Growing Food & Seed Saving in a Dry Garden

The next 'Seedy Sunday' will be on 2 November from 10.30am - 12.00pm. Come join our table and enjoy meeting like-minded locals.

On the menu this month:

• processing, labelling and storing dill, coriander, lettuce, spring onion, mustard and rocket seeds.
• identifying drought-tolerant crops for seed saving.
• a variety of crops to plant now and how to prepare for them. 
• strategies for growing food crops in hot, dry weather.

Dill seeds ready for processing

Many leafy greens like tatsoi, baby spinach, mustard, some lettuces, coriander and rocket often bolt to seed, now warmer weather has arrived. Bring along any seeds you would like to process for the seed bank, especially if you have winter crops that have finished.

Just grab a paper bag and collect up any seed heads that are fully developed and turning brown. The seed pods should be full and ripe. 

It's time to sow crops that can take the heat. We'll be discussing some varieties and sharing experiences and growing strategies. 

'Salad Bowl Red' and 'Green' Lettuce Varieties are more heat tolerant

Trees that are in stress may be dropping leaves. Use these to build your soil.

If you have some spare cuttings, seeds, surplus produce, questions or ideas to share please bring these along to our meeting.    

We love new faces so bring a friend or neighbour - perhaps someone who'd like some company or needs a little support in their garden. Our group welcomes beginners, visitors and people new to our community area. We also sow seeds of friendship when we are together.

Activities for November

If you are growing brassicas like kale or cabbage, you may find white cabbage butterflies and the diamondback butterflies laying eggs, with caterpillars taking their toll.

Using sacrificial trap crops (those that attract the butterflies to lay their eggs on) is one organic strategy that may help. I use nasturtiums for white cabbage butterflies but Asian cabbages like Bok Choy (Brassica rapa) are attractive to the diamondback butterflies. The idea is to check the leaves of your trap crop plants for eggs and remove before they pupate, ending the life cycle. Alternatively, plant Land Cress (Barbarea vulgaris). When the diamondback larva hatch, they eat the leaves, but die from the toxic natural plant chemicals (saponins).

Some grasshoppers are appearing. They are best removed by hand early morning when they are more docile. If you only have a small area with these crops growing, you may want to consider netting to exclude these visitors who take more than their fair share!

Grasshopper party on Sweet basil leaves

Time to plant summer crops but make sure your soil has moisture holding capacity or an irrigation system. In this dry weather, establishing seedlings can be a challenge. You may have to be a vigilant 'plant parent' for a few weeks until they are established.

Try putting in zucchini, beans, cucumbers, eggplant, capsicum, corn, pumpkin, basil, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. It's also a good time to prepare for turmeric, yams, yakon, galangal, arrowroot, taro, cassava and ginger that thrive in our humid, wet summer.

If you're growing food in containers, these are some dry season strategies to get the most from your crops in pots.

If you haven't already, make some bamboo tepees for climbers like beans, tomatoes and cucumber. Bamboo is a cheap sustainable material and easily to grow in our climate. Why not put in a clumping variety so you have your own building materials on hand?

Cucumber growing on bamboo tepee frames with repurposed baling twine

Consider what shade structures you are going to use in the coming months to protect your crops in the heat. Position tall potted plants to help shade vulnerable ones or start planting shady microclimates now.

What to Plant in November

Check out these sites for tips and planting guides:

Gardenate - Subtropical zone.

ABC Vegie Gardening Guide.

Aussie Organic Gardening.

This month's Seed Savers Meeting

We meet at Sweethearts Cafe who offer us a large space to get together for free (saving us a hall hire fee so no cost to you) but as a business are in effect hiring out that area to us for a couple of hours.

So as a courtesy please remember to at the very least order a tea/coffee or a yummy meal, to support the cafe. They have a delicious local and organic menu. Visit their website for more info @ http://www.sweetheartscafe.com.au/aboutus.html.

Venue: 2 Anzac Street (cnr Rosebed Street), Eudlo.

