Allotment Growing

Saving Your Own Seeds - Basics

By Gloria Logan, Canada

Biodiversity

Biodiversity. A little word that matters a great deal. If the Irish had known of it, many thousands would not have died in the tragic Potato Famine of 1845-50. To the present world, the tremendous varieties and their collective gene pool can help overcome the many diseases and climate problems that stress today ’ s common seed varieties.

This is because one seed type does not suit all growing conditions. Where summers are very short, sub-arctic types will fruit and ripen quickly, often within 45 days. Where summers are hot and long, another variety, large and trailing, will fit the bill. Local growers knew this and over centuries developed strains to accommodate their conditions and problems, and maximize flavour.

Sadly, many of today's seed catalogues limit our selection to only several varieties per species, if even that many. And hybridized varieties populate the bulk of listings. Much work has gone into hybridization but at the expense of flavour, texture and fragrance.

Not all qualities will fit into one seed. Hybridizers aim primarily for the wholesale production market where uniform size, uniform maturing time and shipping endurance are key elements.

Heirloom Seeds

Heirloom seed varieties are the exact opposite. Flavour, texture and fragrance are primary factors. You don’t care about shipping because the trip is short from your garden to your plate or flower vase. And if you wonder about fragrance in food, you’ll be amazed at how a freshly sliced organic heirloom cucumber perfumes the whole room. Same with a juicy Noir des Carmes cantaloupe. Or a smoky-flavoured, purple Paul Robeson tomato. Bull’s Blood Beets live up to their colour as do purple Dragon Carrots and the voluptuous orange of sweet Red Kuri winter squash. The variety of vegetable colours are just as fascinating as their names and histories. Same with flowers such as highly scented Cuprani sweet peas And best of all, there are no licensing fees or patent infringements to worry about.

So, by saving your own seeds, you save a plant you want to grow again and you no longer rely on catalogues which might discontinue your favourites.

How does one start growing heirloom, aka heritage, aka open-pollinated varieties? Some people have neighbours who can supply some seeds. For others, specialty heirloom seed catalogues, found on internet searches and in garden magazines, offer a considerable selection of flower and vegetable seeds. The selection is wide, service is very good by the committed small businesses who supply them, the source country and growing recommendations are always indicated, and the seeds are guaranteed. However, within this cottage industry, seed prices can be a bit steep for some. But once purchased, perpetuated seeds can be saved for the rest of your lifetime, and passed to heirs. Early European settlers brought cherished seeds with them to North America, and centuries later many varieties of trees, plants, flowers and vegetables still endure.

To cut some startup costs, see if you can find someone willing to go halves on some mutually agreed varieties. Otherwise, carefully select varieties which will best suit your growing area and season length. Resist the temptation to order every variety offered; few gardens are large enough. And do order only what your family is likely to eat. Once you taste the incredible flavour of an organically grown heirloom vegetable, you’ll not be able to eat grocery store produce again. Then you can slowly introduce new vegetables to your eager family. And should your neighbour’s hybridized plants fail, you can pass on some of your heritage seeds and further perpetuate the gene line, a privilege every heirloom seed grower possesses.

Saving Seeds is Easy!

It’s easy to save seeds, even children can do it. And no special tools or storage containers are needed. You need only to gather most at the right time, and not even that many seeds. If you’re growing say cucumbers, then a dozen seeds would be more than enough for the average family. For tomatoes, perhaps 3-4 dozen seeds if you do a lot of bottling/canning.

The idea of saving seeds is to try to save fresh seeds every year with some backup seeds in case of a crop failure the next year. The average life of many seeds is about three years. Some will last longer, others only a year. However, with each passing year seeds deteriorate and germination (sprouting) rates diminish along with general plant vigour. So a few minutes of collecting fresh seed every year is all that’s required.

The only plants from which seed can’t be collected successfully are the hybrid plants, aka F1 types. Two less desirable parent plants are matched, sometimes through various couplings, to create the ‘perfect’ offspring. But when that offspring is pollinated, its seed usually reverts to one of the undesirable parents. You ’ ll get seed, but not for a plant you’ll like which is why open-pollinated plants are the better choice for seed saving.

Resources

• Seed Saving - Help & Information Home
• Seed Saving Introduction
• Seed Saving Basic Guide
• Seed Saving - Storing Your Seeds