Getting Started With Seed Saving

 

Below are some basic guidelines for and some of the science behind saving seeds, but if you want to just give it a try before getting too involved, here is a foolproof first step into saving seeds.

 

Stuart's Foolproof First Step

Almost everybody starts their seed saving with beans or peas. It's virtually foolproof. If you've ever grown dry bean plants then you've already saved seeds. You may just have eaten them before you planted them in the garden the following spring. If you've grown snap or shell beans or any kind of pea for food, then you've done almost everything you need to save the seed for the following season. 
 
Here's what you can do. On each of your bean plants or your pea vines, leave one pod to reach full maturity instead of picking it to eat. You can eat all the rest on the plant. Leave that one pod until the end of the season when it turns leathery, then crisp. Then pick the dried pods off each of your plants. (Don't worry at this point about how many plants you have.) Remove the seeds and leave them in a dry spot until they're hard enough that your thumb nail won't dent them.  Put the seeds for each variety in an envelope labelled with the name and date. Put the envelopes in a jar and store it in a cool, dark, dry spot.

 

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Seed Saving Basics  

The books and websites on the resource page will give you many more details about specific crops and processes, and you’ll learn a lot as you go along, but here is an introduction.

And here is a link that you might also find useful.

Seed Savers Exchange Webinar: Seed Saving for Beginners

 

1.  What You Need to Know First 

Make sure you are growing open-pollinated (OP) varieties if you are wanting to save seeds. Seed saved from open-pollinated plants will grow true to type. Seed saved from hybrids (F1) will not grow true to type. You can experiment with hybrids, but you won’t know what you’ll get when you plant the seeds you saved from a hybrid.

 

Is this variety an annual or a biennial?

Annual plants grow through their whole life cycle in one year, from seed to seed. You plant the seed, it grows, flowers, and makes seed all in one growing season. (e.g. lettuce, tomatoes, squash)

 

Biennials grow vegetatively the first year, without going to seed. They store food (usually in a hefty root) to produce seed in the second year. These roots/plants need to be kept alive over the winter in the ground or in a root cellar and planted out the following spring when they will flower and go to seed. (e.g. carrots, beets, onions)

 

How is this crop pollinated? 

Inbreeders, or selfers, are the easiest crops to save seed of. They have perfect flowers with both female and male parts. The flowers generally self-pollinate before they even open, so you don’t have to worry about cross-pollination, and you don’t need as many plants to produce seeds.

(e.g. lettuce, most tomatoes, peas) 

 

Outbreeders, or crossers, need more planning and attention when growing for seed because they will cross-pollinate. They generally are pollinated by wind or insects. They can have perfect flowers (broccoli, carrots), male and female flowers on the same plant (squash), or female plants and male plants (spinach). You’ll need to be careful about what you grow in your garden and also what close neighbors might be growing in their gardens. Knowing the botanical classification of some crops, like squash, cabbage family, and onion family, will help you figure out what you can grow that won’t cross.

 

2.  Maintaining Varietal Purity: How do I keep them from crossing?

In order to keep outbreeding varieties from crossing, you will need to isolate them in one of three ways:

Time: Plant only one variety OR stagger plantings so they bloom at different times.

Distance: Observe required separation distances for varieties that will cross. See our list of resources.

Mechanical Isolation: Use cages, row cover, or bags to isolate, or you can hand-pollinate.

 

Just to be safe, avoid growing two varieties of an inbreeding crop (like beans) right next to each other. A 10-20 ft distance is recommended.

 

3.  Population Size: How many plants should I grow?

This is a complicated topic that depends on your goals and limitations. One rule of thumb for maintaining a variety over the years is to have 20 inbreeding plants and 100 outbreeding plants. The reason for this is to maintain genetic diversity and to avoid inbreeding depression, or loss of desired traits. 

Practically speaking, though, home gardeners should grow out as many as they can in the space they have. Check recommendations for individual crops. The Seed Garden is an excellent resource for figuring out your population size, among other things. Plant extra to be sure to have enough.

