by radish but I don't know of any. Radish will attract some pests however, notably flea beetles and cabbage root maggots. Nevertheless, I enjoy radishes and grow them. I use them to mark the rows of slow sprouting seeds, then eat them. I also plant them for their own sake. Floating row cover works well in keeping them free of insects. I don't know if that would work for your situation. Q: What's worse than finding a root maggot in a radish? A: Finding half a root maggot. Jim

""Decreasing competition from weeds (nutrients, moisture or sunlight) increases crop yields everything else being equal. RR plants allow a producer to control a broad spectrum of weeds with a single pass thus decreasing input costs, increasing profits and making the farm more efficient. This is basic agriculture 101 that a twelve year old farm kid learns." " Some weeds like Dandelion, Yellow Dock, ragweed, etc., etc., tap into minerals and water reservoirs to bring nutrients to the top to other vegetables and killing them is dumb anyways. Poison the ground for something you need anyways is what you'll be doing and spending tons to give the plants alternatives to what these companion plants have to give. They did a study where planting corn with one type of weed, can't remember which one maybe ragweed, made the corn grow better without need of as much fertilizers, but of course some of the room to plant will be taken over by the weeds. You have to give to receive, so in an organic garden, you get a little more of everything, but not great amounts per acre of one thing unless you have stacked raised beds like the pyramid type of beds that go up to 5 levels high making the most out of a small space. It's the only guarantee. Weeds are not necessarily a good thing, but if they attract beneficial insects, which is the only cure for some types of bug infestations resistant, like the squash vine borer or others like it, you will use more space planting the plant that helps attract the beneficials and get less yields, but better than no yields from the infestation.