FREE to attend so bring a friend and carpool! Hope to see you soon.

By Anne Gibson

Seedy Sunday Workshop Summary

Here's a brief recap for both the participants and those that weren't able to join us for the October Seedy Sunday Workshop. We had a group of nearly 40 enthusiastic people coming from as far as Victoria and Brisbane and the northern Sunshine Coast.

Some of the attendees at the workshop

We asked everyone to introduce themselves, where they were from, what method of transport they had used to get there and why they'd come. This made for some very interesting and entertaining brief introductions! We had two groups carpool up from Brisbane (include Tim Searle and his companions from newly formed Turnstyle Seed Exchange); quite a few bike riders including Greg and Sophie (who are bike riding from Victoria around Australia blogging and writing a book about people living simple lives) and Bruce who donated our initial seed bank stock in 2009; Jane who walked 20kms from Mooloolah and many others who drove. This facilitated some thought provoking conversation about the need for cars and resolutions for some to carpool, ride or walk next time!

Plant material was shared around including herb cuttings, ginger, yakon, tumeric, sweet potato runners and many others. There was a great energy and generous community spirit of sharing, swapping and pooling of ideas.

Greg spent time interviewing a number of longer term Transition Town members for their book which is being launched next September. Should make an interesting read.

Sophie and Greg enjoying breakfast inside the cafe after a hot ride from Maleny showgrounds

We discussed them possibly returning back to visit us during the book launch. They are now heading off on the final leg of their journey towards Cairns before the rainy season.

As part of the Seedy Sunday Workshop, there was lots of hands-on learning and jobs to do so everyone could pick up new skills from processing seeds (separating seed heads from the seeds) to winnowing (blowing chaff off on trays), using pastry or artist's brushes to clean seeds, crushing seedpods in calico bags to measuring and labelling each packet. 

Sieving seeds from chaff into the mulch bag

Rather than waste the seed heads and chaff that remain after we've processed the seeds, we tip our 'mulch bag' into the Sweethearts Cafe pot plants as a layer of organic mulch. If we've missed any seeds during the process, free herbs pop up and grow!

Many hands made light work of the huge number of seeds we had to process on the day. Visitors from Turnstyle Seed Exchange helped process herb and flower seeds using different techniques in a nice shady spot under the trees.

Blowing chaff from tiny mustard seeds

Flat plates and shallow trays are useful for winnowing to remove chaff

When processing seeds, we used plates, trays, sieves and strainers of different sizes, spoons, calico and paper bags and pastry and artist's brushes.

Using a pastry brush to clean fine chaff off seeds before packaging.

Once the seeds were cleaned, they were ready to be measured for packaging.

 

Clean green mustard seeds ready for packaging.

The Seed Saver's Handbook provides a guide as to how many seeds to add to each packet.

Justin doing some finer cleaning of seeds

Below shows Tim Searle separating marigold seeds from chaff. He ended up with a huge bowlful of flower seeds and these were shared back into Turnstyle's Seed Exchange seed bank. A little 'cross-pollination' between groups!

Separating flower petals from the seed

Due to high humidity on the day, we had to work quickly. Mould is a seed saver's enemy!

Measuring nasturtium seeds out for packaging.

Labelling seeds for the seed bank - one of the most important jobs to do! We include the name of the seed, the source if known, date and when to sow.

Paper envelopes, self seal bags and pens are also important in the seed saving kit

Finished packets were added to the seed bank ready for distribution.

Finally, we shared some seeds with the Turnstyle Seed Exchange seed bank so they could return to Brisbane with some new varieties of locally grown seed to share in their community.

At the end of the workshop everyone went home with free seeds to plant and share. Many of the participants were so engrossed in their tasks that the time slipped away and the last of us left around 1.30pm! The cafe had been kept busy serving up local food and coffee and Greg and Sophie were ready for the next leg of their journey. We look forward to our next meeting and welcoming new visitors to join in the fun!

