Seed saving

Seed Saving

If you want to grow vegetables year after year, learning how to save your seed will be incredibly rewarding. In this lesson, I'll show you how to dry, harvest and store them.

Seed saving has been happening for thousands of years but since the growth of seed companies, it has been in decline. This gives seed companies the power to choose what we grow and eat, which has led to homogenisation in what we eat.

While it is technically possible to save seed from all the crops that you grow, some crops are easier to save seed from than others. The easiest types of plants to save seeds from are the ones that have fruit and perfect flowers (flowers which can self-pollinate), such as tomatoes and peas.

The Problem with Cross-Pollination

It is much harder to get good seeds from members of the cucurbit family as these plants can cross-pollinate. This means that if you grow cucumbers and courgettes together, you may end up with a seed that is the offspring of both these plants, and therefore won't produce the same fruit as the mother plant.

If we are trying to preserve a heritage variety, we need it to produce a seed that is the same as the mother plant so that we can continue to grow this same variety.

Saving Seed from Peas

Pea seeds are one of the easiest seeds to save. All you have to do is leave some of your pea pods to dry fully on the plant before picking and saving the seed inside. Your pods will have a papery texture when they are fully dry.

Check each of the seeds to ensure there's no pest damage and get rid of any that are compromised.

Next, label an envelope with the variety of the seeds you have saved, the date and where they were grown. Store them in a cool dry space until the following spring.

Saving Seed from Tomatoes

Tomatoes are very unlikely to cross-pollinate as they produce perfect flowers, so you should get the same fruit when you grow the seed.

To Save Tomato Seeds Follow the Below Steps:

1. remove the tomato seed from a ripe tomato you want to save from
2. add the seed to a jar full of water and put the lid on
3. put the jar to one side until a layer of mould has developed on top of the water, this will contain the gelatinous outer layer of the seed and any unviable seeds that have risen to the top
4. remove the layer of mould, give the jar a shake and see if any more seeds rise to the top
5. remove any further unviable seeds until just the seeds at the bottom remain, these are your viable seeds
6. drain away the water and then spread your seeds out on some kitchen towel or a place to fully dry
7. store your seed in a labelled envelope until you are ready to use them.