Well, the spring and summer gardening season is coming to an
end. Many plants have run their course and many gardeners have too! But before
retreating into our air conditioning for the month of August and leaving our
gardens to fend for themselves there is one last job to be done- seed
gathering. It is in the process of seed gathering that the gardener becomes a
scientist, actually several scientists. Let me explain…
First the gardener thinks like a geologist. When determining the age of rocks, geologists
use radiocarbon dating. During this process a relationship between parent
material and daughter material is established. As gardeners we can think of this year’s
garden as our parent material and the seeds we gather as our daughter material
that will grow in to next year’s garden.
When choosing which seeds to gather, the gardener becomes a
geneticist selecting seeds from the best flowers and vegetables in the garden –
the biggest zinnias, the tastiest tomatoes, and perhaps only the pink cleomes.
This is a chance to “weed out” the plants with unfavorable characteristics, and
choose the color, size, taste, and hardiness of the plants you prefer in your
“daughter garden” next year. Saving
seeds that have done well in your garden will produce plants that are better
adapted to your specific growing conditions thus producing better results.
Now it’s time to become a botanist by understanding the
difference between open-pollinated seeds, heritage seeds, and hybrid seeds. The following definitions come from Seed
Savers Exchange:
“Open-pollination
is when pollination occurs by insect, bird, wind, humans, or other natural
mechanisms.”
“An
heirloom variety is a plant that has a history of being passed down within a
family or community, similar to the generational sharing of heirloom jewelry or
furniture.”
“Hybridization
is a controlled method of pollination in which the pollen of two different
species or varieties is crossed by human intervention.”
The seeds of open-pollinated and heirloom plants are best
for saving. The new plants grown from these seeds will remain “true-to-type”
each year with only random variations. Seeds from hybrid plants will not grow “true-to-type”.
If you want to grow a special hybrid variety, you will need to purchase seeds
for that plant each growing season.
Once you have gotten comfortable wearing all of your
scientists’ hats, it is time to get down to the details of seed-saving.
What: Some
of the easiest flower seeds to harvest are poppy, morning glory, marigold,
cleome, columbine, and larkspur. Easiest vegetable seeds include beans,
peppers, cucumbers, and squash.
When: This depends on whether you will be gathering
wet seeds or dry seeds. Most flower seeds are gathered dry from seedpods or
seed heads. Let the pods or heads turn brown and dry out before harvesting, but
don’t wait too long or your seeds will fall to the ground in what is called
self-sowing. Do not harvest flower seeds in the morning when they may still be
moist; harvest in the heat of the day. Vegetable seeds are harvested when the
vegetable is very ripe.
How: Flower seeds need to dry for at least one week
and are best stored in paper bags or envelopes that will not trap moisture. Then
the labeled paper containers should be stored in a cool dark place. For long term storage, place dried seeds in
airtight containers in the refrigerator. Vegetable seeds that are harvested wet
may need to be placed in water and allowed to ferment for a few days. During
this process, bad seeds will float to the top and good seeds will sink to the
bottom. The good seeds are removed and allowed to dry completely before
storing. More detailed instructions for
seed harvesting, storage, and fermentation can be found at
www.howtosaveseeds.com and
www.gardeningknowhow.com
Why: I
suppose the most practical reason for saving seeds is cost. A package of poppy
seeds can cost as much as $5.00 when one seedpod contains zillions of free poppy
seeds! Also sharing and swapping seeds is a time-honored gardening tradition. But
for many gardeners, saving seeds is just another way to become further
integrated into the life cycle of the gardens they love.
