Not all of our seed stocks come from hybrids, in the sense that lines were intentionally crossed. Obviously, some populations may have naturally crossed in nature, but the probability of that is exceedingly low in self-pollinated crops like beans, tomatoes, and peppers. This is especially true for tomatoes and peppers, because they tend to pollinate before the flower even opens. Mendel didnt start his work with basic genetics until the mid 1800's, and it wasn't until the 1950s that his work was applied to crops. Prior to that, varieties were developed by basic phenotypic selection over many years. Some heirlooms date back to the 1800s - well before plant breeding was even thought of. Very few vegetable crops in your seed catalog are hybrids. If they are, it usually says so in big bold letters and they tend to be pricey, because of the R&D that goes into producing them. Saving seed from hybrids is not effective, because you end up with a bunch of poor performing off-types. Open pollinated varieties are good for seed saving because they come from a stable population. Commercial growers use hybrids, because they are looking for uniformity and for a few specific traits that add value to their crop. However, open pollinated, public varieties of ALL crops are still available (including soybeans) for anyone to grow. It is legal to save seeds from these, an replant them if you wish. As far as seed saving goes, do a little research before you fill a bucket of seeds and tuck them away. Not all seeds have the same shelf life, and not all seeds require the same conditions for successful storage.
