Seed Saving Techniques for Next Years Vegetables

[Jaxom]

I would like to start saving seeds each year but am not sure of which types of vegetable seed I can collect that will be viable the next year. I know that F1 types don't come true if you sow their seeds the next year, but what about the other types (non F1)? Is it worth collecting seed?
I see that sometimes as few as 3 or 5 seeds can cost £2 to £3 a pack for vegetables such as cucumbers and other vine type vegetables . Any advice would be most welcome.
Jax

[Lesley Jay]

As you said as long as it's not an F1 you should be able to save the seeds. Simply dry them and store them in an envelope and make a note of the variety. This year (for the first time) I have dried runner beans, the beans from Blue Lake climbing french beans - both of which I intend to use in cooking as well as planting next year - and I am leaving a leek to finish flowering so that I can collect the seeds. If I am happy with the results then next year I will try drying some other vegetable seeds.

You could also try Seeds By Size. You order the seeds by weight so you don't have to buy more than you need. I get irritated when I have to buy packets of seeds that contain 500 when I only need a few. You get the catalogue over the internet.

[GardeningWitch]

Book recommendation

I can recommend the book "Back garden seed saving" by Sue Stickland as an excellent guide to saving seed from all sorts of vegetables.

Are you a member of the Henry Doubleday Research Association (now also known as Garden Organic)? If so, you can access their excellent seed saving guidelines from the members area of the web site.

I, too, have successfully saved seed from climbing french beans and runner beans and grown them in subsequent years. I just leave the pods to dry on the plant, then harvest the dried seed.

I have also collected tomato seed: select a healthy, ripe tomato and remove the seed. Wash off as much of the jelly-like stuff from around the seed (I do this in a small metal sieve), then spread the seeds out to dry on a piece of kitchen paper. When dry, simply fold up the kitchen paper and store in an envelope. When it come to sowing them, just cut out each individual seen and sow it, kitchen paper and all!

Seeds from dried chilli peppers are also easy to collect and I have been able to grow them on.

Good luck!

GW.

[Geordie]

Always choose varieties that are true breeding, not F1 or mixtures, and these should be old varieties.

The easiest vegetables to save are the ones that self pollinate before the flower is fully open, so that without taking any precautions you can be sure of the seed coming true next year: Lettuce; Peas; Tomatoes; French beans

Some vegetables have not been bred to a high degree, and there are no real varieties as such, so nothing can go wrong if you grow a few to seed: Rocket; Land cress; Sorrel; Corn salad - these all establish themselves naturally in the garden, a bit like having edible weeds!

The next easiest sorts are the ones which produce lots of seed from a single pollination, so that you only have to protect one or two flowers against stray pollen, and perform a single hand pollination. You also get to eat the fruit with most of these, so you don’t lose any crop! Pumpkin, Courgette, Melon, Cucumber (‘Ridge’ varieties are best - don’t eat the greenhouse varieties that you normally prevent from pollination, avoid F1 and all-female varieties). These ‘cucurbits’ have separate male and female flowers on the same plant, which need to be protected from insects before they open. When they open, take a male flower (no sign of the fruit behind it) and introduce it to the female (small swelling at the back of the flower is the deveopling fruit). Peppers and Aubergine just need to be protected from stray pollen (OK in a greenhouse), and make sure the pollen on the flower gets onto the stigma by using a feather or paintbrush (leave till seeds are ripe - don’t eat the old aubergine!).

The trickiest category have lots of flowers, each producing only one or a few seed, and requiring cross-pollination with another plant for success. These must be grown as a block of plants of the same variety, to ensure pollination and maintain inherent diversity, but they must be protected against pollination from nearby plants of the same or related species. For some crops, the distance that counts as nearby is as much as a mile, because pollen can be brought by bees or the wind. These need to be screened from other sources of pollen - e.g., in a polythene cage, but insects or wind must have access to ensure pollination occurs within the cage! Insect pollinated: Brasssicas, e.g. cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, kale, cauliflower; some other Crucifers, e.g. radish, turnip, oriental vegetables like Pak Choi; Carrot family, e.g. parsnip, parsley; Onion family, e.g. leek; Runner beans; Broad beans - these two beans do not need so much distance - 100 metres or so. Wind pollinated: Spinach; Beetroot; Sweetcorn.

Once the plants have pollinated, and seed have set, leave them alone to ripen and/or dry on the plant. Some will need a bit of support, as the seed heads may be quite heavy on long stems. Tomato and cucumber seed need to be removed from the ripe fruit, washed in dilute bleach to remove the jelly, washed in a sieve and then dried on blotting paper. Brassicas and Crucifers, as well as peas and beans, should be shelled from the dried pods, and checked for any infestations of grubs which sometimes occur. Loose seed heads like carrots and onions can be stored whole in paper bags to dry fully, then threshed to release the seed into the bag.

Once extracted and dried, all seed should be stored in packets or jars, in a cool, dry place.

Always make sure that you collect seed from healthy, typical individuals of the variety you want to keep, and observe the plants that grow from them to make sure you haven’t had any outpollinations, mix-ups or disease problems. Some viruses in particular are seed-borne, and so for things like tomatoes, it is worth getting new sources of seed every few years.

Please also bear in mind that some modern varieties are protected by Plant Breeders Rights or patents, which mean that it is illegal to save seed from them, unless you pay the breeder royalties or get permission.

If anybody needs more specific advice to a particular veggie i would be happy to try and help.

[Jaxom]

seeds collected so far

Wow! What a wealth of information. Many thanks to all for posting and taking the time to give so much information.
So far this year I have been collecting seeds from vegetables bought at the supermarket such as melon, Butternut squash, tomatoes, chillies, bell peppers and Cape gooseberries in the hope that next year I may be able to grow some. Unfortunately I have no idea if any are F1 so it may be a bit hit and miss.
many thanks again
Jax

[Geordie]

Be warned many supermarket seeds will have been treat with growth inhibitors and other chemichals. On the other side if you cannot provide all the chemicals to grow the fruit they may be disappointing.

[GardeningWitch]

Please also bear in mind that some modern varieties are protected by Plant Breeders Rights or patents, which mean that it is illegal to save seed from them, unless you pay the breeder royalties or get permission.

Regarding Plant Breeders Rights mentioned by Geordie, I found the following extract from defra's information leaflet on Plant Breeders Rights (http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pvs/g...20050317.pdf):

"Plant Breeders' Rights do not extend to any act done for private and non-commercial purposes,
for experimental purposes or for the purpose of breeding another variety."

I take this to mean that saving seed for one's own purposes is OK even if the plant is protected by Plant Breeders Rights. Is this correct? I'd be grateful if anyone can shed any more light on this matter.

Thanks,

GW.

[nick the grief]

I always understood to be the case. I can't imagine there are many police going round looking in peoples gardens to see what your growing. Sue sticklands book is superb and one to be recommended.

I assume a similar principle applies to this infernal list of the EEc's that says it has to be registered for a seed company to sell it?