BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SEED SAVING

Seed saving is collecting seed from your home grown edible produce, like vegetables and herbs. You can allow certain produce, like basil or rocket, to flower and ‘go to seed’ then you collect the seed, from the pods. Or when harvesting and cutting certain produce, like pumpkins or tomatoes, you collect the seed from inside of the mature fruit, to dry and store. You can then use the saved seed to grow with next season!

Although it might seem easy to just scoop out some seeds from a pumpkin and keep them, it can be trickier than that, to ensure that you save seed that will grow into good quality, consistent produce the next season. It is worthwhile learning how to handle the challenges, like cross pollination and how to collect different type of seeds, as there are lots of great benefits to saving your own seed.

You can also check out the Beginner’s Guide to Edible Gardening, and the Beginner’s Guide to Raising Seedlings.

What are the benefits, and challenges, to saving your own seed?

It can save you money (instead of buying seedlings, or buying new seed all the time)
An exciting wide range of unique varieties to choose from that you may not be able to source as seedlings
Reduce negative impact associated with packaging, distribution and production of conventional seed or seedlings
Save seed from produce that has grown well in the conditions of your garden, so it is acclimatised
Protect and encourage genetic diversity, and avoiding the possible downfalls of monoculture (i.e. less pest and disease resistance, soils depleted, chance of a species being devastated and no ‘back ups’, less biodiversity, boring food choices!)
Be prepared for possible food shortages or price rises, or food distribution issues, by knowing how to save and grow from seed
It is a satisfying and enjoyable hobby
You can connect with other seed savers, and share your seeds around!

Not all veges and herbs that you want to grow can be grown from seed, or have seed saved from them. You propagate them from cuttings, roots and bulbs. Some examples include potatoes, sweet potatoes, lemongrass, garlic, certain herbs.

What types of seeds are there? Where do we get seed to start with?

There are some seeds which are not ideal to save from year to year, such as hybrid seeds (i.e. F1), which are a cross between 2 plants, to get the ‘best’ from both, such as higher yield or disease resistance. The seed from these plants can be sterile, or highly variable, if they do germinate.

However, seeds that you can buy, swap and save are:

Heirloom or Heritage – genetically strong (the ‘best’ are saved each season) handed down from generation to generation, or a variety that has been around for a long time
Open Pollinated – when pollination occurs naturally, not manipulated; they may be more genetically diverse; may be adapted to local conditions, and produce a dependable crop
Organic – collected from chemical free plants, some may be certified organic

WHERE DO WE BUY OR FIND THE SEED TO START OFF WITH?

You may save from seedlings or plants already in your garden, or look for seed swapping groups, or Seed Savers Networks, in your area, or swap with your neighbours, family or friends. There may also be seed companies that specialise in heirloom and organic seeds in your region.

You might be tempted to save seed from produce you’ve bought at the shops, or farmers markets, but you may find that seeds from produce that has been stored in cool rooms or gassed, will not have a good germination rate. Or may be from a hybrid variety, or got cross pollinated at the farm and won’t grow true to type. Sure, you can give it a go, but if you have limited space and time to do experiments, it could end up being a waste.

Join the Growing Home Community to check out our list of recommended Australian Seed Companies. The group is free, and hosted on Facebook. The list is in the File section, or use the search function.

Seed Saving | Dirt to Dinner Guide | Growing Home

What is cross pollination? Why is it ‘bad’ when saving seed?

Edible plants can be self-pollinated, cross-pollinated, or sometimes both.

Self-pollinated plants – Pollen is not transferred from one flower to another. The process occurs within each flower. The flowers have both male and female plant parts and pollination occurs successfully within the single bloom. These plants include lettuce, peas, beans and tomatoes.
Cross-pollinated plants – The pollen from one flower fertilizes another flower, either on the same or another plant. Either wind or insects carry the pollen. It is important to know the other varieties of the same species with which a plant has the potential to exchange pollen. These plants include pumpkins and cucumbers.

WHAT IS CROSS POLLINATION? WHY IS IT ‘BAD’?

Cross-pollination is where genetics have been shared between plants, during the pollination stage. As explained above, for some edibles, they rely on being cross pollinated before they can produce. That’s good. But in terms of saving seed, the genetics may be mixed up with a different variety within the same species, and those mixed up genetics are saved in the seed.

The genetics determines what the plant grows like, so if you grow from seed saved from that plant where cross pollination occurred with a different variety within the same species, it could negatively affect the ‘next generation’ by not growing true to type.

UNDERSTANDING PLANT CLASSIFICATION

To avoid any negative side effects of cross pollination, we need to learn more about plant taxonomy, or classification. Check out the Seed Saving eGuide for easy to understand explanations, so that you can identify the species and variety and avoid negative impacts of cross pollination.

How can I save ‘dry’ seed?

Some fruiting plants, like beans and okra, you need to leave the fruit on beyond the normal eating size, allow it to be fully mature and the seeds grow fat inside the pod. Some vegetables and herbs need to matured beyond normal harvest point, and ‘gone to seed’, such as herbs, carrots, beetroot, lettuce, leeks. They are ‘dry’ because they can dry out easily (on or off the plant) and can be collected without further washing or fermenting.

For some seed heads, you may need to bag them (paper bags, fine mesh bags) before they fully mature or dry, because when they are mature, they will start to fall or pop off (or birds will eat them). An alternative method, if you cannot leave the seed heads/ pods on until dry (if they are being eaten by pests or there are frosts or rain predicted), is to cut the mature flowers or seeds pods off, and then dry.

Once the harvest is winding up, leave some pods on the plant to fully mature and dry, or allow a plant to go to flower and develop seed pods
Pick the dried pods, remove beans/ seeds and make sure the seeds inside are dry
Or shake the pods and seed into a paper bag, or transfer into an appropriate container. Gently rough up the pods to release the seeds, if necessary
Put into appropriate containers
Label and store in a paper envelope or small ziplock bag, or small jar

How do I save my ‘wet’ seed?

For seed that are found in the edible ‘fruit’ part of the vegetable, such as squash, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, capsicum, chilli and tomatoes, you will find they are ‘wet’ with flesh and/or tissue from inside the fruit.

Make sure you have a mature specimen, or let the edible part grow beyond when you would normally harvest, to ensure the seeds are mature
Cut open, scoop out the seeds and flesh, then place in a sieve.
Rinse and remove the seed from the fleshy parts or pods, and discard the tissue. Allow the seeds to drain.
Spread the seeds on a plate or tray to dry, and LABEL the seeds immediately (drying time could be a few days to a week or so)
Leave them in an area that is low humidity, light filled but not too warm, and where you can easily observe the seeds
Once the seeds are VERY thoroughly dry, put them into an appropriate container
Label and Store in a paper envelope or small ziplock bag, or Seed mats (make your own with tissue or paper towel)