Seed Saving Books

Looking for some helpful resources on Seed Saving? Here are some excellent books:

• The Seed Savers' Handbook for Australia & New Zealand by Michel & Jude Fanton, The Seed Savers' Network, 1993.

• Seed to Seed - Food Gardens in Schools by Jude Fanton & Jo Immig, The Seed Savers' Network, 1993. A 90 page manual with amusing and inspiring illustrations by Dr Liz Elliot. Written for teachers and parents, it covers how to plan, install, maintain and utilise food gardens in schools. The book is useful for planning any size and a range of types of gardens. It also has extra information on how to propagate, how to save seeds and replant them.

• Local Seed Network Manual - by Michel & Jude Fanton and Amy Glastonbury, The Seed Savers' Network, 1993. This is an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to form a seed exchange group. Chapters include Reasons for LSNs, Forming a Network, Sourcing Seeds, Keeping Records, Drying and Cleaning Seeds, Storing, Testing, Distributing, Sharing Skills and Promoting Seed Saving. 100 pages. Lavishly illustrated with thirty B&W drawings, ten tables and sixty-one photos.

 

• Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, Suzanne Ashworth and Kent Whealy, Seed Savers Exchange, 2nd edition, 2002. A complete seed-saving guide that describes specific techniques for saving the seeds of 160 different vegetables. This book contains detailed information about each vegetable, including its botanical classification, flower structure and means of pollination, required population size, isolation distance, techniques for caging or hand-pollination, and also the proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing the seeds. An important book to have if you're saving seeds of heirloom varieties.

•  Principles of Plant Breeding, Robert Allard, Wiley, 2nd Edition, 1999.

• Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties, Carol Deppe, Chelsea Green, 2nd edition, 2000. A thorough, readable book detailing all aspects of seed selection and breeding techniques for creating your own new varieties. An essential resource for home breeders.

• The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, Carol Deppe, Chelsea Green, 1st edition, 2010.

• Basic Seed Saving, Bill McDorman, Seeds Trust, 1st edition, 1994.

• Return to Resistance: Breeding Crops to Reduce Pesticide Dependence, R. Robinson, IDRC Books, 1995

Free Downloadable eBooks:

• The Family Seed Saving Book by Rosemary Morrow, 2002. 

• The Pictorial Guide to Seeds of the World - An Introduction into the Collection, Cleaning, and Storage of Seeds by Terry A Woodger, 2011

 

 

Seed Saving Presentation: