Global Coalition for Peace

presents

Basic Seed-Saving Workshop

A. Self-sustainability: You will always have seeds, never have to wait for someone else to provide them and they will not cost you anything.B. Adaptation: Seeds that come from your own garden will be stronger and more adapted to the climate and soil conditions of your little piece of the earth, so you will have better crops.C. Preservation: You can preserve the varieties that have worked best for you. ie., if you grow a particularly beautiful, tasty tomato, you can reproduce it with the next harvest.D. Protection: Saving your own seeds will protect you against being at the mercy of large seed companies or corporations that want to control what seeds you plant and what you grow. In other words, you will have control over what you eat and your ability to feed yourself and your family.

Why Save Seeds?

Types of Seeds

1. Open-pollinated versus Hybridized: a. Open-pollinated: OP seeds produce plants that will be like the parent plant. b. Hybridized: The problem with seeds you buy: Many of the seeds that you can buy are what is called hybridized. Seed companies cross breed two different varieties of plants to produce a new variety that has the best qualities of the two. However, they may or may not produce seed that will grow when planted. If they do produce viable seed it may produce a plant that is like the parent plant or it may produce something very different, with traits from more distant relatives.

2. Terminator seeds, on the other hand, currently produced by Monsanto, are specifically bred so that seeds from the crop will be sterile. The purpose of that is so that farmers and gardeners can only purchase their seeds from Monsanto.

3. Heirloom Seeds: These are seeds from non-hybrid plants that have been grown for generations. Because they have specific traits that are desirable, they have survived. The seeds will be true to the parent plant.Such varieties are usually hardy, pest resistant and have other desirable qualities, as well as being open pollinated. Heirloom seeds are important store houses of genetic diversity.

4. The Seeds I Use: I order from companies that sell organic and biodymanic seed and when my plants produce seed, I save my own. Seed saving, or seed conversation, is the practice of saving seeds that reproduce through natural means. Plants grown from your own seeds will rapidly adapt to changing conditions and produce an ever-abundant succession of yields. This process is necessary for the continued survival of a diverse variety of plants.

Types of Seeds (cont.)

General Information

A. If you research how to save a particular seed you may get conflicting instructions. That is due to the fact that seed saving for the backyard gardener and seed-saving for the farmer can be two different processes. For example: Seed-saving instructions to a farmer may tell him that if he is going to grow two different varieties of cucumber he should separate them by a half a mile to avoid cross-breeding. Obviously, the backyard gardener can't do that.

B. If as a gardner, you are planning to save seeds it's a good idea to plant just one type of each plant in close proximity, to avoid the chance of cross-breeding. In other words, if you plant two varieties of one vegetable, they may cross-breed and form a hybridized variety that will not reproduce. So, at least for your initial experiments with seed-saving, I would recommend that you plant only one variety of each plant that you want to save.

C. Always make sure that your seeds are thoroughly dry before storing.

A. Seeds from flowering vegetable plants

B. Seeds from pods

C. Seeds from fleshly fruits – tomatoes, melons, squash

Three Main Types of Seeds that We're Going to Discuss

Another Classification -Annuals, Biennials, Perrenials

A. Annuals - These are plants that produce seed in one season and have to be replanted each year. B. Biennials – Biennial vegetables normally require two growing seasons from seed to flowering. Biennial vegetables include beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, onion, parsley, parsnip, rutabaga, salsify, and turnip. You may see seed pods or flower heads on one of these plants the first year that you plant. When that happens it is because they have been subjected to a spell of cooler weather early during their growing season, tricking them into thinking it is a new season C. Perrenials – flower and produce their seeds in a specific time of the growing season. Perrenials die down in the winter and begin growing again when the weather warms up. They do not require re-seeding. Examples of perrenial vegetables are asparagus and rhubarb.

Choosing Which Seeds to Save

Seeds from flowering plants are mature or ripe when flowers are faded and dry or have puffy tops.

Plants with pods, like beans and peas, are ready when the pods are brown and dry. When seeds are ripe they usually turn from white to cream colored or light brown to dark brown.

The seeds from fleshly fruits are ready to save when the fruit is a little bit overly ripe.

Always Choose A. Seeds from best specimen(s) of the crop: B. Seeds from plants that don't bolt (go to seed) too early C. Seeds from plants that are fully mature before harvesting

Seeds From Flowering Plants

A. Examples of flowering vegetables are lettuce, basil, onions

B. After the flowers fade away, the plants will eventually form seed heads, which, in the case of lettuce,look a lot like miniature dandelion seed heads ( the white fuzzy things that appear after the yellow dandelion flowers).

