Seed saving for beginners! Qs & As

[veggiechicken]

Make 2017 the year you save seeds and share them with your friends here.
There are several experienced seed savers on the Vine who would be happy to share their knowledge.

The 2017 Seed Circles welcomes new members, and is open to you all to join - even if you've never saved a seed before!

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...7-a_92089.html
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...7-a_92082.html
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...cle_92090.html
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...7-a_92083.html


Don't be shy, ask your "How do I?" questions here and let's see how many seeds we can save between us.
Perhaps, at the end of the year, we could list all the seeds we've saved

Useful links at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_10517.html

[Ananke]

Excellent thread

I didn't save a single seed last year
This year I want to save some bean seeds, which I've never done before. I have read recently that beans cross.

How do the experience members save their bean seeds, do they need isolated?

[veggiechicken]

Depends on which beans! I believe Broad and Runner beans need isolation but French beans are easier.
An expert will be along shortly

[Ananke]

Thanks VC

I've thinned the list down to Borlotti, Blue Lake, Canadian Wonder, Cherokee Trail of Tears and either Czar or Greek Gigantes.

Further thinning may be required

[sparrow100]

Ananke, try and grow them away from each other if you can. They don't tend to cross, but they can if some busy insects are floating about. If that's not an option then check the dried seeds carefully - differences in size and colouration can indicate that those are a cross. Picking pods from the middle of the stand of a particular bean can help in getting the seeds that are more likely to be true.

I don't have the luxury of enough space to grow things very far apart, so this is often the compromise I will use. Though if it's something that crosses easily, I will sometimes beg Mum for some garden space.

[Ananke]

Thanks Sparrow
I'll probably just focus on growing lots of beans for drying as I don't have the luxury of space either. I'll save seed from other veg though

[ancee]

So, if they cross does that mean they won't work? I've noticed my sweet peas have gone stripey in the front garden. Haven't planted stripy ones so something happened to them. They look fab though and smell great so I'm not complaining

[sparrow100]

No, they will work, they will happily produce beans. They just won't be the 100% variety that you grew initially. They might be better suited to your soil, they might have similar characteristics. It's not necessarily a bad thing. After a few generations you'll have your own stable landrace if my memory's right. (stands by to be corrected!)

[planetologist]

Ananke, French beans almost always self-fertilise, so you can grow more than one variety in your garden and expect to maintain pure varieties. Even if you get a cross, the look of the seed is given by the mother, so you'll only be able to identify crosses by the seeds it produces. To make things more interesting, varieties that are, say, white with brown dots will sometimes make a few seeds that are brown with white dots, but these are not crosses: if you grow the latter seeds they will again produce seeds that are mostly white with brown dots.

Broad beans and runner beans are outbreeders. To maintain pure varieties you will need to grow only one variety within a radius of ~500 m. If you isolate them you'd need to fertilise by hand. I've grown mixed varieties of broad beans for several years, and they're all good. I think the main thing with runner beans is that some will be much more stringy, so rather than worry about purity, it would make more sense to do a stringiness/taste test on individual plants and save seeds from those plants that taste good, though again I assume the taste is given by the mother. This is nature; go with the flow; you can influence matters in your favour but it's best not to even think of taking absolute control.

[Elfeda]

Anyone interested to save salad, leafyveg and brassica seeds!

I would like to start a seed circle for this if there is reasonable interest to contribute.

[vixylix]

I will be back in April / May armed with a list of what I am growing (currently compiling a spreadsheet) awaiting instruction on which to save and how to do it!

[veggiechicken]

Useful stuff at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_10517.html.
Link in 1st post also

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Yeah! I'm "Game! And have seed from an open pollinated Sprout!

Cheers "Snadge"

[ancee]

Ha! Well done! Brilliant isn't it seed saving? I love faffing about with my little envelopes and a pencil

[Chris11]

Anyone interested to save salad, leafyveg and brassica seeds!

I would like to start a seed circle for this if there is reasonable interest to contribute.

There are many diverse species of brassica that can all easily cross pollinate with each other. Anyone involved would need to know what they're doing