2. Our mission is to save North America’s diverse,
but endangered, garden heritage for future
generations by building a network of people
committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing
heirloom seeds and plants, while educating
people about the value of genetic and cultural
diversity.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Seed saving is the process of
saving seeds from open-
pollinated fruits, vegetables,
grains, flowers & herbs.
Open-pollinated varieties are
maintained by allowing pollen
to flow only between plants
of the same variety.
When pollen flows between
different varieties within the
same species, this is known as
cross-pollination.
8.
9. Intentional, controlled cross-
pollination is used to create
hybrid seeds.
Hybrids will only exhibit reliable
characteristics in their first
generation. Seeds harvested
from hybrid plants will not
likely grow up to look or taste
like their parent.
To save seed, you must start
with open-pollinated seeds and
plants.
12. things to know as a seed saver:
1. know your variety
2. know the lifecycle of your plants
3. know how your plants pollinate
4. know how to isolate your plants
5. know how many plants to grow
6. know your environment
7. know when to harvest your seeds
8. know how to prep your seeds for
storage
9. know how to store your seeds
10. know how to share
14. Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
common name: bean
binomial name: Phaseolus vulgaris
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Phaseolus
Species: vulgaris
P. vulgaris will only cross with
other P. vulgaris beans. It will not cross with
runner beans (P. coccineus),
lima beans (P. lunatus),
or fava beans (Vicia faba).
What is my plant’s Species?
60. traits of a good
seed saver:
observant
organized
inquisitive
61. for more information:
Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth
A Seed Saving Guide for
Gardeners and Farmers, OSA
www.seedalliance.org/publications
SSE Webinars
www.seedsavers.org/webinars
62. The old varieties are threatened today, not
because of any deficiencies, but because they
are not suitable for factory farmers and the
food processing industry. As long as food crops
are being bred for machines and large
commercial growers, the needs of the home
gardener will be of marginal importance. The
old varieties will survive and flourish only if they
continue to be grown by backyard gardeners
and sold by local farmers markets, organic food
co-ops, and CSAs.
Suzanne Ashworth
Seed to Seed
Notas do Editor
when we talk about ‘our garden heritage’, we can be referring to: family heirlooms (give brief Grandpa Ott’s story)
old market varieties (give brief Moon and Stars watermelon story)
moremodern OP varieties that have become important to American gardeners
this is a simplified illustration of cross-pollination.
people choose to save seeds for many reasons (briefly discuss some reasons for saving seeds). your reason to save seeds can impact your practices significantly. if you’re only interested in saving seeds to save a bit of money, you may have different tolerances for cross-pollination and population size than if you have a very rare family heirloom that you’d like to maintain.
importance of knowing common name vs scientific name
(carrot flower)
every flowering garden plant goes through a similar cycle: seed, plant, flower, fruit/seedhead, then back to seed. to find the seeds, look first for the flower.
annuals produce flowers in their first year (list examples of annuals). however, not all gardeners are accustomed to letting their plants reach the flowering phase of their lifecycle. lettuce is an example.
biennials require a cold period to stimulate flower production in their second year of growth (discuss examples, including chard)
some plants are likely to self-pollinate as a result of their flower structure
despite having perfect flowers, several crops are potential outcrossers – pollen often moves between flowers and between plants
despite having perfect flowers, several crops are potential outcrossers – pollen often moves between flowers and between plants
some plants have separate male and female flowers and so require insects to move pollen from one flower to another. because insects aren’t picky about which plants they harvest pollen from, these crop types can be easily cross-pollinated with another variety in the same species growing close by.
this rudimentary graph gives a general guideline for population sizes: the more inclined toward outbreeding your crop type is, the larger the population you need to maintain it. population size depends on crop type, but it is also circumstantial – if you’re able to buy in new seeds every few years, you might not need to save seed from 80 cabbage plants.
what is the feasibility of growing particular crops for seed in your area? also, what are your neighbors growing (corn, for example)?
dry-seeded crops should be left on the vine until fruit is brown and brittle, seeds inside will be very hard
for some wet-seeded crops, market maturity = seed maturity
for other wet-seed crops, market maturity ≠ seed maturity
dry seeded crops
threshing
winnowing
wet-seeded crops have fleshy fruits with seeds inside. first, seeds must be removed from the flesh.
finally, seeds must be allowed to dry.
seeds must be rinsed.
finally, seeds must be allowed to dry.
seeds must be sufficiently dry before storage
seeds should be kept dry and cool during storage. protection from bugs and rodents is also a consideration. glass jars, metal boxes, or pest-proof cabinets are potential considerations. and be sure to label your seeds well!
the Yearbook
seed swaps, seed libraries, organizing community seed groups