Seasonal Acres Seedling Science |
Seasonal Acres Seedling Science |
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It’ s important to understand the difference between open-pollinated and hybrid plants. To start, you’ ll need to choose open-pollinated plants. And what about heirlooms? Here’ s what you need to remember: All heirlooms are open-pollinated plants, but not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms. The“ heirloom” distinction has to do with the age, provenance and history of the variety.
Once you’ ve established that you’ re saving from openpollinated plants, the next thing is to understand the life cycle of each plant. Some will set seed in the first year( tomatoes, beans, peas), while others are biennial and won’ t set seed until the second year( carrots, kale, beets).
The actual seed-saving process varies as well. The main thing to remember is that seeds need to be completely dry in order to be saved. Some vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes require a process that includes fermenting the seeds; for this reason, it’ s easier to start by saving seeds from plants that are more beginner friendly.
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Herbs
Saving seeds from herbs is surprisingly simple. A great place to start is with chives— just wait for the purple flowers to dry on the plant, then gently shake out the tiny black seeds. Once they’ re fully dry, store them for next season. It’ s an easy way to expand your herb garden quickly. Dill is another herb that makes seed saving a breeze.
Getting Started Peas
It’ s easy to save pea seeds. When you’ re harvesting mature pea pods to eat, simply leave some of them on the vine and allow the pods to dry completely. When they’ re ready, the pods will no longer be green, they’ ll be quite crisp, and you’ ll be able to hear the loose dry peas inside if you shake the pod. At that point, you can harvest the pods and remove the seeds. Let the pea seeds sit in a single layer until you’ re sure they’ re fully dehydrated, then store them in a cool, wellventilated place.
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Beans
If you know how to save peas, you know how to save bean seeds. The steps are exactly the same.
Nasturtium
In this case, let nature take its course after your nasturtiums finish flowering, and before long you’ ll be able to harvest the seeds.
The seeds will start out green but eventually will turn brown and you can gather them off the plants( or they may fall off on their own), in which case you can gather them directly from the garden bed. Just make sure they are completely dry before putting them in storage. Each seed is larger than a dried pea.
Sunflower
If you only want to save one kind of seed this year, save sunflower seeds. There’ s so much return on your planting investment.
For each one you plant, a single sunflower can produce over 1,000 kernels. Once the flower head has dried and the back turns yellow or brown, it’ s time to harvest. Both the heads and the harvest will need additional drying time, but the payoff is well worth the effort.
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Mustard greens
Let your mustard plants bolt( send up flowers) and then wait for the magic to happen. The plants will eventually produce seed pods. Once the pods have dried, you’ ll find tiny mustard seeds inside that you can harvest.
Resources for Seed Savers
Seed Savers Exchange( SSE) is an organization that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The organization has helped preserve thousands of open-pollinated and heirloom varieties. SSE offers many valuable resources for anyone looking to get started with seed saving, including educational programs. This helps ensure the preservation of important, valuable and diverse seeds for the future. Your local Extension office can also help you learn the basics of seed saving and answer questions that you may have. Alternatively, you may be able to find a Master Gardener who would be willing to mentor you in the process.
About the Author:
Samantha Johnson is a writer, farm girl and the author of more then a dozen books on rural living. She lives on a farm in northern Wisconsin with a colorful herd of Welsh Mountain Ponies, a bossy Welsh Corgi and a wide assortment of tomato plants.
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