By Anne Gibson

Growing & Saving Coriander Seed

Many of us love growing coriander for its many health benefits in addition to its fabulous flavour. Did you know that coriander binds to heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum, making it easier to transport them out of your body? This alone is a great reason to include it in your diet and grow it at home.

Healthy coriander - well mulched

However, one of the problems many of us find with growing coriander is its tendency to bolt to seed quite quickly. How do you avoid this happening? ... and how do you get maximum production from your plants?

Growing Slow to Bolt Coriander

1. Selecting Seed - Start with an organic seed, grown locally or from a seed supplier. You can find a list of Australian organic and heirloom seed suppliers at Saving & Sourcing Open-Pollinated Seeds. Try to buy seed from one in your state and ask if the seeds are grown locally or imported so you know what you are getting. If they are grown locally, they are more likely to acclimatise to your local climate conditions.

2. Water - Coriander loves adequate moisture so it's vital you make sure you keep the water up to it during the growing phase. One sure way to get your plant to bolt to seed early is let it dry out!! The long root also needs space to grow deep in a pot or garden bed so make sure you give it enough room.

Mulch heavily after the seedlings have established - you'll find this will help slow down bolting to seed too quickly.

3. Pruning - Coriander, like most herbs, loves a regular haircut! Regular snipping will ensure you get the maximum harvest and a greater production of leaves. You should get at least 4 harvests from one plant if you prune regularly.

Photo courtesy of Sunset.

4. Nutrients - A liquid fertiliser such as diluted seaweed every couple of weeks will also keep it producing healthy foliage. An organic mineral soil conditioner applied to the soil or potting mix when planting will also ensure your plant is healthy and has sufficient food to grow new leaves.

5. Plant Selection for Seed Saving - Most importantly, when you are growing several coriander plants, observation is the key to noticing which plants start flowering first and those that are last. Being slow-to-bolt to seed is the quality you want to preserve in future generations. Use a plant marker to identify the best plant to save seed from.

Harvesting & Processing Seed

After flowering, you'll notice little green seed heads form like these ones from my garden. During flowering, you'll notice many beneficial pollinating insects like bees and wasps will come visit for a feed on the pretty delicate white flowers. This is why you should interplant coriander with fruiting vegetables so the friendly visiting pollinators will help increase your harvest!

Every white flower forms one seed.

Allow the seeds to dry on the plant before snipping off the stalks and storing in a paper bag until fully dry - if you wait too long, they will drop from the plant and self seed. Otherwise, if you have a long period of wet weather, harvest them when green and store till dry before processing.

Then simply rub the seed heads off the stalks, remove the chaff, label and store. By continually following the process of choosing the slowest to bolt plants each season to save seed from, you will breed plants that have this as a dominant quality and extend your harvest season.

The following diagram is courtesy of Milkwood Permaculture on how to breed slow to bolt coriander and is a good visual of the steps.

Have fun and enjoy growing and saving seed from coriander! 

by Anne Gibson

How to Germinate your Seeds

This article via http://permaculture.org.au/2012/08/04/how-to-germinate-your-seeds/

Germinating Your Seeds is Fun and Easy.

Methods vary by plant type. Seeds of annual plants have a shallow dormancy and do not need a winter to germinate, they only live one season. Annuals generally are buried to a depth equal to the size of the seed in moist well drained soil. Some, like tomatoes and peppers, require warm soil or a heat mat to germinate. 

Perennial Seeds Need a Winter

Long-lived perennial plant seeds have mechanisms to prevent germination until conditions are right for successful growing. Perennial seeds go dormant over the winter and then need their dormancy broken in the spring. The techniques below are for perennial seeds only, do not use these techniques on annual or bi-annual vegetable, herb or flower seeds.


In the wild, dormancy is broken by spending time in the ground through the winter so that its hard seed coat is softened by frost and weathering. This cold moist period triggers the seed’s embryo to grow and eventually break though the softened seed coat in its search for the sun and nutrients.

