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.

Thanks guys!!!! The garden started out much smaller in my mind. My husband got out the tractor and the more area he tilled, the bigger the garden area grew. Then my daughter had her idea of pumpkins and things she wanted to try. It will be in full sun from 10 a.m. -5 p.m. The sun pattern will be east to west We do not have dogs but the neighbor has a sweet older dog that would be walking through the area. The garden is not too far from other gardens so watering is not a problem. I am trying to decide the best paths to make within the garden to make maintaining it a little easier. The biggest negative is that the plot backs up to a grove of trees. We are on acreage but due to our septic and leach fields being in the center of the land, I can not put a garden there. The plants will still get plenty of sun but not as much if the garden were centrally located. I appreciate all the advice!

You must be eating different Manzanos or Rocoto than I grow. There are 3 kinds of Caspacin. Manzanos/Rocotos have all three. Different forms hit different receptors in your mouth. Usually they seem hotter than they are compared to habs etc. They are far from being a mild or a sweet pepper. Some are at least Habanero hot. They taste totally different than any other pepper. Very fruity,nothing like a bell pepper. Fresh off the plant they are very crunchy with a slow build up of heat. In Peru they seed them and then boil them before using them to cook with to get rid of some of the heat. Boiling does take away some of the heat but I've never had one that was anywhere near a bell in mildness. I grow Yellow,Orange,brown , peach , white and red rocotos from Peru seed stock and Manzanos from Mexican and U.S. grown commercial pods or nursery plants. C. Pubescens won't cross with most other pepper varieties-see link above. Here is a link that might be useful:

Chile plant varieties will not show cross effects until the seeds are planted to spawn a new generation. I fail to see why people believe that they will end up with hot bell peppers and the like, it doesn't happen with other fruits and vegetables, why would it with peppers?