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Instructions to Use This Page: Select the first letter of the word from the list above to
jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a
digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
A
B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
General Seed Saving Information:
Only save seeds
from healthy plants whose fruit exhibit the traits desirable and expected
for the variety. Eliminate any plants that show off characteristics
prior to maturity. Make sure that you have a good population of a
specific variety or you may weaken the line by not preserving the genetic
diversity of the variety. Maintain the appropriate isolation
requirements to ensure that cross pollination does not occur.
Storage
Considerations
Before you store your seeds, make sure
that you have thoroughly dried them. Use a fine screen, plastic, or glass to dry your
seeds. I have had luck using coffee filters but seeds can stick to paper making
removal nearly impossible. If they are not dry, mold will develop and you
will lose your precious containers of genetic information to rot.
Store seeds in clearly labeled, airtight
glass or metal containers in a
cool, dark place. The colder, the better. Basements are good place but so are
refrigerators.
It is highly desirable to maintain constant temperature
and humidity. A small packet of desiccant placed in the container is
beneficial to maintaining a dry environment. Basically, seeds need to be kept
in the environment that keeps them dormant and one that is opposite to what
is necessary to make them grow. For more information,
click here.
Note: This page is intended as a basic
informational page. Although seed saving is not inherently difficult,
there are basic precautions and techniques that must be followed and
learned. Please check out the suggested titles that we have in our
bookstore.
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- beans
If
not grown together, beans do not readily cross pollinate. Saving
bean seeds depends on your area. Ideally, if you have a mild and dry
enough climate, wait for the beans to fully mature and let the pods dry
on the plant. If you live in a damp place with shorter seasons, you may
have to wait as long as you can, but pull up the plants, and hang upside
down in a garage or barn before they get wet and molds and mildew ruins
your harvest.
Then simply break
the pod open, remove the seeds and
let them finish drying completely. The top of the refrigerator is a nice
spot. After the beans are thoroughly dry, they shatter when
struck with a hammer, place them in the freezer for 72 hours. This
should kill any insects that may be hiding inside of them. For seeds, I
then place the beans in a container and keep in a cool, dry place (like
the refrigerator). If they are for consumption, a cool, dark, dry pantry
works great.
Brassicaceae (formerly known as the Cruciferae family)
Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Garden Cress, Kale, Kohlrabi and Mustard are all the same
species of plant - Brassica oleracea. The individual
variations in the plant structures and the part of the plant used as
food did not occur naturally but were
created through thousands of years of selection and seed saving by
farmers.
Pollination is accomplished by insects. All of the species will cross with each other. If you wish to grow more than one variety in a species to seed in a season, you must either isolate at least one half mile or cage the varieties (and introduce bees or pollinating insects into the cages). Most varieties are biennial and most have self-incompatible pollen. It is a good ideas to save seed from many plants to insure genetic diversity within the variety and reducing inbreeding depression (a common problem with Brassica).
Turnips are Brassica rapa, will not cross with Brassica oleracea but will with each other and Chinese cabbage and Chinese mustard. Rutabaga are Brassica napus and although self-fertile, will cross with some turnips as well as rape.
- cantaloupe (see also muskmelon)
- Seeds may be harvested from
fruits that are at the same stage as you would eat them. Additionally,
they may benefit by fermenting like tomatoes prior
to cleaning and drying. Varieties easily cross so isolation or hand pollination is required.
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- corn
- Corn (maize) is a wind pollinated plant. It requires either great isolation distances (up to one mile), isolation by timed plantings, and / or hand pollination. A
great resource for learning controlled pollination techniques for corn
(maize) is located on the
Maize
Cooperation in Genomics and Genetics web site. You can find various sized pollination bags at Seedboro.
Cruciferae (see Brassicaceae)
- cucumbers
- For good quality seeds, allow
cucumbers to ripen well past the stage at which they would be normally
eaten. Most will turn a yellowish orange color. Additionally,
they should be fermented like tomatoes prior to
cleaning and drying. Varieties easily cross so isolation or hand pollination is required.
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- muskmelons (see also cantaloupe)
- Seeds may be harvested from
fruits that are at the same stage as you would eat them. Additionally,
they may benefit by fermenting like tomatoes prior
to cleaning and drying. Varieties easily cross so isolation or hand pollination is required.
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- okra
- Although the flowers are perfect and
self-pollinating, the flowers also are large and will attract insects.
Isolation by up to one mile, caging the whole plants, or bagging the
flowers is required to maintain purity. The pods are simply left
to reach full maturity and then broken open to remove seeds. The
pods cause skin irritation in some people so gloves may be desirable.
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| Dry Pod |
Seeds
in Dry Pod |
Finished
Product - Seeds |
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- peas
- Same process as beans.
See above.
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- pumpkins
- See squash.
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- squash
- For saving good seed from squash plants, let the fruits
mature in the garden past the point you would normally eat them -- over ripe but not
rotten. Bisect the fruit lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rinse them in a strainer and lay
them out to dry. These plants cross pollinate fairly easily. Care should be
taken to ensure variety purity such as careful spacing or manual pollination.
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- tomatoes
- To save tomato seeds you will need to complete a few extra
steps. You need to cut a ripe tomato in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and
place in a jar with a little water and cover with plastic wrap. Stir the seeds a few times
a day for the next 2 or 3 days. During the fermentation process, the good seeds will separate from the gelatinous covering
and sink to the bottom after which time you can pour off the liquid and junk. Rinse
the seeds with cool, clean water. A fine mesh strainer or even coffee filters
work. Dry seeds thoroughly before storing.
Click here for a step-by-step
pictorial of the process.
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- watermelon
- Seeds may be harvested from
fruits that are at the same stage as you would eat them. Additionally,
they may benefit by fermenting like tomatoes prior
to cleaning and drying.
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- zucchini
- See squash.
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