Scarification

Some seeds require scratching or nicking the hard seed coat to allow moisture to enter the seed to begin germination. This mimics natures weathering or the gnawing of rodents. Medium to larger seeds can be nicked with a knife, filed or rubbed with sandpaper. Rub smaller seeds between sandpaper or emery paper. Hobby rock tumblers can be used to scarify larger seed volumes. Abrade only the outer coating, embryos should not be cracked or damaged to remain viable. Commercial nurseries scarify using solutions of sulfuric acid.

Hot water scarification is somewhat easier. Place seeds in an almost boiling pot of water at about 180°F (82°C). Allow the seeds to soak until the water cools to room temperature. Remove the seeds and sow, scarified seeds do not store well. Toss the seeds that float if viable seeds sink for that variety.

Some seeds have a double dormancy requiring both scarification first followed by cold stratification. Others such as Black Cohosh require both warm and cold stratification. See a varieties’ growing instructions for its scarification and stratification requirements.

Cold Stratification

There are six methods of stratification: cold water soaking, refrigeration, fall sowing, winter solstice sowing, outdoor treatment, and snow planting. Time to stratify seeds varies by species, though in most cases storing damp seeds at 39 to 40°F (4 to 5°C) for two to three months is sufficient. Try different methods. Split your seed packet between different methods, start dates or stratification lengths.
Cold Water Soaking

This method works best for medium and larger seeds a few weeks before last frost. You are trying to imitate snowmelt. Place seeds in a small jar and fill with cold water. Viable seeds should sink, although this is not true for all seeds. Many flat seeds or seeds with edges float. Change water daily, your are trying to wash germination inhibitors in the seed. Sow after two weeks. You can also try putting seeds in a small muslin bag and suspending them in the toilet tank. What could be easier, automatic rinsing.

Refrigeration

Wet extra strong paper towel with liquid kelp solution and ring out, fold in half. Liquid kelp is not necessary but it helps germination. Place seeds on half and fold again, press gently between your hands to get seeds in contact with the towel. Place inside plastic bag. Avoid thick walled freezer bags, they do not breath. Label with variety and date. Store in the refrigerator for two to three months depending on the variety. Check for moisture and rotting periodically. If seeds get brown spots and smell musty, they are rotting and should be tossed. Plant after three months whether germinated or not.

The advantage of the paper towel method is that you can see if the seeds are germinating. If germinated, cut paper towel and place on soil, keep moist. You can place seeds in bagged flats in sterile planting medium but the flats or pots take up more room in your refrigerator.

Fall Sowing

Direct sowing in the garden or pots in autumn is the traditional method in Europe. This method naturally exposes perennial seeds to winter conditions. Be sure to stake where you sow, and date. Wood popsicle sticks fade and rot over the winter. Use larger stakes — plastic stakes written with a black Sharpie last the longest. Plant at a depth appropriate for the variety. For seeds requiring light to germinate, just press on the surface.

Winter Solstice Sowing

A variation of autumn sowing is planting later in the winter, starting with the winter solstice on up to February. This method takes full advantage of winter cold and spring heaving and the growing energy of the earth as days lengthen. This works well for hard to start seeds like Good King Henry. We direct sow once in each month from November through March to find the right stratification window. In our zone 7b, mid-December was the proper sowing time to germinate Good King Henry.

Direct sow in place or sow in well drained flats. Do not use soil from your yard, it is usually compacted and hard for the seeds to break through. If necessary, screen soil through 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth and supplement over half with loamy compost or peat moss. Some cover their flats with plastic with holes or screens to let in snow. Make this a part of your annual winter solstice celebration. You can soak medium to larger seeds overnight to aid germination. For seeds that sink, floating seeds are not viable. Again, this varies by seed type. If seeds do not require light to germinate, sprinkle with dry soil to cover.

The harder your winter the later you can plant. If you have hard winters and it is very cold out, 30°F (0°C), put your seeds in the fridge for two weeks to reduce the shock before sowing outside.

Outdoor Treatment

Anise Hyssop growing through the paper towel. The roots had already started growing through the towel in the bag so we just planted the paper towel and will separate as they get established.