 

4.  Planting: When do I need to start them? 

Think about when the seed will be ripe. Is it at the eating stage (e.g. dry beans, tomatoes, melons, winter squash), or will you need to let the plants or fruits grow beyond the eating stage (e.g. eggplant, lettuce, spinach, green beans, cukes)? Find out the requirements for different species and varieties, so you can start plants so they will have time to go to seed and time for the seed to ripen. This may mean starting some annuals earlier than you are used to or biennials a bit later.

 

5.  Spacing: How much room do they need?

This is a good reason to get to know your plants throughout their whole lives. Some plants, especially some biennials, get really big when they are going to seed, so they need extra space. Some don’t need much, if any, more space than when you grow them for food. Check your resources for spacing guidance.

 

6.  Care: Any special treatment while growing?

Stake plants if they are going to get big and fall over.  It can become quite a mess, and you can end up losing a lot of seeds. Stake them early, before they fall or are blown over by the wind.

Protect ripening seed from rain, birds, and critters as much as possible. Heavy or prolonged rain can ruin a ripening seed crop. Ripening seeds are delicious treats for birds and rodents.

R ogue out any diseased or “off-type” plants before they flower and share their pollen. You probably don’t want their genes in the mix.

 

7.  Harvest: When and how?

Harvesting Seeds

This is a huge topic and yet another reason to get to know your plants. The books we list at the end of this booklet go into good detail about gauging seed ripeness and the different harvesting methods. With experience, you will develop a feel for when to harvest and how to process your seeds. No matter what seeds you are dealing with, make sure you label everything and let them dry thoroughly indoors before storing. 

 

Harvesting First Year Biennials to Store

Choose healthy and well-formed roots or plants to store for replanting the following spring. Always store more than you need, to allow for spoilage. Alternatively, leave a row in the ground covered with mulch if winters aren’t too harsh and voles or deer aren’t a problem. Carrots and beets are good ones to try. This is easier than storing inside, but you won’t be choosing the best to go to seed, if that is what you want to do.

 

8.  Drying, Cleaning, and Curing 

There are different techniques for different crops. Some seeds you’ll harvest dry, and they just need to be threshed or cleaned and dried further. Others are harvested wet and need to be processed before drying. Dry seeds on trays or screens in a warm, airy, dry place away from direct sun and critters. Use sieves, wind, a gentle fan, or gentle blowing to remove chaff, immature seeds, and bugs. 

 

9.  Seed storage: Where and for how long?

Make sure seeds are thoroughly dry before storing. Label packets or jars with year of harvest, variety name, and source of original seed.  Store in a cool, dark, and dry place, in airtight containers. The length of time seeds remain viable depends on species and conditions. Refrigeration will extend seeds’ viability, but it’s not essential. Freezers are good only for very long-term storage when you won’t be taking them in and out.

 

10.  Record Keeping: When did I plant those beets?

What to record:

Full variety name

Original seed source and date

Planting/transplanting/harvest dates

Any story or history that goes with the variety, if possible

Notes, comments, observations, things to do differently…

 

How or where to keep records:

Calendar 

Charts or spreadsheets to record data

Field observations / journal / log / garden map

No matter how you do it, keep accurate and complete records, for your own sake and for the sake of those with whom you share seed.

 

11.  Most importantly, just give it a try!

Start with the "foolproof first step" described above, or leave a lettuce to send up its flower stalk and make seeds. Or let that overwintered parsnip grow, just to see what it’s like in its second year. Your plants will teach you a lot! They know just what to do! And have fun!You can always learn more science as you go!

 

 

Easy Seed Saving - self-pollinating annuals

beans

peas

lettuce

most tomatoes

peppers (easy to save seed but can cross-pollinate)

cilantro/coriander

dill

 

Intermediate Seed Saving - might cross-pollinate if another variety is flowering nearby 

spinach

annual radishes

 

Advanced Seed Saving- cross-pollinators, biennials

biennials - beets, carrots, chard, onions, many brassicas (the cabbage family)...

corn, cucumbers, squash, melons...  These require hand pollinating unless your garden is the recommended distance away from other varieties of the same species.