Saving seed is exciting and a very honourable duty. To save pure seed, you want to prevent cross-pollination between two different varieties of the same species. If the seeds you aim to save are not cross-pollinated with other varieties from the same species, you will be able to keep them for generation after generation.
Hybrid plants are created by cross-pollination between two different varieties and do not produce similar plants to the parent plant. Open-pollinated varieties will keep their specific characteristics if they are pollinated within the same specific species. If you plant just one variety in a species, you will be saving pure seed.
It is imperative that you know which variety your plant is. Knowledge of your plant’s scientific name will aid in knowing which plants may cross-pollinate.
Annuals, like lettuce, tomatoes and peppers flower, set seed and die in one growing season. Carrots and onions, for example, are biennials and won’t flower until they have gone through a cold season and through their second growing season.
Perennial plants, on the other hand, survive and flower for many years. It is important to know your plant species as most crops in a garden are from varied species, but not always.
Which seeds work best
When you are planning to save seed, it is advisable to start with easy crops. Peas, beans, tomatoes and lettuce are easy to start with. Ensure that you grow enough plants. Some crops have a challenging time producing seeds whereas others reproduce with one single plant.
Having a too-small population size of a seed crop could result in certain genetic diversity being lost over time. This might result in a decrease in plant stature, germination, vigour and yield.
Sometimes a little garden intervention is necessary to prevent and limit inter-variety cross-pollination. Knowing your species will aid you in deciding what space is needed between varieties.
Advanced intervention methods, e.g., bigger isolation distances, hand pollination and pollination barriers can be used for others. When collecting your seeds, it is important to know when the seeds are mature. Wet fruit seeds are not mature once the fruit is ready to eat. Immature seeds are still edible, and some fruits should be left to fully mature.
Lettuce, grains and beans can be removed when the seeds are dry and hard. Harvesting these is as simple as going out into the garden and handpicking a few mature seedpods. Knowing how to harvest the seeds will aid you greatly when harvesting.
Labels can make all the difference
While some crop seeds are longer lived, certain crops, like onion and carrot seeds are short-lived. Labelling them and making useful notes on when you harvested them, where you sourced them from, and the number of plants that you harvested from is crucial.
Store them in a cool, dry and dark place. Properly dried ones can be sealed and stored in the fridge or freezer for many years. Saving them will preserve their genetic diversity and save the seeds from extinction and make them available to future generations.
This article was first published on Seeds For Africa and written by Michele Fourie.
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