This is our preferred method. This method is a variation of the bagged paper towel method but takes advantage of the fluctuating winter and spring temperatures. Instead of putting your bags in the refrigerator, place them outside away from direct light. We put them on the North side of our farmhouse, here in the northern hemisphere. Be sure seeds are protected from rodents. This method generally has a higher germination rate than the steady temp refrigerator method. If you plan to use this method and purchase your seeds after mid-February, you should wait until the following year to germinate them because you need cold late winter temperatures.

Snow Planting

This one is for the kids. After a heavy snow, go outside and broadcast your seeds on the snow where you want them to grow, preferably over a prepared garden bed. Have a snowball fight or toss snow over the seeds so birds do not eat them all. This method works best for varieties that can handle cold but do not require cold stratification such as hardy annuals, biennials or short lived perennials.

Surface Sowing

Keep your surface sown seeds moist until the plants are established. If direct sown seeds dry out in your climate from sun or wind, try covering with a single layer of burlap, light colored cotton sheet or half an inch of loose grass clippings. Remove burlap or sheet after germination. Shading with a window screen or white row cover above them the first season will help prevent drying in hot climates. You can also cover with clear plastic until germination to retain moisture, but be careful not to overheat. As soon as sprouts appear, again remove covering.

Some Need Light

Some seeds require light to germinate, sow these seeds on the surface and gently press into contact with the soil. Seeds requiring light to germinate will be indicated both in the growing instructions and will have a sowing depth of ’surface’.

Good growing!

Read More:

• Seed Germination Theory and Practice (PDF) by Norman C. Deno, 1993-1994.
• Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth, 2002.
• Starting From Seed: The Natural Gardener’s Guide to Propagating Plants, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, 2000.
• Plant Propagation, The American Horticultural Society, 1999.

Source: http://permaculture.org.au/2012/08/04/how-to-germinate-your-seeds/ by Restoration Seeds

Seed Saving Techniques

Dry seed saving involves some simple techniques for collecting, processing and storing seeds that anyone can try. Here are a few photos to give you a snapshot of the materials you can use to start at home:

Once you have collected the mature seed heads (sometimes the stalks/leaves are still green), you may need to hang them up to dry out completely like these rocket stems here. Don't wait too long or the seed pods might shatter naturally and you'll lose the lot!

Gather the dried mature seeds and store them in a paper bag or material that breathes. Here is a bag of mustard seeds snipped from the plant ready to process. Notice the label with date and seed type on a piece of paper on the bag for easy identification!

A sieve and a tray are two simple tools to use to separate the plant material from the seeds for edibles like rocket and mustard. Simply rub the plant material against the sieve so the seeds and chaff drop through to the tray below. Choose a sieve that has suitable holes for the seed size you are processing.

You should end up with a pile of seeds on the tray - compost the plant material or throw on the garden as mulch (there are always seeds hidden that you will miss so these will be your 'volunteer plants' that will self sow!) Next you are ready to clean the seed by blowing the chaff off.

Hold the tray up level with your mouth (not on a windy day!) and gently blow the chaff off the edge. This will remove the remaining plant dust and allow you to package up clean seed.

Once you have your seeds free of chaff, they are ready for measuring and packaging. Small self seal bags are ideal - use a teaspoon to measure the seeds evenly and remove the air. Adding a silica sachet or a few rice grains can help absorb moisture.

Finally, label the envelopes or packets with the variety, date and time to sow plus any other information you have about the source of the seeds or characteristics you want to remember. Then store in a cool dry place where rodents are not able to enjoy a free snack!

Tip: Placing the seed packets into the freezer for a couple of days will ensure any weevils or other insects that have inadvertently been packaged in with the seeds, are destroyed so you can safely store them until you're ready to plant.

Have fun ... and come join us to share some seeds and learn more techniques.

By Anne Gibson

How to Store Seeds Correctly

If you are saving seeds from your garden, the next question you may have is: 'What is the best way to store them?'



