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I love sharing information and tips and tricks for how to save seeds in your own gardens and farms. Seeds of all kinds enchant and bring us closer to our own humanity. They connect us to ancestors, to the present moment, and to the future beings who will depend on our harvests to feed their children.
It is an incredibly important time to commit to saving at least a few seeds from several different varieties from your harvests this season if you are able. We as growers need to take our responsibility to the future seriously. Committing to a practice of seed saving is an empowering step to take in the time of political and climate chaos we currently find ourselves. Seed saving is plant breeding and it starts with you, the seeds and the relationships you form together.
The best time to plan what crops you will try and save seeds from is now! What have you tried in the past? Were you successful? What did you learn in the process? What would you like to try this season? Make a list and see what you come up with!
While we are in the early stages of sowing seeds and planting plants, here are four things to consider when you want to harvest seeds this season.
1. As always, get yourself a great resource and keep it close all season. If I had to choose one book for educating yourself about seed saving I'd choose The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving by Micaela Colley and Jared Zystro, edited by Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel. This is a beautiful book full of great information and wonderful pictures. As a visual learner, the images help me solidify the concepts behind the text. I
If you like a podcast, I love The Seed Growers Podcast hosted by farmer Dan Brisebois. If you are just starting out on your seed growing journey, this may be a bit technical at times but take what serves and leave the rest for another day. Seed folks are some of the most soulful, humble, and wise people around and I find at the end of each episole I feel inspired at excited about growing seeds.
Finally, find a person or people in your community to ask questions, talk seeds, and share experiences. Maybe they have more experience than you or maybe they don't- I don't think it matters. There is always more to learn and having someone you can send a photo with a question, or email a weird situation you are finding, or anything plant and seed related will serve you well. Feel free to use me as a resource! I will answer your questions and share my experience as best I can- really! I mean it! Email me :)
2. Start with Open Pollinated seeds. Open pollinated means that the genetics in your seeds are fairly consistent. If you harvest the seeds from an open pollinated plant, plant that seed the following year, you will end up with a plant similar to what you started with. Open Pollinated is a contrast to Hybrid seeds. Hybrid seeds come from a hand-produced cross pollination of two parent plants. Let’s use broccoli as an example. The seeds you plant that came from a hybrid broccoli variety such as Gypsy, will grow a uniform stand of broccoli. But if you harvest seeds from the Gypsy broccoli and plant them again, you will not get the same uniform stand of broccoli you started with. You’ll still get some sort of leafy brassica- you won’t get an elephant-but you can’t count on the results being what you expect. Starting with Open Pollinated seeds will give you the best results year after year as you begin to adapt your crops to your growing space.
3. Nurture the best plants from the very beginning. Vigorous germination and steady initial plant growth are wonderful traits to carry forward in your seeds. If you notice some seeds germinating more quickly, be sure to plant out those plants and save their seed. If you are transplanting baby plants, plant the best ones and let the rest go (If they are veggies I usually eat them so as not to let their life force go to waste :) If you notice a specific plant showing healthy and strong growth in the early Spring, make a note of it and mark that plant to be a seed plant.
4. This may be the most challenging but it's worth it because, to me, it's the whole point. Create the time in your life to observe, slow down, and experience the plants you will tend this season. Create a ritual of walking out in the morning with your coffee or tea once a week just to sit, look and maybe even write down your observations. You may end up with dirty fingers and your cup of morning drink cooling where you set it on the ground to pull a few weeds or investigate a this or that...that's ok. You'll harvest more fruitful seeds if you spend more time with the plants.
You are at the beginning of your plant breeding journey that will end with seeds that will produce well in your system. They love you, they love your garden and how you tend it, so do your best to keep them going by saving their seeds.
If you are a beginner, start with some of the easier self-pollinating crops like peas, beans, or sweet peas. Or some that just can't help but go to seed before September like arugula, cilantro, and bachelor buttons. Other crops like marigolds just leave their seeds on the plant in such an enticing way that you can't help but pluck them and tuck them in your pocket in the fall. What will be on your list this year?
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