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Seed Saving for Beginners
Adapt plants to your own private patch of dirt
And you’re not just growing yourself a better cuke for your salad: Saving seeds helps “ensure the genetic diversity of our food crops,” says John Torgrimson, the editor of publications at Seed Savers Exchange, a nonprofit "dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds." That’s because “if plants catch diseases, or climates change, the more varieties out there, the more chance we’ll find something that can survive,” says Terri Compost (yes, that’s her real name), a seed-saving instructor and curator at the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library.
Here is some basic info on how to save seeds:
Seed Savers Exchange includes directions for seed saving on each of its packets.
Prepare to Sacrifice: Instead of eating your best produce, you should harvest seeds
from it.
Not lush and pretty, this lettuce plant is perfect for seed saving. (Thanks to Jesse Palmer for the use of his gone-to-seed lettuce.)
WORK WITH OPEN-POLLINATED VARIETIES
The first step is to be sure you are working with the right types of plants. Though you can save seeds from both hybrid and open-pollinated plants (open-pollinated varieties are considered heirloom if they’re older than 50 years), you won’t get good results from hybrids. “In general, hybrids do not produce offspring from seed that’s the same as the parent plant,” says Torgrimson. “An heirloom will produce offspring that is ‘true to type’—that seed can be saved and planted. Hybrids are Russian roulette.” This is not to say that hybrids are “bad” plants—some hybrids, like the Early Girl tomato, are very popular and tasty. They are just not well-suited to seed saving. Seed catalogs and websites say whether varieties are open-pollinated (they may be marked “OP”) or hybrids; it may or may not be marked on the seed packets themselves.
LOOK BEFORE YOU EAT!
When you save seeds, you should always save from your best plants. That means the most gorgeous tomato you grow this year is not going on your plate. “There’s a temptation to eat the best,” says Leslie Land, “but if you stop and think about it, no, you must sacrifice.” She suggests saving seeds from the best three or four plants. How to decide? Arm yourself with a variety of colored twist ties and code them for different qualities. Mark the tastiest plants with one color, the best producers with another, the plants that yield earliest with another, and so on. Then save seeds from the plants that have the most desirable traits marked.
BROWN CAN BE BEAUTIFUL
Seeds you’re planning to plant for next year need to be fully mature, so you may have to adjust your gardening aesthetic to include the not-conventionally-attractive part of the growth cycle of the plant. “The plants at the end of their cycle are putting all their energy into the next generation,” says Terri Compost. Depending on what plants you are saving from, the plants and/or their fruit may need to be left alone to dry out, they might start looking scruffy when flowering, or they may even need paper bags placed over top of them in the case of something like lettuce—not what we think of as the quaint, perfectly manicured Martha Stewart vegetable patch. “People see gardens turning a little brown and think, ‘Oh, that’s unkempt!’ But you have to let it get a little brown to get into seed saving,” Compost adds. “Even the term gone to seed [should not be seen] as a derogatory.”
You may reuse the plastic dixie cup, the following year. Should hold up well for use, several times. Or you could instead, use paper towel holders cut into four circular lengths, and plant your seeds the same way within them. When your plant becomes ready to transplant, plant the plant and paper towel holder straight into the soil. Split the paper towel holder on two sides, gently, to encourage...+READ
You may reuse the plastic dixie cup, the following year. Should hold up well for use, several times. Or you could instead, use paper towel holders cut into four circular lengths, and plant your seeds the same way within them. When your plant becomes ready to transplant, plant the plant and paper towel holder straight into the soil. Split the paper towel holder on two sides, gently, to encourage the plants roots to push through. The cardboard, will simply decompose into the soil. No waste.-COLLAPSE
Start your seeds indoors. You can grow them in something as simple as a large plastic dixie cup. Prick holes into the the bottom of the cup, add about a 1/3 of the cup with composted manure, and the rest with a rich potting soil. (Some people like to use a seed starting mix, but I have had better results with compost and soil mix.) Add the seeds, lightly cover with another application of soil,...+READ
Start your seeds indoors. You can grow them in something as simple as a large plastic dixie cup. Prick holes into the the bottom of the cup, add about a 1/3 of the cup with composted manure, and the rest with a rich potting soil. (Some people like to use a seed starting mix, but I have had better results with compost and soil mix.) Add the seeds, lightly cover with another application of soil, just until covered. Mist, with a spray bottle of water, so as to not disturb the seeds. Just until wet. Place in a sunny window, and if you can, supplement with a tube of full spectrum lights. You can make an apparatus to hold the light out of pvc pipe, which is very inexpensive. Tomato's like to dry out for a day or two before watering again. It is better for the plant, if you can water it as it grows, with out getting the foliage too wet. Once the plant has grown and has more that 6 leaves, you may transplant it. It may wilt a bit, but with a bit of watering, and getting the light it needs, it should come back. You may continue to grow the tomato's in a very large pot, if you like. You must meet it's need for light, and let it dry out a day or two before watering. As the plant grows, feed it with more composted manure to meet it's needs. Brush the top of the plant with your hands a few times a day to make certain it becomes a sturdy plant, or let a fan blow lightly on it.-COLLAPSE
I have saved seeds from an amazing tomato. It was so delicious, that I want to grow more like it. However, I don't have a clue as to how to do this. The seeds are so fragile. Can anyone offer advice or suggestions? Thanking you in advance, ReBecca
The concept of the article is good, but really, tomatoes? Saving tomato seeds is not for beginners, nor is raising tomatoes from seed. For most areas of the country, there just isn't a long enough growning season to raise tomatoes from seed (unless you have plenty of room to start them indoors), and most of us buy starts from local nurseries.
Lettuce, beans, peas and carrots are all easy to grow...+READ
The concept of the article is good, but really, tomatoes? Saving tomato seeds is not for beginners, nor is raising tomatoes from seed. For most areas of the country, there just isn't a long enough growning season to raise tomatoes from seed (unless you have plenty of room to start them indoors), and most of us buy starts from local nurseries.
Lettuce, beans, peas and carrots are all easy to grow vegetables that have easily-collected seeds.
I'l add that one good source of free envelopes is junk mail and bills--reuse envelopes you get in the mail.
And trade seeds with friends!-COLLAPSE