Seed saving

Seed Saving

Saving seeds is one of the best things we can do to improve and protect the future of our food system. Historically, people used to save seeds more but selling seeds then became a viable business model and large corporations have made it easier for us to buy seeds on demand. However, this has led to a loss in variety in the UK, and it is estimated that a whopping 90 per cent of our vegetable varieties have been lost in the past 100 years.

Why Save Seeds?

Saving seeds is much more sustainable than buying them from a shop. It means that the whole production process is kept local, as opposed to seeds being shipped to us from other parts of the world. It also means that we know how our plants have been cared for, and we can make sure they are grown in line with organic principles.

Saving our own seeds also helps us to learn about the plants through the seasons too. Usually, we throw plants on the compost heap once they have provided us with their fruit, but in this way we get to witness the next stage in their lifecycle. This helps us to form a long-term relationship with a plant.

I once grew a sunflower with seeds I got from my grandparents and I now treat it in the same way I would a very old houseplant. In this way, the plants and seeds almost become members of the family, and we become more invested in ensuring their survival.

Treating plants this way helps us to understand their lifecycle too, for instance why they bolt or how they spread their seeds in the wild – whether by attaching to an animal's fur or by spreading on the wind.

Saving Runner Bean Seeds Is an Easy Way to Start

Runner beans are a good place to begin your seed-saving journey. Simply leave some bean pods to dry out on the plant at the end of the season and you'll be rewarded with plenty of seeds for the coming season.

Here's a step-by-step guide to harvesting seeds:

1. Make sure to remove any mouldy seeds as you harvest them.
2. Write the variety and the date of your seeds on the packet and store the seeds in a breathable envelope or bag.
3. Store them somewhere really dry, out of direct sunlight and in a place with a stable temperature.
4. When you save seeds, you will often end up with a lot of them, so make sure to share with friends, family and neighbours.

Sourcing Plants for Seed Saving

You can save seeds from most plants, whether they're annual, perennial or biennial, but annuals are the easiest place to start.

Heirloom and heritage seed varieties are the best seeds to save, as they have been saved for generations and therefore are really stable and predictable. They have survived so long for a reason, and are likely to be really nutrient dense and have good disease resistance.

Heirloom and heritage varieties are usually classic, traditional crops, like runner beans, tomatoes and squashes.

The one exception to seed saving is F1 seeds. F1 seeds are hybrid seeds that have been bred from two plant lines to create a progeny with specific character traits.

This cross-breeding method creates plants with good disease resistance, but it means that you can't save seeds from them. This is because the daughters of the plant you saved the seeds from will not come out true to type and the plant you end up with could be of poor quality, with substandard fruits or fruits that look different from those of the plant the seeds came from.

Joining the Seed-Saving Mission

To get started on your seed-saving journey, you can sign up for an annual subscription with the Heritage Seed Library.

You can choose six different seeds per year between November and February, which you'll receive in the post. This way, you can try out heirloom varieties that you wouldn't necessarily be able to find in the shops.