According to the Local Seed Network Manual produced by The Seed Savers' Network, to ensure longevity of a variety, they recommend:

"to continually grow it out and pass it on rather than keeping it in storage for years. However you will need to store seed at least between the seed harvest and the next sowing season."

What factors affect the length of time seed stays viable in storage?

The ideal conditions are:

1. A dark, dry environment - Seeds absorb moisture in humid environments and dry out in dry atmospheres. This results in a variety of problems including insects becoming active and reproducing (at 8-9% moisture); fungi growing on and in the seed (at 12-14% moisture); heating occurring (at 18-20% moisture); and at 20%+ moisture, seeds may start to germinate.

The manual says: "High seed moisture is the most common single cause of loss of viability and of vigour in storage." So how do you avoid this?

Tip: Store properly dried seed in moisture-proof containers and add rice or gel sachets to absorb any excess moisture.

2. Pest free - Select a secure storage space that rodents and insects for example can't access. Managing moisture will also avoid the rapid build up of insect populations. Weevils and other insects can be excluded by removing moisture and oxygen from your storage container.

Tip: To ensure weevils are not already present in your seeds before storing, add thoroughly dry seeds to the freezer in a sealed container for 2 days - this should kill most weevils and eggs.

3. Cool AND constant temperature - Seed vitality is best, the cooler the temperature. At 5 degrees centigrade and below, insects are inactive. So if you are storing seeds in your fridge, be aware that large fluctuations in temperature can reduce the seed viability.



Tip: Store in a cool environment like your fridge but try to avoid taking the seed in and out of it as maintaining a constant temperature is just as important to seed viability.

Hope these tips help you store your seeds successfully.

By Anne Gibson

How to Grow, Harvest & Save Basil Seeds

Basil is one of our most popular culinary herbs and belongs to the mint family. Basil is used to make pesto sauce, flavour many dishes and salads, and is well accepted as the perfect partner to tomatoes. It is traditionally used in Italian, Mediterranean and Thai dishes, blends beautifully with garlic, thyme and lemon and also works well with fish, pasta, cheese or eggs.

Other uses include drying leaves for potpourri and using fresh leaves as a herb tea to help with digestion. Basil can be frozen in ice cubes and leaves can be preserved by blanching in vinegar or oil and then blended with cheese, pinenuts or other seeds/nuts to make pesto which freezes well if sealed with a layer of olive oil.

Basil Varieties:

There are a number of delicious varieties to grow.  

• Sweet basil is one of the most common varieties grown but there’s something for everyone in the basil family.  

Other varieties include:

• Lemon (Ocimum americanum) and Lime basil both of which suit seafood dishes, soups and salads.
• Cinnamon.
• Nufar (a mild flavour with just a hint of anise).
• Greek Mini (a compact small leafed basil which particularly suits pots as it only grows to 30cm).
• Thai (Ocimum basilicum) which has a sweet anise-clove fragrance and hint of mint and citrus - flavours that go well in curries.  
• Of course, for a change of colour, there’s also Purple basil.

Basil flowers are a beautiful temporary addition to any garden with the added benefit that they attract pollinators and also provide free seeds for next season.

Tips on How to Grow:

Most basils are annuals and are very easy to grow. They like a soil ranging from slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Seeds can be sown directly into moist soil (moderately rich) in a full sun position any time from spring to mid-summer or into a seed raising mix to a depth of not more than twice the size of the seed. When two pairs of true leaves appear, seedlings can gently be pricked out of the seed raising mix with a bamboo skewer and gently transplanted.

Tip pruning basil helps prevent plants becoming woody too quickly and pinching off flower heads will keep the plant putting its energy into more leaves not flowers and seeds. Once flower heads start to form, the plant slows down leaf production so it’s important to keep pinching these flower buds off.

When harvesting basil leaves, use a pair of secateurs or scissors to cut it back to about 6mm above a node, leaving enough foliage for the plant to keep photosynthesizing and producing more growth. If you remove all the ‘solar panels’ your basil plant can’t get enough energy from the sun to keep growing!