Lettuce Seed Heads

Lettuce Seed Heads (cont.)

Once these seed heads form and are dry, remove the whole seed head(s) from the plant before the seeds blow away! Choose a day when the weather is sunny, dry and calm rather than windy. You might want to use scissors, as your hands will get pretty sappy while trying to pull off the seed heads! Now, just take the seed heads indoors and pluck the seeds from them. You can also remove the white chaff that lets them get blown around, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Set them on a paper plate to dry, and leave them for at least a week or two. Then, just put them in an envelope, glass container, or some other container, and treat them like any other seeds.

C. Basil is another flowering plant. It produces many, many flowers and each flower has a number of seeds.

Onions

Each onion will produce only one flower but it has many, many seeds.

Seeds from Pods

A. Examples of seeds that grow in pods are peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

B. To Harvest these seeds leave the pods on the plants to dry, if possible, or remove the entire plant and hang to dry. When the pods are crispy dry and the seeds make a rattling sound, split them open and remove the seeds.

Bean Pods

To Store: Make sure the seeds are completely dry (they will shatter when hit with a hammer on hard surface). Store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.

Seeds from Fleshly Fruits

Tomato, melon, squash, cucumber (Seeds are inside the fruits)

To Save Seeds from Fleshly Fruits

To save seed from fruited crops (tomato, melons, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins), begin by selecting clean, disease-free, fully ripe fruits (a little beyond the eating stage). Cut the fruit open using a clean knife and scoop the seeds into a clean container. Add water to the container and keep the container at room temperature, allowing the mixture to ferment for several days. Stir daily to help separate seed from the pulp.

After several days the mixture should be good and frothy. You will notice many seeds floating to the top of the container: these ‘floaters’ are nonviable, or at best will produce weak plants. Strong, viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the container. Pour off the pulp and floaters, leaving the good seeds in the bottom of the container. Repeat this process several times, adding a little fresh water each time and allowing the seeds to settle before pouring off the water.

Spinach

Spinach produces male and female plants. Female plants produce seeds; male plants produce pollen. After the plants "bolt" you'll notice the female plants producing seed clusters, while the males wither and die. Once the pods turn brown, the seeds are ready to harvest. Strip off the pods and to separate the individual seeds from the clusters.

Perrenial Herbs

Many herbs are perrenial. You do not have to replant them every year. These include mint, rosemary, oregano and thyme. However, some will get tired after several years, for example, thyme will often need to be replanted after 3 years, rosemary after 5-7 years.

Oregano seeds are so tiny, like pepper, so it may be a good idea to mix them with some sand and then spread the mixture thinly and evenly over the bed where you want to plant them.

We will look at some perrenial herbs later in the slide show.

Storage

Containers: Most important thing is that the seeds are thoroughly dry before storing them. They can be stored in paper envelopes or plastic or glass containers.

Paper envelopes will absorb moisture and allow fungus to develop. So, if you're going to use paper envelopes put them inside a large plastic bag.

Store your seeds in a cool, dry place. A refrigerator is a good option. Some people freeze their seeds and seed companies apparently do this but moisture control is very important. If you do freeze seeds they should be brought back to room temperature gradually rather than exposing them to a blast of warm, humid air.

Testing Your Seeds for Viability

Take a sample of seeds from their storage container. Make sure that the sample is big enough – ideally about two dozen seeds. Plant in loose soil in a seed-starting tray or an egg carton. Place the tray(s) in a warm location (at least 65-75o). Check the seeds regularly and mist the soil when they start to dry out. Allow one week past the expected germination time. When testing time has elapsed count the number of germinated seeds. 80% germination is very good

Usually Not Grown From Seed

Some vegetables do not require seed. They are grown from existing vegetables.

Potatoes – need potato with eyes

Garlic – grown from a single clove

Onion - grown from sets

Other Common Seeds and Seed Heads

Beet Seeds

Swiss Chard Seeds

Carrot Flower Seed Head

Celery Flower

Parsley Seed

Coriander Seed

Rosemary Starting to Flower

Eggplant Seeds

Okra Seeds

Radish Seed Pods

Broccoli seed pods look very similar

Leek Seed Heads