What's the difference between 'organic' seeds and just plain seeds

Q. What is the difference between organic seeds and just plain seeds? Are there any advantages of one over the other?A. Organic seeds are produced by plants that have not been treated with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. In addition organic seeds have not been commercially genetically modified to be disease and pest resistant. Likewise after organic seeds are collected they are not treated with chemicals to be disease or pest resistant. The seed package usually indicates if the seeds are organic. If the package doesn't say "organic," the seeds are probably conventionally grown.Conventional (nonorganic)#160;seeds may have been grown on plants that were commercially genetically modified or were treated with synthetic chemicals to be disease and pest resistant.Organic seeds are grown in fields on which no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides were used. This results in less pollution of streams, rivers, and underground water sources. However, organic seeds are usually less resistant to disease and pests.Seeds from conventionally grown plants typically are less expensive than organic seeds and may be treated by synthetic chemicals to be disease and pest resistant. Because the package may not indicate the seeds were treated, wash your hands after handling the seeds, do not consume them and keep them away from children.Q. With so many Japanese Beetles this year and moist lawns to lay their eggs, what can I do to reduce the number of beetles next summer?A. The best thing you can do is to establish natural defenses by attracting beneficial insects, soil organisms and birds that eat the grubs as they mature and emerge from the soil next summer.By improving your soil you can increase the number of beneficial soil organisms that prey on Japanese beetle eggs under the grass and around plant roots. When mowing the lawn, leave the clippings on the grass so they break down and return nutrients to the soil. In the fall, shred leaves with a mulching mower. Doing this every year adds organic matter that, with the help of earthworms, improves the soil by aerating it and allowing it to hold moisture better. Core aerating the lawn in the fall also provides room for strong root development while the cores quickly break down and return nutrients to the soil. Avoiding use of broad-spectrum insecticides/pesticides on your lawn allows beneficial soil organisms to multiply in a healthy environment Japanese beetles prefer to lay eggs in grass shorter than 2 inches high. That is one reason to mow your lawn 3-4 inches tall.Including a variety of plants attracts a variety of predatory beneficial insects and birds to your yard. When they take up residence they feed on a variety of plant seeds and harmful insects. As an example, spiders and ants eat large numbers of beetle eggs in the lawn before they hatch.Nematodes are microscopic round worms that feed on bacteria deadly to beetlegrubs. The worms feed on the bacteria then attack grubs and inject the grubs with the bacteria that eventually kill them. The nematode, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, is particularly adept at killing grubsand is commercially available as Heteromask#8482;, NemaSee#8482;, and Terranem#8482;. #160;Provide birds with a variety of seeds, shelter and water year round. Songbirds and beneficial insects consume more pest insects in your yard each year than you can with a chemical insecticide. Birds known to eat grubs include starlings, robins, crows, grackles, catbirds, sparrows, bobwhites, blue jays, eastern kingbirds, woodpeckers and purple martins. Starlings are reported to eat both grubs and adult beetles.No matter how diligent you are in arming your yard against Japanese beetles, you will undoubtedly see them again next year as they immigrate to your property from your neighbor's yard. The best you can do is to make your yard an unwelcome territory for them.bull; Provided by Mary Boldan, Mary Moisand and Donna Siemro, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners. Send questions to Ask a Master Gardener, c/o Friendship Park Conservatory, 395 W. Algonquin Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016, (847) 298-3502 or via e-mail to cookcountymg.com@gmail.com.