When Seed Heads are Ready to Save:

When you are ready to save seed, allow one plant to flower and leave at least one other to keep producing leaves. Flowers will form on long stalks and stay green for some time while flowering.

This is the ideal time to snip them off the plant.

Eventually they will start to turn brown which house mature seeds inside.  

How to Harvest:

To harvest the basil seed heads, using a brown paper bag and secateurs, snip off the flower heads at the base and drop into the bag. Any mature seeds will fall into the bag. To fully dry the seeds, peg the bag up to dry in a warm, well-ventilated space. Once dried, they are ready for processing!

How to Process: 

Basil seeds can be a little stubborn to remove from the seed heads which each hold several seeds. However they are very tough and can take rough treatment!  Here are some ways you can process them depending on what materials you have available.

• Add the seed heads to a clean calico bag or pillowcase. Rub them vigorously between your hands, scrunching the bag regularly to remove the chaff and allow the seeds to drop to the bottom of the bag. 

Alternatively, use a rolling pin to crush the seed heads.

• When you can see all the seeds, tip them out onto a shallow tray ready to blow the chaff off.  

 

• Another tool you can use is a strainer or sieve with appropriate sized holes or mesh to allow the seeds to remain while the chaff is rubbed through the bottom and onto a tray.

• Gently blow the chaff (plant matter) off the tray or use a small pastry or art brush to remove it. 

 

• Then you'll have clean seed you can package in a small self-seal bag. 
• Remove all air from the bag first after adding your seeds and pop in the freezer for a couple of days to kill any stowaway insects like weevils! 
• Then store in a dark, cool place until you need them for planting. 
• Make sure to label with the variety, date and source. 

 

Plan on plenty of pesto next season!

Seed Saving Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

What should you consider before beginning to save seeds?

Find out what the plant's method of pollination is; whether it will be crossed with nearby plants; and when it is likely to bear seed.

Why shouldn't you save seed from hybrid plants?

Because hybrid plant seed won't reproduce 'true to type' or a plant that is identical to the parent plants.

How are plants pollinated?

Plant pollen can be air-borne, carried by insects or some plants can be self-pollinated. Some plant varieties need to be separated by a large distance or care must be taken to ensure that plants are not cross-pollinated (utilise alternate day covering or plant staggered). Plants that are from the same family group (or related to each other) can pollinate each other too.

How do you decide which plants to save seed from?
Most importantly, observe your plants while they are growing and label them so you can easily recognise which plant to save seed from when it is mature. Select disease-free plants that have the qualities you prefer such as: superior flavour; plant size; harvest time; slow to bolt to seed; high yield; abundant fruit; pest and disease resistant and early bearing.

How do I know when to save seeds?
To germinate, seeds must be mature such as when flowers or pods are faded, brown and dry. With fruiting bodies, generally when they are ripe or over ripe the seeds are ready to be collected.

What are some easy plants to start saving seeds from?
These include: beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce and capsicum/chillies. Self-
pollinated crops are the easiest for a home gardener.

How do I get the seeds out?
For 'dry' seeds (e.g. beans and peas) - Leave flowers or pods on the plant until maturity. The drying process can be completed by spreading the seeds out in a ventilated, dry place. Remove any remaining chaff.

For seeds in fleshy fruit (e.g. cucumbers, melons, pumpkin, tomatoes etc) - Scoop out seed masses and mix in a bucket with warm water. Let the mixture sit and ferment for a few days, stirring daily. The fermentation kills viruses and separates the good seed from the bad (good at the bottom). Rinse and lay out to dry on a plate.

How do I store the seeds?
Stored seeds must be dry, free of chaff and insects. To destroy any stowaways, put the seeds in a freezer for a couple days. Store seeds in a jar or sealed envelope (preferably with dry rice or silica to remove moisture). Label and keep in a cool, dry place.

What information should I record?
Write down any observations about the seed you are saving (such as slow to bolt to seed; excellent sweet flavour) to help you remember why you saved those particular seeds. Record date of harvest, source of seed, planting season and variety traits.

By Anne Gibson